Dear SMAG Member
February already and lots to do!
Last month we highlighted the new Bin Hub Location Criteria with a view to providing guidance for residents when making a review submission to the City of Edinburgh Council (CEC), the January MSCC meeting and the upcoming Community Council elections.
This month our Newsletter will focus on producing guidance for application letters which will follow the Council’s rules and allow for individual comments on residential amenity.
We will shortly send out a SMAG format for drafting an application to the Council. It should ensure that the new Council rules are followed and made to work. However, we need to have information on all applications made either through SMAG or on an individual basis so that we can show the overall levels of progress we are making.
- If you have already submitted an application to the CEC please let us know by responding to this email.
- If you are intending to make a submission, either individually or as a group, SMAG will support your application by providing guidance on the process. Please contact us using the email provided.
- Applications to move / change Bin-Hubs should be made to:
Anne Christie, Project Officer, The City of Edinburgh Council, Communal Bin Review Team, Waste and Cleansing Services, Seafield Depot, 1 Fillyside Road Edinburgh EH7 6RD. [email protected] www.edinburgh.gov.uk
Ms. Christie’s response to recent queries about timescale of review:
‘Quote’
We write with an update regarding the review of bin hubs since changes to the review framework were agreed at Transport and Environment Committee in November 2024. Please note that Councillors agreed “within 12 months of the completed installation of bin hubs in an area, [Officers will] review capacity requirements based on collection data with a view to potentially reducing the number of hubs.” This means that bin hubs which have not been installed yet cannot be reviewed. These can be reviewed after installation when we have operational data to inform any potential changes.
Based on scheduled work for 2025, the Communal Bin Review team will start reviewing all 1,320 bin hub locations from June 2025. Attached is the updated framework, timeline and approach which give more detail.
Where changes are possible for a bin hub, input will be sought from operational colleagues including collection crews to understand the impact of making the change. Following this, residents will be sent a letter with details of any changes to the bin hub(s) along with a timeline for when works are expected to take place.
Please could you let me know which bin hub(s) you would like to be reviewed, and we will add them to the priority list for June.
More information about the Communal Bin Review is on our webpage at the link below, which is updated regularly.
https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/bins-recycling/communal-bin-review
‘unquote’
For a Council, strapped for cash, it does seem rather illogical to spend money on installing Bin-Hubs, following an original programme, which does not consider residential amenity, only to have to move them if our applications to have them relocated are successful!
- We are all grateful for the support of our local Councillors. Neil Ross our Liberal Democrat Councillor for Morningside Ward, recently met with Robert Brown, the Bin Hub Review team supervisor, along with other ward councillors principally to press for earlier review of proposed bin hub locations and another meeting is to be scheduled near the end of March. He will keep us informed of developments. In addition, he would welcome SMAG becoming affiliated to MSCC.
Proposal for SMAG to become an associate Member of MSCC
As we reported last month SMAG has been invited to become a nominated group on the new Community Council and at our meeting on 13/2/25, the SMAG Committee formally agreed to be linked to the MSCC. We will ensure that the necessary paperwork will be completed and sent into head office by 27th February.
Bin Hubs & Noise
So far, there is a continuing uncertainty about CEC action on noise, the CEC make no mention of excess noise, merely made a promise to review things. It is important to keep this issue a priority for the council.
MSCC Meeting & Upcoming Elections
SMAG will be represented at next week’s MSCC Meeting. The next Community Council elections have already started. Here is a breakdown of the important dates.
- Notice of Election will be published on 5 February 2025
- the nomination period runs from 6 February 2025 until 27 February 2025. This is when you can nominate yourself to stand for election as a community councillor.
- Election date (if needed) will be 27 March 2025. An election will only be held in a community council area if there are more people nominated than places on the community council.
- The new community council term will start on 28 March 2025. It will last four years.
South Meadows Action Group Website
Lots of work has been done over the last few weeks to set up a SMAG Website. This work has all been done by one of our residents and it should be up and running shortly. It will make communication and access to information so much easier for everyone.
Next Meeting
Our next SMAG Committee is meeting on March 13th Any thoughts / ideas you may have should be emailed to [email protected]
New Members
Over the last few weeks, we have had some residents asking to be put on our SMAG mailing list. It is clear, that working together, does have an impact. Please spread the word, things should be much better once we have our website up and running.
And finally,
Having the support from Ian Murray, our MP and the Secretary of State for Scotland, Daniel Johnson, our MSP), local elected councillors, Marie-Clair Munro, Neil Ross, Mandy Watt, and the Marchmont Sciennes Community Council (MSCC) has been most welcome.
If you have any views you wish to share, please contact us by email to – [email protected]
Here is the web link to the CEC Bin Complaints section:
-Complaints procedure about bin abuse (overloading/fly tipping etc.)
https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/communalbin
Many thanks for your support
Kate, Alastair, Nick, Silke & June