1. Edinburgh, in my opinion, has some of the worst new building in Europe. Why is planning law is so slanted towards the developer when decisions arising may put the UNESCO World Heritage status at risk? (My specific concern as local resident is the RBS proposal to develop the site bordering Eyre Place, Dundas Street, Royal Crescent, Fettes Row, Dundonald Street and overwhelming King George V Park. The RBS proposals suggest overdevelopment of the site that will place unrealistic pressure on local services and the environment.)
One of the biggest challenges facing communities in Edinburgh is fostering any sense of social awareness among developers. I was speaking to the Cala during their public consultations over the 450 proposed dwelling places opposite the Ocean Terminal site. I asked them about extra medical facilities required by the increase of population. The answer was that this is very much a matter for Edinburgh Council. They were however more willing to take on board my comments about any lack of play facilities for young children and keen to focus on minimising the traffic impact.
This last point shows that developers address the issues that planners address. They know that under the current system, public views rarely matter: it is the council planning committee that they have to satisfy and that is everything. Another example would be the redevelopment of the Edinburgh Academicals stadium in Stockbridge. The local residents are overwhelmingly against the scheme as it stands but it is being pushed through by the council nonetheless. It seems that the threat of losing the next election is not enough of a threat to hold over politicians.
This is something that perhaps can be addressed by the Scottish Parliament. When it comes to housing, the first thing I would look at is housing density. There are minimum standards for room size here in Scotland but I am not aware of any minimum standards of dwelling density. It is in a developer's interest to maximise the return. It is in the power of Holyrood to set maximum numbers of dwellings in a given area for a given city zone if the council is not providing suitable local standards.
The right of counter-appeal can also be looked at, although there are dangers if this becomes too powerful, resulting in neighbourhoods refusing any form of development. Some may say that the Edinburgh trams should not have gone ahead at all but imagine if each neighbour the line goes through had to grant the scheme access.
The main point though would be to make any appeals scheme affordable. At the moment, the residents of Stockbridge have only the option of spending tens of thousands of pounds if they want to launch a judicial review. That probably is not going to happen.
As for the point over UNESCO World Heritage status, I have mixed feelings on this. True, it does identify areas of outstanding character across the world (thus bringing in tourism and revenue) but some cites complain that it also halts necessary development. Now I am not saying that Edinburgh is getting it's planning right; just highlighting the potential conflict between UNESCO standards and city needs.
In the end, cities are for people to live in. Not just for the people already there but also for those who need to come and live here. It is the politician's job to find the best way through the possible areas of conflict.
2. What concrete measures will you put in place to alleviate poverty and inequality in Scotland?
As a Scottish Liberal Democrat, I believe that not only should every person have equality of opportunity but we as a society should be there for whenever a person seeks to do better for themselves and their family.
The key to this on an individual level is education. Scottish Liberal Democrats believe that education is the first and arguably most essential investment when it comes to tackling any form of poverty. That is why we have proposed a Penny for Education - a penny on income tax to enable investment in a transformation in Scottish education that will make it the best in the world again and enable people to get well paid jobs. This is fair because the rising personal allowance will mean that anyone earning under £21,500 will actually pay less tax next year. Those at the top will pay 30 times more than someone on an average income.
For those already in work, we have sought to ensure work pays and that the system is fairer to those on low and middle incomes. In government we raised the income tax personal allowance, cutting the bills of 2 million Scots by £800 and lifting 2.7 million across the UK out of paying income tax altogether.
We will pay the Living Wage for all public services and stop giving government grants to companies that don't pay the Living Wage. The Scottish Government has given £5 million to Amazon, even though it pays its workers more than £1 less an hour than the living wage and there have been real concerns over working conditions at their base in Dunfermline.
Scottish Liberal Democrats have committed to working with the other parties and stakeholders to ensure that the new Scottish welfare system is fair to those in and out of work and has the full confidence of users.
I believe that fuel poverty in a major issue in our city and across Scotland. Liberal Democrats will work with other parties to see the energy efficiency of our nation's entire housing stock, not just new builds, but all our nation's homes improved. This will be a major, long term project but a necessary one. If we leave this to the free markets, it will never happen for all. The nature of Scotland's housing, especially for the older buildings, means that there are people living in older property will can never really afford the major improvements required for their homes to truly become energy efficient. As we undergo the transition towards a low carbon, more energy efficient future, it is important that our homes and, indeed, our businesses too, are fit for purpose. Frankly, we are a northern nation but previous generations of regulators and builders did not seem to appreciate this, especially when it came to mass-market housing.
3. Tonight, women and girls in Edinburgh are afraid to go out in the dark alone. At this moment, women here are afraid to stay in their own homes, through fear of violence and abuse. What specific measures will your party bring forward, in the next parliament, to ensure that women and girls in Scotland are safe in their own homes, and are able to go out freely and confidently into the world? What will you do to stop women in Scotland living in fear?
At this election, Scottish Liberal Democrats are proposing among other things to:
Introduce a new offence of domestic abuse
Support early intervention with those at high risk of first-time offending
Take major action to improve conviction rates for sexual offences, including consideration of legislation to allow research to be undertaken with jury members; the right of juries to be able to ask questions of expert witnesses or the provision of an expert adviser to assist juries with expert evidence, together with suggestions made in the Bonomy review.
Legislate to prohibit physical punishment of children. The evidence from dozens of studies is now indisputable on what our law describes, in Victorian fashion, as the "justifiable assault" of children. It damages their wellbeing, increases aggression and antisocial behaviour which can continue into their adult lives, and risks escalating into physical abuse.
My colleague Alison McInnes, the Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson, did a great deal in the last Scottish Parliament to help protect women and girls from violence and abuse. You can read a recent speech she gave on preventing violence against women at http://alisonmcinnes.co.uk/en/article/2015/1125822/speech-on-violence-against-women-16-days-of-activism.
My personal view is that some of it comes down to early education, both in schools and in the examples from parents and carers. Some people, usually but not exclusively women, are simply more vulnerable to abuse. Recently schools have done a great deal to tackle bullying in our schools but until we live in a society where signs of weakness does not trigger an oppressive response in some others, the challenge will still be ongoing. Peer pressure has a lot to do with this. When it is not done for a group member to cat-call or abuse a passing stranger in the street and the peers turn upon others for doing so, progress will have been made. We do not yet live in such a society.
4. In the light of the current PPP scandal, how do the candidates see future funding for large infrastructure projects?
Following the schools crisis here in Edinburgh, Scottish Liberal Democrats have been calling for a full inquiry into how we got to this point. We would also make the companies that build and maintain our schools and hospitals subject to freedom of information laws so that the public can check they are being run properly.
Our fully costed manifesto sets out the infrastructure projects we plan on taking forward and how we will pay for them. For example:
We will establish a Fit For The Future Investment Fund, drawing on the earmarked resources from half of the Scotland Act borrowing powers (more than £200 million a year).
Action to reduce the persistent underspending of the Scottish Government's budget to ensure underspends are redeployed into other projects that are waiting for the green light.
The Scottish Government's capital budget is increasing.
Our Help to Renovate loans will come from the special financial transaction consequentials in the Scottish budget.
We will expand the Housing Fund for Scotland model that has seen investment in rented homes pioneered by a local government pension fund.
In view of Liberal Democrat commitment to local democracy and councils being responsible for raising and spending funds locally and transparently, I would be open to ideas on other alternatives, such as funding of city projects through the issue of bonds.
5. Although the independence referendum was the occasion for great political involvement, it has also led to a very polarised political environment in Scotland. (As anyone who follows social media will be aware!) How do the candidates intend to heal the political divisions of post-referendum Scotland if they are elected?
As far as I am concerned, these elections are about the best delivery of services and improving the standards of living for everybody living in Scotland. It most certainly is not about a second referendum, which is what the SNP want to make it about. Nor is it about cries of defending the Union, which is what the Conservative party would have us believe they are about. Both of these parties are cynically exploiting and deepening the polarisation which the question, correctly, refers to.
We are living in exciting times here in Scotland and we have an opportunity to use the new powers coming to us to make a real difference to all our lives. We can show the rest of UK that there is a different way to do things than the old Labour - Conservative Punch and Judy show but, to my mind, nationalism is not helping in this. It is, in fact, a distraction from us as a society making use of the the powers we already have.
I say that instead of blaming others or calling upon any form of jingoism, let us focus on the task at hand, right now. Goodness knows they are big enough. Education, housing, the NHS and a myriad of others, just as vital. How does either cries for either a second independence referendum or claims to be the protector of the Union help? They simply don't.
If on Thursday I were to become your MSP, my pledge would be to focus on the issues, encourage others to do so, take responsibility for our own actions here in Scotland and work, constructively and transparently, with others in finding and delivering fair, democratic and liberal solutions for the people of Scotland.
Showing posts with label Edinburgh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Edinburgh. Show all posts
Monday, 2 May 2016
Friday, 8 April 2016
Letter to TRIM and West Pilton
At the kind invitation of the Chairman of the Tenents and Residents of Muirhouse and Friends of West Pilton, candidates are invited to write an open letter to voters of the neighbourhoods.
Here is my letter.
Hello!
My name is Martin Veart and I am standing on behalf of the Scottish Liberal Democrats in our constituency of Edinburgh Northern and Leith.
The Liberal Democrats have been taking a bit of a battering of late. I have stuck with the party because out of all the political parties, it is the only one that believes that government should serve people. That is the core of liberalism. Liberals understand we that know our own local communities best of all: knowing both the problems but also the opportunities to improve. The Liberal Democrats want to return power to the most local level possible, to tackle the challenges that we face right now.
At this point I will do something that may surprise you. I will praise the SNP. Alone of all the parties, they engaged and got stuck into the grassroots of civil Scotland: the residents' associations, the voluntary groups and respected community individuals. They have raised hopes that have been long absent from the political scene.
It is the job though of politicians to deliver results and that is where the SNP have failed. Edinburgh is undergoing continuing rounds of cuts: to the council (2,000 jobs), to the health and social services (wards being closed, Liberton Hospital due to shut and staff frightened into silence) and our educational facilities suffering from cuts to places and staff, resulting in overflowing class sizes.
It is little wonder that the only party that have consistently supported the SNP budgets over the years are the Conservatives.
During the post-Referendum talks, Liberal Democrats took a full and constructive part in the Smith Commission negotiations. We helped bring back new powers to Scotland and we now want to use those powers to improve people's lives. Not is some distant future, after a new referendum, but starting right now.
Our main policy to achieve this new start is a rise in income tax of 1p in the £. The extra £450 million raised would be used this to invest in education: from pre-nursery to adult life-long learning. Through the Pupil Premium, a policy Liberal Democrats have already delivered in England, the pupils who are most disadvantaged gain the most benefit. For Scotland that means £1400 for each disadvantaged primary school child and £900 for each young person at secondary school. The funding follows the pupil so if the family moves, the child does not lose out on resources.
The extra money will increase a child's chance of going on to further education and even to university. In some neighbours in Scotland, a young person has more chance of ending up in a young offenders unit rather than at their local university. That cannot be allowed to continue.
The 1p in the £ will see funding returned to pre-2008 levels, returning our education levels to where it used to be: among the finest in the world.
It is all very well providing our young people with a good start in life if, when they are looking for a home there is nowhere they can afford to live. Edinburgh is in the mist of a housing crisis. I want to see the plans for Leith and the Western Harbour reactivated. The city needs more social housing. We also need better planning in the city. I have been listening to residents in Muirhouse and I understand it is not good enough building new homes if there are not the services for people to use. People need nearby places to shop and shouldn't have to travel miles to find health facilities like GPs, pharmacists and dentists. As your MSP, I will work closely with Edinburgh Council to ensure the services that people need are delivered and that new homes are built.
When it comes to health services, the Liberal Democrats want to see better treatment and availability for mental health problems. Only one-in-four young people in Scotland suffering from mental health issues have their first appointment within the 18 week target. There are over 50 children in Scotland who are waiting over a year for their first consultation. For too long mental health treatment has been the Cinderella service of the NHS and that needs to change. We will be listening carefully to Scottish health professionals how we can improve matters here, as well as drawing on the Liberal Democrat experience in England, where we have already delivered real improvements.
Liberal Democrats also want to see the end of criminalisation of drug use in Scotland. Supply of illegal drugs would remain a criminal offence, with suppliers facing long prison sentences, but users are suffering from health and social problems and are not criminals for being addicts. This approach have led to good results in Portugal, which, after fifteen years of following the policy, has seen a decline in drug use among the young.
Liberal Democrats value evidence-led policies and that is what we will deliver for the people of Scotland. For more details, visit our website: http://www.scotlibdems.org.uk
I will just like to end upon a further word or two about myself. With my family, I live at Newhaven Harbour. Previously I worked in oil and gas but, like many in the industry nowadays, I am now looking for new opportunities.
If one looks at the leaflets of any political party, each of them promise to supply a strong voice for the constituency. Very good, but what does a strong voice actually mean? Meekly following the party leadership, despite private doubts? Not rocking the boat in case that means being overlooked for a ministerial post in the future?
My pledge to you would be to use my best judgement on every occasion: to listen carefully, to consider the issues and work for the best outcome possible for the people here. I am a liberal to the core and as such I am not afraid to speak out on the issues: even to be point of disagreeing with the leadership, openly if need be.
In voting for me, Martin Veart, you will be voting for a person, not just a party. In using your second vote for the Scottish Liberal Democrats, you will be voting for the party with wants use power to serve you, your family and the community.
You can contact me on mm.veart@yahoo.co.uk and my personal blog is at http://martinveart.blogspot.co.uk/
Here is my letter.
Hello!
My name is Martin Veart and I am standing on behalf of the Scottish Liberal Democrats in our constituency of Edinburgh Northern and Leith.
The Liberal Democrats have been taking a bit of a battering of late. I have stuck with the party because out of all the political parties, it is the only one that believes that government should serve people. That is the core of liberalism. Liberals understand we that know our own local communities best of all: knowing both the problems but also the opportunities to improve. The Liberal Democrats want to return power to the most local level possible, to tackle the challenges that we face right now.
At this point I will do something that may surprise you. I will praise the SNP. Alone of all the parties, they engaged and got stuck into the grassroots of civil Scotland: the residents' associations, the voluntary groups and respected community individuals. They have raised hopes that have been long absent from the political scene.
It is the job though of politicians to deliver results and that is where the SNP have failed. Edinburgh is undergoing continuing rounds of cuts: to the council (2,000 jobs), to the health and social services (wards being closed, Liberton Hospital due to shut and staff frightened into silence) and our educational facilities suffering from cuts to places and staff, resulting in overflowing class sizes.
It is little wonder that the only party that have consistently supported the SNP budgets over the years are the Conservatives.
During the post-Referendum talks, Liberal Democrats took a full and constructive part in the Smith Commission negotiations. We helped bring back new powers to Scotland and we now want to use those powers to improve people's lives. Not is some distant future, after a new referendum, but starting right now.
Our main policy to achieve this new start is a rise in income tax of 1p in the £. The extra £450 million raised would be used this to invest in education: from pre-nursery to adult life-long learning. Through the Pupil Premium, a policy Liberal Democrats have already delivered in England, the pupils who are most disadvantaged gain the most benefit. For Scotland that means £1400 for each disadvantaged primary school child and £900 for each young person at secondary school. The funding follows the pupil so if the family moves, the child does not lose out on resources.
The extra money will increase a child's chance of going on to further education and even to university. In some neighbours in Scotland, a young person has more chance of ending up in a young offenders unit rather than at their local university. That cannot be allowed to continue.
The 1p in the £ will see funding returned to pre-2008 levels, returning our education levels to where it used to be: among the finest in the world.
It is all very well providing our young people with a good start in life if, when they are looking for a home there is nowhere they can afford to live. Edinburgh is in the mist of a housing crisis. I want to see the plans for Leith and the Western Harbour reactivated. The city needs more social housing. We also need better planning in the city. I have been listening to residents in Muirhouse and I understand it is not good enough building new homes if there are not the services for people to use. People need nearby places to shop and shouldn't have to travel miles to find health facilities like GPs, pharmacists and dentists. As your MSP, I will work closely with Edinburgh Council to ensure the services that people need are delivered and that new homes are built.
When it comes to health services, the Liberal Democrats want to see better treatment and availability for mental health problems. Only one-in-four young people in Scotland suffering from mental health issues have their first appointment within the 18 week target. There are over 50 children in Scotland who are waiting over a year for their first consultation. For too long mental health treatment has been the Cinderella service of the NHS and that needs to change. We will be listening carefully to Scottish health professionals how we can improve matters here, as well as drawing on the Liberal Democrat experience in England, where we have already delivered real improvements.
Liberal Democrats also want to see the end of criminalisation of drug use in Scotland. Supply of illegal drugs would remain a criminal offence, with suppliers facing long prison sentences, but users are suffering from health and social problems and are not criminals for being addicts. This approach have led to good results in Portugal, which, after fifteen years of following the policy, has seen a decline in drug use among the young.
Liberal Democrats value evidence-led policies and that is what we will deliver for the people of Scotland. For more details, visit our website: http://www.scotlibdems.org.uk
I will just like to end upon a further word or two about myself. With my family, I live at Newhaven Harbour. Previously I worked in oil and gas but, like many in the industry nowadays, I am now looking for new opportunities.
If one looks at the leaflets of any political party, each of them promise to supply a strong voice for the constituency. Very good, but what does a strong voice actually mean? Meekly following the party leadership, despite private doubts? Not rocking the boat in case that means being overlooked for a ministerial post in the future?
My pledge to you would be to use my best judgement on every occasion: to listen carefully, to consider the issues and work for the best outcome possible for the people here. I am a liberal to the core and as such I am not afraid to speak out on the issues: even to be point of disagreeing with the leadership, openly if need be.
In voting for me, Martin Veart, you will be voting for a person, not just a party. In using your second vote for the Scottish Liberal Democrats, you will be voting for the party with wants use power to serve you, your family and the community.
You can contact me on mm.veart@yahoo.co.uk and my personal blog is at http://martinveart.blogspot.co.uk/
Friday, 8 January 2016
Car Parking at Edinburgh Airpot: A Fee Too Far?
These circumstances happened to me, again, last night and I've had enough. The last time I tweeted Edinburgh airport (@EDI_airport) but probably because I was rather impolite in my tone (I believe the phrase "taking the piss" may have been used), it is not surprising that I received no reply.
This time I am being more serious. Below is a copy of the letter I sent this morning to Edinburgh Airport in which I raise the following issues;
- Accuracy and timely updating of their live arrives webpage http://www.edinburghairport.com/flights/live-flight-arrivals
- The impact of late information upon those collecting people.
- The possibility of the airport's conflict of interest in providing timely information with the profits being made on short-term car parking.
- The larger question on Edinburgh Airport and the effective local monopoly it holds, which allows it to charge effectively what it thinks it can get away with.
To be fair, I have only sent the letter this morning so Edinburgh airport has not even seen it yet, never mind had a chance for a considered response. Even so, I believe that they do have a case to answer with their policy of car park charging. They even charge for merely picking up passengers from the multi-storey car park zone. Since there cannot be any local competition, this is effectively a monopoly situation.
If you have been in a similar situation or have other issues with access to Edinburgh Airport, I would encourage you to not remain silent but to get in contact with them, either through their webpage edinburghairport.com/feedback or by writing to them at
Customer Services
Burnside Building
Edinburgh Airport
EH12 9DN
You will be very welcome to leave a comment on this blog if any of this rings a bell with you. Speaking for myself, I am really fed up of being ripped off.
Below is my letter:
Dear Customer Services Executive,
Yesterday evening I had to come out to Edinburgh Airport in order to collect my daughter. She was travelling as an unaccompanied minor on the last KLM flight of the evening: KL1293, 7th of January, scheduled arrival time of 22:10hrs.
At 20:00hr of Thursday evening, I checked Edinburgh Airport live arrivals website, which informed me that the flight was due to arrive as scheduled. I checked again at 21:30hrs, before departing the house. Again the website read as "scheduled" for this particular flight.
When meeting an unaccompanied minor, I understand that we as parents have to be there at the appropriate time in order to complete the legal handover with airport staff. Therefore I ensured that I was at the airport at 22:15hrs, five minutes after the scheduled arrival time.
It was therefore to my considerable consternation that upon entering the arrivals hall, the board shows that KL 1293 has been delayed, with an expected new arrival time of 22:54hrs.
Why is it that the "live" flight information provided by Edinburgh Airport is so badly wrong? Regretfully, a cynic might suggest that your company has a vested interest in not updating your website in a timely manner, and that is because of the excessive car-parking charges that are made.
For parking one hour twenty minutes, I was charged the same as for three-hours: £10.90. It is not as if we have any choice. There is not an alternative airport in East Lothian competing for business. Your company is operating what is effectively a local monopoly.
If Edinburgh Airport provides information, as you do, then there is a duty of care to ensure it is both accurate and timely. This is not being done. I wish I could say that this was an isolated event. The fact that similar incidents have arisen in the past is one reason I am writing to you now.
If you had provided accurate and timely information on your website, I would have departed later and thus would not have incurred such excessive charges. Thus I enclose my car park ticket in the hope that you have the decency to refund the difference between charges of over one hour and under this time.
I believe that this particular incident illustrates a wider public interest debate as to Edinburgh Airport's policy of exorbitant car parking fees. I understand there is a green imperative on ensuring reduction of private transport usage. I also understand that Edinburgh Airport is a business with a duty to make a profit. The debate lies upon whether your company is, frankly, milking the situation. I publish a blog and will be writing an article on the issue.
Yours sincerely,
Thursday, 7 January 2016
Burnt Out Car - Crammond Foreshore
Yesterday evening I was taking a walk with Mrs. Veart along the Silverknowes prominade. As we approached Crammond, we came across this sad sight.
I think it was a BMW One Series and it is a bad end for such a fine car.
Since there were no Police Aware stickers or tape, I reported the wreck to Edinburgh Police, just in case no one else has reported it. The car must have been passed hundreds of times during the day, so I sincerely hope I am not the first to call it in.
If you do come across such incidents and unsure whether the police have been notified, please do not pass on by but take a few minutes to report it by calling 101.
Since there were no Police Aware stickers or tape, I reported the wreck to Edinburgh Police, just in case no one else has reported it. The car must have been passed hundreds of times during the day, so I sincerely hope I am not the first to call it in.
If you do come across such incidents and unsure whether the police have been notified, please do not pass on by but take a few minutes to report it by calling 101.
Tuesday, 29 December 2015
The Sad Fate of Steadfast Gate.
Do you know how one often passes by without stopping and taking note? For a year to and from work, I passed by the monument on Edinburgh's Steadfast Gate, which forms a junction on the cycle and walking paths between Victoria Park in Trinity and The Water of Leith.
Taking advantage of the fine weather ahead of Storm Frank, due here this evening, I was walking, only to discover the scene below.
The benches have been vandalised and graffitied. Cobbles have been ripped up and moss allowed to grown between those who remain.
The Stones from The Sinclair Fountain have been damaged by burning plastic on them, and the fountain itself contains an empty can of Iron Bru.
This little monument and rest area is south-facing and offers nice views across Arthur's Seat and Carlton Hill. It is a shame that it has been allowed to fall into such disrepair.
I will be forwarding my photographs on to Edinburgh Council.
Taking advantage of the fine weather ahead of Storm Frank, due here this evening, I was walking, only to discover the scene below.
The benches have been vandalised and graffitied. Cobbles have been ripped up and moss allowed to grown between those who remain.
The Stones from The Sinclair Fountain have been damaged by burning plastic on them, and the fountain itself contains an empty can of Iron Bru.
This little monument and rest area is south-facing and offers nice views across Arthur's Seat and Carlton Hill. It is a shame that it has been allowed to fall into such disrepair.
I will be forwarding my photographs on to Edinburgh Council.
Monday, 1 December 2014
Edinburgh is Missing an Eco-Tourist Trick
Yesterday my daughter and I cycled from our home down to Crammond village, on the coast of the Firth of Forth. On the way out, I had made a point of using the cycle paths rather than risking the half-mile or so rather busy and dangerous main road that runs between Newhaven Harbour and Lower Granton Road. After that though, we were forced on to the road again for although there are few pedestrians in the area of West Habour and West Shore Roads, the numerous industrial gateways are not suitable for a child to ride a bike on the pavement. The condition of the road is not much better.
Once off the road and on to the coastal path, it is a delightful and easy ride along the Silverknowes section and on to Crammond. The amount of people along this stretch is a testament to the popularity of coastal walks.
It is a similar situation to the East at Portobello, where the coastal path is often packed on any weekend with good weather. Even the less picturesque length behind the Lothian Bus depot and car showrooms of Seafield Road East are available for cyclists and runners. Beyond there, heading west and one soon is into convoluted routes as the cycle paths (often mere painted lanes on the road) meander through Leith. I would currently suggest pedestrians follow that path as Salamander Road is hardly an oil painting. Leith itself though is very pretty with a wide selection of bars and restaurants for all budgets.
So, what is this eco-tourist trick that Edinburgh is missing out? This year, I led the family (and friends on occasion too!) on walking sections of the Fife Coastal Path. Although some parts are undoubtedly industrial, most of it is an extremely beautiful trek along the Fife coast. What we would do is leave the car at a given point, go the our furthest point of the day, have a snack or even a high tea, turn around and trek back again. Hopefully by the time we finish, we would have walked the path effectively in both directions. For those who wish to see more in a day, there is an excellent bus route to take party back to their start line. When entering an eatery, it is usual to be asked if one is "doing the path" and from where we have started. In other words, the Fife Coastal Path is an established part of the tourist scene as is relied upon to bring custom to businesses along its route. What is more, the path is well-signposted on the ground and the website has good suggested walks with clear, printable maps.
In the Lothians, we have our own version: the John Muir Way. It is clearly signposted at its Westerly end, the Forth Road Bridge, which links it directly to the Fife Coastal Path. The John Muir Way continues in a similar vein along the coastline of East Lothian. There is currently a gaping hole in the route though, and sadly that is the city of Edinburgh and the Port of Leith. There is not one sign post for the path within the city bounds. I dare say that plans may be afoot for the path to be linked in the future but I ask, when businesses as still trading on a knife-edge, why wait?
To my mind this is a crazy situation. Edinburgh is indeed the UK's second tourist destination after London. Much of the tourist trade though stays in the centre. The communities and businesses along the north coast would greatly benefit from the extra trade that walkers and cyclists would bring as they follow the John Muir Way. There are undoubtedly challenges but as can be seen from the experience of Fife; if we build it, they will come.
Once off the road and on to the coastal path, it is a delightful and easy ride along the Silverknowes section and on to Crammond. The amount of people along this stretch is a testament to the popularity of coastal walks.
It is a similar situation to the East at Portobello, where the coastal path is often packed on any weekend with good weather. Even the less picturesque length behind the Lothian Bus depot and car showrooms of Seafield Road East are available for cyclists and runners. Beyond there, heading west and one soon is into convoluted routes as the cycle paths (often mere painted lanes on the road) meander through Leith. I would currently suggest pedestrians follow that path as Salamander Road is hardly an oil painting. Leith itself though is very pretty with a wide selection of bars and restaurants for all budgets.
So, what is this eco-tourist trick that Edinburgh is missing out? This year, I led the family (and friends on occasion too!) on walking sections of the Fife Coastal Path. Although some parts are undoubtedly industrial, most of it is an extremely beautiful trek along the Fife coast. What we would do is leave the car at a given point, go the our furthest point of the day, have a snack or even a high tea, turn around and trek back again. Hopefully by the time we finish, we would have walked the path effectively in both directions. For those who wish to see more in a day, there is an excellent bus route to take party back to their start line. When entering an eatery, it is usual to be asked if one is "doing the path" and from where we have started. In other words, the Fife Coastal Path is an established part of the tourist scene as is relied upon to bring custom to businesses along its route. What is more, the path is well-signposted on the ground and the website has good suggested walks with clear, printable maps.
In the Lothians, we have our own version: the John Muir Way. It is clearly signposted at its Westerly end, the Forth Road Bridge, which links it directly to the Fife Coastal Path. The John Muir Way continues in a similar vein along the coastline of East Lothian. There is currently a gaping hole in the route though, and sadly that is the city of Edinburgh and the Port of Leith. There is not one sign post for the path within the city bounds. I dare say that plans may be afoot for the path to be linked in the future but I ask, when businesses as still trading on a knife-edge, why wait?
To my mind this is a crazy situation. Edinburgh is indeed the UK's second tourist destination after London. Much of the tourist trade though stays in the centre. The communities and businesses along the north coast would greatly benefit from the extra trade that walkers and cyclists would bring as they follow the John Muir Way. There are undoubtedly challenges but as can be seen from the experience of Fife; if we build it, they will come.
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