"The Voice of Bingham"
Spring 2021 BINGHAM COMMUNITY GARDEN The Bingham Blether paid a visit to the local Community Gardens on Saturday 20/02/21. Our hosts gave us a guided tour of both the site and all of its facilities during one of their regular clear-up days. The first thing that you notice on entry is the amount of energy that goes into running this popular project. During the pandemic there’s been a real need for people to be outside and to be in a safe space and this warm and welcoming space fits the bill perfectly.
The garden’s beautifully made, main wooden building is powered by green energy provided through a rooftop solar panel and a water collection system that recycles rain water stored in tanks for shared distribution. There are different types of fruit trees around the perimeter and (during the summer months) children can access a sand pit and use a large inflatable portable swimming pool. There’s also plenty of room for outside seating for weary gardeners to catch up with friends and neighbours and to share information and growing tips.
In this Edition: Community Garden Councillor's Reply Johnnie Stanton Memorial Brand New Youth Corner And more! There are around 50 plots available for members which are reserved for their use from March-March each year. Please note that inevitably there is a short waiting list as this has proved to be very popular and space is limited. Two of these beds are raised to a higher level for disabled persons and would provide ease of access for wheelchair users. Annual membership costs are £5.00 for a small bed or £10.00 for a standard bed, with all funds contributing to the running of the project. The Bingham Blether has taken up the offer of a plot for this coming year so watch this space! We will need all the help we can get but look forward to getting our hands dirty and wired in!
WOMAN TERRORISED IN BINGHAM PARK On Wednesday 10th March 2021 five youths (aged approximately 14-15) surrounded a woman walking in Bingham Park and stole her hat. Clearly traumatised and shaken, she was otherwise unhurt. Local residents posted their messages of support on our Facebook page and to express their anger and disgust over this incident.
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COUNCILLORS REPLY: Dear Bingham Blether and Bingham residents, Thank you for your letter, and apologies that many issues that you’ve flagged over the past few years are still unresolved. Hopefully you understand the coronavirus pandemic has delayed a lot of council work, but things are moving forward now so there are updates we can give on these issues. Regarding CCTV, the Bingham system has unfortunately been damaged (and subsequently repaired) many times, but as we are in the process of replacing the city-wide CCTV system, the £50,000 needed for a temporary repair wasn’t available. The good news is however, that the replacement CCTV system which is being rolled out next year will include a Bingham camera that should have higher spec columns that have double layers to try to protect the equipment from further damage and vandalism. Furthermore the new digital system will be higher resolution and better able to catch those conducting criminal or anti-social behaviour. One of those behaviours is fly-tipping and litter, issues that we are regularly contacted about, and do work to resolve, but unfortunately there is always more rubbish being dumped! The council will uplift any flytipping they are alerted to, and it is really helpful if residents report any that they see, as this not only gets it flagged for pickup, but also builds information about where hotspots are so the council can consider further action, like mobile CCTV to catch offenders.
The timeline for works completion is the start of May 2021, at this stage it is too early to tell if the council will receive all 16 properties together or if there is scope for few properties at a time to bring the building back into circulation at the earliest possible time. All 16 properties will be for council rent. We hope this has answered all your questions and explained the delays in progressing certain issues, but we are always available to answer further questions or tackle specific issues and help support Bingham and its residents. Please email us at: kate.campbell@edinburgh.gov.uk mary.campbell@edinburgh.gov.uk maureen.child@edinburgh.gov.uk callum.laidlaw@edinburgh.gov.uk Yours, Your local councillors
NEW BUILDING UPDATE
Litter can be reported here https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/litter-flytipping/litter-streetcleaning and flytipping here https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/litter-flytipping/flytipping and if you catch the perpetrators in the act please let the police know too as this is a criminal activity. Work has also been progressing on the empty block at Bingham Way, but there were extensive repairs required to address structural damage to the roof, extensive water damage and ponding, as well as the installation of new electrics throughout plus utility metres, new floors and flooring, window replacements, kitchen and bathroom refurbishment and a full decoration of the common stair and the interior of each property. Officers have been doing well to navigate through challenging issues around supply of materials and the availability of multiple contractors during lockdown restrictions and the resulting demand once these were lifted.
Check out these sunny snaps that show the latest progress at the site on Bingham Avenue. The 40-home development is carried out on behalf of City of Edinburgh Council and is set for completion later this year.
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IN MEMORIUM Johnnie Stanton was a local author, playwright, theatre director, community activist, and a passionate supporter of the Arts. Johnnie was proud to be from Niddrie but spent some of his final years in a house in Bingham Avenue. He was for many years actively involved with the Arts Centre in Newcraighall and was also a great supporter of the Craigmillar Festival Society which focused on bringing the community together over many years. This included putting on theatre shows and holding the annual Craigmillar Festival parade where hundreds of local people would turn up to see a parade of floats on the back of lorries run along Niddrie Mains Road and join in the fun. In the 1970’s Johnnie ran a disco for teenagers in the Arts Centre at Newcraighall. Apparently (at that time) he was the epitome of a rock and roll star with long hair and dressed in black leather. He will be remembered for his enthusiasm, energy, nurturing of local talent and being one of the key archivists of the Craigmillar Photographic archive .
NO4 BUS On Saturday evening 27th February 2021 there was an incident involving some teenagers causing disruption on the number 4 bus while it was sitting at the terminus which resulted in the temporary suspension of the service. It is the right of the bus drivers to be safe at their place of work, whilst providing a vital service to our community.
This service goes to Asda which is not only vital for shopping but also allows access to Asda's pharmacy. The other route which goes out to Hillend, allows passengers direct access to
PICK UP YOUR DOG'S POO!! There are a small minority of dog owners who are unwilling to clean up after their dogs. Clearly this can cause a health hazard, especially to children, where the eggs of roundworms contained in faeces can cause blindness (Ocular toxocariasis) Those of you who are too lazy to clean up after your dog are putting our children at risk. We are coming out of lockdown and as the warmer weather approaches our children will be coming back out to play. So for the health and safety of all PLEASE SCOOP THOSE POOPS, The Bingham Blether makes no apology for yet again having to repeat this request.
shop at Morrisons and access the pharmacy at Piersfield Terrace, EH8 7BR. Should further incidents occur, there is a very real risk the community will lose this vital service.
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Thank you Cllr Mary Campbell for the installation of the bollards at Bingham tunnel!
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YOUTH CORNER
For the past year, I have been helping Rab Hogg and his team at the Magdalene Community Centre. I became a part of the Bingham and Magdalene COVID-19 response team delivering meals to the vulnerable and elderly. I enjoyed helping Rev. Bill Wishart, Cris Thacker at Community Renewal, and Emily Green from the Hope Café deliver the 'If you are self isolating' postcards and the special editions of 'My Magdalene' last summer. It was great to know that the elderly and vulnerable had a community to rely on if they needed anything.
When I found out about the schools closing, it was the best news I’ve heard in a long time. After a few weeks it got boring. Then, when we found out Schools were returning, it felt great to have a bit of normality again. I particularly enjoyed seeing my pals again. When it was announced that schools would be closed again after Christmas I thought here we go again. It has been so difficult working from home for so many reasons but I think the school closures particularly have impacted everyone with their learning and mental heath.
THANK YOU ABIGAIL KLEBOE! The Bingham Blether would like to say a big thank you to Abigail Kleboe for your amazing service to the community. Abigail of Bingham Avenue has been doing an incredible service to the community dedicating her time to picking up litter both before and during lockdown. Her husband Gillies told us “Abigail has cleared approximately 80 bags of rubbish from every nook and cranny.” Inspired by Abigail's amazing effort, we are organising a community litter pick during the Easter break on Saturday 17th April 2021 from 11am - 1pm. Meet outside the Community Centre - supplies and refreshments will be provided. Check out this link for more information on recycling in Edinburgh: https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/whathappenstore cycling
It's is for this reason I want to help other people my age. With the support of Cris Thacker and the community forums in Bingham and Magdalene, we want to encourage other like minded young people to get together, decide what our priorities are and make a difference to our area. This could be in the form of a facebook get together or contributing to this newsletter in the short term, but we could organise ourselves to take trips to other similar projects elsewhere to see how they are developing their youth activities. I've set up a Facebook group so we can start to discuss ideas and how to get more involved. Check it out here: https://www.facebook.com/Youthcorner-102278555272017/ Hope to see you there. Cheers, Steven Gorrie. The Bingham Blether is produced by local volunteers - email Bingham.Blether@gmail.com to get involved! This newsletter is supported by the the Bingham Community Forum, part of the Local Conversations Project. The opinions expressed are not necessarily representative of Community Renewal.
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