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MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE COMMUNITY COUNCIL
20 MAY 2015 AT THE OPEN DOOR
Present
Office Bearers
Arne Strid Chair (AS)
Pat Abel VChair (PA)
Goff Cantley Planning Officer (GC)
Betty Barber Treasurer (BB)
Jo Young IT Officer (JY)
Members
Irene Harris (IH)
Carol Duncan (CD)
Stan McWhirter (SW)
Jill Powlett Brown (JPB)
Andrew Richards (AR)
Aline Haggart (AH)
Ex-officio members
Cameron Buchanan MSP
Cllr Paul Godzik (PG)
Police Scotland
PC Morano
PC Muchemwa
Residents and others
Nicol Watt
Hilary Davies
Freddie Pryde
Donald MacAulay
1. Apologies
Steve Gregory, Graham Cameron, Jennifer Scarce, Noelle Docherty, Richard Ellis, Shona
Johnstone, Cllr Paul Godzik, Linda Thomson, Phillida Sawbridge
2. Annual Report
This had been circulated in advance and is appended (Annex A). It was adopted without
amendment.
Proposer – Jill Powlett Brown
Seconder – Betty Barber
3. Annual Accounts 2014-2015 and appointment of auditor for 2015-2016
The Statement of Accounts and the Income and Expenditure Accounts for the year ended 31
March 2015 had been circulated in advance and are appended (Annex B).
Thanks were expressed to J Lindsay Walls for having carried out the book check, and the
Accounts were approved without further comment.
Proposer – Carol Duncan
Seconder – Aline Haggart
Members approved the appointment of J Lindsay Walls as Auditor for the current year.
Proposer – Goff Cantley
Seconder – Cameron Buchanan
4. Minutes of the AGM held on 21 May 2014
The Minutes had been circulated in advance and were approved without further amendment.
Proposer – Carol Duncan
Seconder – Irene Harris
5. Matters arising from the Minutes of the AGM held on 21 May 2014
There were no matters arising.
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6. Election of Office Bearers
Cameron Buchanan MSP took over as Interim Chair and conducted the election, with the following
results:
Position
Chair
Vice-chair
Secretary
Treasurer
Planning Officer
IT
Communications
Nominee
Arne Strid
Pat Abel
Steve Gregory
Betty Barber
Goff Cantley
Jo Young
Shona Johnstone
Proposer
Jill Powlett Brown
Betty Barber
Arne Strid
Jill Powlett Brown
Carol Duncan
Arne Strid
Goff Cantley
Seconder
Jo Young
Arne Strid
Aline Haggart
Goff Cantley
Betty Barber
Jill Powlett Brown
Arne Strid
All nominees accepted the nominations, or had already intimated their acceptance, so were duly
appointed.
Arne Strid resumed the chairing of the meeting.
7. Appointment of members with special responsibilities incl. representation on external
committees
Area of responsibility
Asst. Planning Officer
Asst. Planning Officer
Licensing Rep.
EACC rep.
Asst. EACC rep.
SCNP Board rep.
SCNP Board deputy rep.
Joint CC’s REH Group rep.
Joint CC’s REH Group deputy rep.
NP Sub-committees:
Children & Young People
Children & Young People deputy rep.
Community Safety
Older People
Students in the community
Nominee
Rosie Barnes
Graham Cameron
(to be confirmed)
Jill Powlett Brown
Arne Strid
Betty Barber
Steve Gregory
Pat Abel
Goff Cantley
Aline Haggart
Proposer
Stan McWhirter
Stan McWhirter
Seconder
Betty Barber
Jo Young
Arne Strid
Goff Cantley
Arne Strid
Arne Strid
Arne Strid
Aline Haggart
Arne Strid
Betty Barber
Jill Powlett Brown
Carol Duncan
Carol Duncan
Goff Cantley
Betty Barber
Irene Harris
Steve Gregory
Jo Young
Steve Gregory
Pat Abel
Jennifer Scarce
Arne Strid
Betty Barber
Goff Cantley
Arne Strid
Jo Young
Jill Powlett Brown
Arne Strid
Irene Harris
Betty Barber
Arne Strid
All nominees accepted the nominations, or had already intimated their acceptance, so were duly
appointed.
8. Any other competent business
Thanks were expressed to Jo Young for collating and circulating the papers for the meeting, and to
Cameron Buchanan MSP for acting as Interim Chair.
There being no other business, the AGM was declared closed.
Jean Thompson
Minute-taker.
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ANNEX A – ANNUAL REPORT 2014-2015 BY THE CHAIR AND SECRETARY
Meetings and members
Morningside Community Council (MCC) held 12 business meetings, including one Special
Meeting, and hosted a public meeting. The Special Meeting and the public meeting were both
concerned with the planning application to re-develop the former Napier University campus at
Craighouse. Attendance by Members has stayed at much the same level as in 2013-2014 with
between 9 and 15 (average 12) at every meeting. Disappointingly, attendance by ex-officio
Members (City Councillors, MPs and MSPs) has been lower this last year than previously; none
has been present at a majority of meetings. We nevertheless appreciate the support they have
given despite the immense demands on their time by the many other groups vying for their
attention. Attendance by members of the public has also been disappointing. It has been in single
figures for the majority of ordinary meetings. The Special Meeting attracted about 50 members of
the public compared to about 150 for the same topic in the previous year. We have concluded that
although feeling in the community had not diminished, people felt that there were fewer fresh
points to make at the third iteration of the re-development proposals.
There have been some changes to membership during the year. Unfortunately the year started
with a former Member being disqualified for non-attendance; the place was filled by co-option of an
existing Associate Member. We said good-bye to Linda Thomson in October. Linda was our
Treasurer and a Nominated Member representing the Parent Council of St Peter’s RC Primary
School. As she lived outside Morningside, she had to stand-down when her children left St Peter’s
and she was no longer eligible to remain on the Parent Council. In addition to being Treasurer
(and having a young family), Linda took on several other responsibilities for MCC and left a big gap
to fill. However, Betty Barber took over seamlessly as Treasurer and we’re pleased to say that
Linda has continued to attend meetings and to help Betty. Although St Peter’s has yet to nominate
a replacement Member, we are glad to report that the Parent Council of our other school, South
Morningside Primary, appointed a Nominated Member, Noelle O’Doherty, in June. We place a
very high value on continuing representation of our two local schools on the CC. Their Nominated
Members have consistently given us fresh perspectives from a crucial part of the community –
parents of young children – as well as helping to maintain a diverse age-range in our Membership.
Issues covered
Until September, business was again dominated by the Craighouse re-development. The MCC
planning team put in an immense amount of work studying the third set of proposals, meeting the
developer and planning officials, liaising with other organisations and individuals who opposed the
scheme, preparing a letter of objection and making a presentation at the hearing. The granting of
the application in September, despite the weight and validity of objections, was a bitter
disappointment. Nevertheless, thanks to our Planning Officer, Goff Cantley and his assistants,
Rosy Barnes and Graham Cameron, we believe that MCC can take some pride in playing a part in
causing a significant scaling down from the original proposals. Several other important planning
matters were dealt with by Goff, Rosy and Graham, including individual applications, engagement
with the evolution of the Local Development Plan, the review of the Morningside Conservation Area
Character Appraisal and consideration of threats of re-development at Midmar Paddock and
Hermitage Golf Course. MCC has continued to attend the Edinburgh Civic Forum to keep up to
date with local planning issues and initiatives.
MCC has also dealt with a number of licensing applications as well as attending meetings to
discuss aspects of licensing policy with other CCs, the City Council and Alcohol Focus Scotland.
As Chair and Secretary we share the frustration of many Members, and indeed many Edinburgh
CCs, that the voice of the community is overlooked in both licensing and planning – the two areas
for which CCs are statutory consultees, which involve an immense amount of work, and from which
we rarely achieve a satisfactory outcome.
During the year Members considered the usual wide range of other problems brought forward by
residents – such as dogs in parks, parking, traffic, waste management and CCTV installation.
Many were taken up with the City Council and some were resolved satisfactorily, others remain
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bones of contention or fell by the wayside due to financial constraints. One long-running topic has
been pavement clutter from A-boards and trade-waste bins on our high street. A delegation from
MCC had a walkabout in November with local Councillors and Council officials in order to point out
the problems. The City Council proved very willing to accommodate MCC and matters are
progressing, albeit rather more slowly than we would have wished.
Perhaps the most significant ongoing complaint, raised at virtually every meeting, is about policing,
particularly the re-organisation of community policing. The absorption of dedicated beat officers
into area response teams has meant that police officers are rarely seen in Morningside except
when attending an incident. MCC concerns were submitted in February to a review of policing in
Edinburgh conducted by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary.
Liaison with the City Council and other CCs
On behalf of Morningside residents, MCC has played a full role in South Central Neighbourhood
Partnership with representatives on the Partnership Board and its Action Groups helping to deliver
the Local Community Plan and raising matters of concern across our part of the City. MCC
representatives have been invited to City-wide conferences under the aegis of the Edinburgh
Partnership. These have proved valuable in learning how the big issues in Edinburgh are likely to
impact at local level.
As Chair and Secretary, we greatly value the good relationship we have built up with the local
Neighbourhood Team of the City Council. We appreciate the pressures they are under and we
thank them for the generally excellent service they have provided during the year. We will
nevertheless continue to badger them where Members feel they have fallen short. Particular
thanks are due to Kevin Hawes, Community Safety Officer and Mike Shields, Parks Officer. Kevin
has attended several meetings, listened patiently to our complaints and done his utmost to resolve
problems for us. Mike and his staff have been congratulated at several meetings for their work in
Morningside Park, including the installation at MCC’s request of a small area planted with poppies
and cornflowers to commemorate the outbreak of the Great War.
MCC has continued to connect nationally with other CCs – the recently created National Website
for Community Councils chose a logo designed by the MCC publicity team with the help of a local
artist. Members have attended a number of national conferences and workshops, including ones
on planning policy and “digital engagement”. Locally, Members have taken part in meetings and
workshops organised by the Edinburgh Association of Community Councils (EACC). At writing,
EACC is a body in transition and may develop in new directions. MCC is committed to support its
continuation as a forum where CCs can exchange experience and speak collectively on the
difficulties and frustrations CCs sometimes experience in their dealings with the City Council.
Engagement with residents
The most successful engagement exercise was, as in previous years, the ceremony to switch on
the Christmas lights at Morningside Clock. It is possible that the City Council will stop supporting
these events in future but for Christmas 2014 they did their usual superb job of setting up the tree
and lights – and the all-important switch. We were delighted to have PC Kevin Duffy to switch on.
Kevin was our local bobby before the re-organisation of community policing. The ceremony drew
over 250 revellers who were entertained by the Morningside Pipe Band, the Salvation Army Band
and the choirs from the two local primary schools. Thanks are due to all the Members and
volunteers who helped organise and run things. MCC experimented with another event - a
Saturday coffee morning at The Open Door community café. Several Members and volunteers
enticed some 60 members of the public to drop in and hear about the work of the CC over coffee
and cakes.
CCs are duty-bound to engage with residents in order to discharge their prime function of
representing the views of the community. We both feel that many CCs, composed as they are of
volunteers and with limited resources, struggle to engage with their communities. This certainly
applies to MCC. Nevertheless, Members and supporters have worked very hard to communicate
with residents during the past year. The effort has been led by the Communications Officer, Shona
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Johnstone, and IT officer Jo Young. The promotional leaflets developed in 2013-2014 have been
handed out at every possible opportunity but chiefly at local events such as Tea in the Park at
Braidburn Valley Park, the monthly Farmers’ Market and the annual “Spring Fling” at the Eric
Liddell Centre, where MCC shared a stall with neighbouring CCs. Two volunteers also attended
the “South Neighbourhood Volunteering and Gap Year Event” for local secondary schools held at
Gracemount High School in August. This provided a rare opportunity to speak directly to 5th and
6th year pupils, most of whom had no previous idea of what a CC is. One of our Members,
Jennifer Scarce, attended the annual “Students in the Community” event and has maintained
liaison with the Edinburgh University Students Association in order to foster our links with younger
members of the community.
MCC remains prepared to canvass views directly by letter. One such case occurred during the
year when some 80 letters were delivered by hand to residents affected by a licence application.
MCC continues to publicise meetings through 6 noticeboards across Morningside and the
community noticeboard in the Library. Meeting papers and minutes are distributed by e-mail to
about 50 residents. A one-page report of meetings has been produced for noticeboards and the
MCC Facebook site. We noted in last year’s Annual Report that this one-page report serves to
some extent as a monthly newsletter. A proposal to adapt it to become an e-newsletter has been
agreed by Members. Shona and her publicity group will take this forward next year and start to
build up a subscription list.
It is difficult to know how successful these efforts have been in truly engaging residents. There
have certainly been contacts with MCC engendered through leaflets and notices but they have
been few. As noted above, there has been a disappointing fall-off in numbers attending meetings,
possibly reflecting a lack of big issues after the high profile Craighouse campaign. A more
encouraging story is the steady increase in visits to our Facebook site, which serves as both
noticeboard and discussion forum. “Likes” have grown during the year from 111 to a high of 193.
Views of posts regularly go into the hundreds and reached a high of close to a thousand for the
Chair’s press statement following the consent to the Craighouse application. Total “post reach” in
a week can exceed a thousand. We conclude that while people may not attend meetings, a
significant number knows of MCC’s existence and can approach us at need.
As Chair and Secretary, we accept the widespread view among CCs, public officials and
academics that “digital engagement” offers the greatest opportunity for improving engagement.
However we are of the generation that preceded, by many years, the digital revolution. As of
course are many members of the community. Last year MCC’s long-standing and widely
promulgated support for a bridge over the railway to link Balcarres Street to the grounds of the
Royal Edinburgh Hospital was withdrawn after a Member made the CC aware of strong opposition
from a large number of her neighbours in the vicinity of the proposed bridge. This was
communicated solely by word-of-mouth to a Community Councillor well known and respected in
her neighbourhood. We will continue to support any new methods that might help MCC engage
better with its community. However we have learned this year not to forget the views of those who
are unable to, or choose not to, use social media.
Conclusion
After another very active year, we believe that MCC remains a strong body that despite some
failures in achieving the desired outcomes, has continued to seek out and represent the views of
the community. As Chair and Secretary we thank all our fellow Members for their support and
contributions.
Arne Strid, Chair
Steve Gregory, Secretary
9 May 2015
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ANNEX B - STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2015
Income and expenditure account for the year ended 31 March 2015
2015
£
2014
£
Grants and other miscellaneous income
Bank interest
1591
0
1268
0
Total income for the year
1591
1268
EXPENDITURE
Hall hire and Insurance
Postage and stationery
Donations
Miscellaneous
536
383
196
460
622
354
148
229
Total expenditure for the year
1575
1353
Surplus/(deficit) for the year
16
(85)
INCOME
Balance Sheet for the year ending 31 March 2015
CURRENT ASSETS
Funds at bank
Total
Current Liabilities
Amounts falling due within one year
Other Creditors
TOTAL NET ASSETS
Represented by:
Accumulated fund
Surplus/(deficit) for the year
2015
£
1307
2014
£
1291
1307
1291
0
1307
0
(120)
1171
1291
16
1307
1256
(85)
1171
Treasurer: (Signed) Elizabeth Barber Date:15th May 2015
Report of the Independent Examiner
This association, in common with others of a similar size and organisation, draws some of its income from
sources that cannot be fully controlled until they are entered in the accounting records and consequently are
not susceptible to independent audit verification.
Subject to the foregoing, I have examined the financial statements and report that they are in accordance with
the books and vouchers of Morningside Community Council.
Independent Examiner: (Signed) James L Walls MCIBS Date: 18th May 2015
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Management accounts for the year ended 31 March 2015
2015
£
2014
£
CEC Grant
Other Income
Bank interest
0
928
663
0
0
928
340
0
Total income for the year
1591
1268
Hall hire & insurance
Printing, Postage and stationery
Donations
Miscellaneous
536
383
196
460
551
354
148
300
Total expenditure for the year
1575
1353
Surplus/(deficit) for the year
16
(85)
INCOME
EXPENDITURE
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