Looking after the pennies to fund major investment in Edinburgh

Today's Council meeting approved the proposed investment, identified as the result of prudent financial management across all services.  The list of areas was drawn up after the Council listened to local people on where they think priorities should lie.  

It consists of:-

£500k for pothole and pavement repairs
£650k for street cleansing and local community environmental priorities
£250k for road safety and active travel projects to help bus passengers, cyclists and blind travelers
£100k for telecare investment such as GPS systems to aid people suffering from dementia
£100k specialist equipment for disabled and elderly people
£100k for the 'Open for Business' programme including investment in the West End village
£35k to boost promotion of the city through Marketing Edinburgh
£100k to give disadvantaged and disabled children the chance to use sport and outdoor centres
£100k for a youth music and arts innovation fund to ensure no child is held back by lack of money
£30k to expand internet security workshops for S1 pupils covering issues like online bullying
£10k towards protecting and preserving the City Archives for future generations and allowing them to be displayed for all to see
£25k to develop the 'Whole Place' approach through the Edinburgh Design Initiative.

"Prudent financial management is allowing us to make this major investment in many areas which will make a real difference to people's lives. This is also being done at a time when organisations all over the country are facing extremely challenging financial decisions resulting in a lot of cuts," said Council Leader Jenny Dawe. 

"We talked to people and groups across the city to find out their priorities - where they want to see the Council spending money in the future.    "This feedback has meant that we can now invest in areas that matter to people, on things that improve the city and generally improve quality of life."

Finance Leader, Councillor Phil Wheeler, said: "The money is available as a result of prudent management of the Council's finances allowing the target of £12 million unallocated reserves to be reached a year earlier than anticipated. 

"The other unallocated reserves include a Budget Flexibility element and £2 million will be released in the current year to fund investment projects that will make a difference."The Council agreed that details of the programme of investment work, when available, would be broken down into wards and circulated to all elected members.

Background on some areas of investment

Investment in young people  £230k

An extra £230,000 is to be ring fenced for children and young people to give them greater access to sport, outdoor activities and the arts. £100,000 will be spent on a fund to help disadvantaged and disabled children to benefit from a wide range of sports and outdoor activities and visits to the Council's two outdoor education centres, Benmore and Lagganlia.

The money will also be used to improve access to sporting activities through programmes such as the Sports Academy, the Developing Potential Programme and Adventure Edinburgh. 

Another £100,000 will be invested in a Youth Music and Arts Innovation Fund, which will be used to unlock the potential of the city's young people and ensure that no child is held back by a lack of resources. The fund will provide practical support for disadvantaged children to help them meet the costs of these activities. This could involve paying for equipment and kit for classes or funding transport to arts facilities.

It will also fund participation in innovative art projects that would otherwise not be affordable for some families.The sum of £30,000 will provide training for pupils in internet safety.  The Child Exploitation and Online protection Centre produces excellent training materials.  Every secondary school will hold a one day event for S1 pupils on internet safety including protection against on-line bullying.  An advice session for parents will also be provided. This funding will be allocated to schools to earmark for this purpose.

Children and Families Leader, Councillor Marilyne MacLaren, said: "I'm very pleased that prudent management of the Children and Families budget has resulted in extra funds for some of our priority areas, such as sport and the arts. 

"We're very conscious that disadvantaged and low earning families sometimes struggle to find the money to send their children on school trips and to our outdoor centres. These new funds will help to ensure that young people are not denied the opportunity to build on their talents due to financial constraints."I hope that this will help to improve access to exciting arts and sports projects for all young people in the city and that more will be encouraged to take advantage of the resources and facilities available to them."

The Council has developed an effective new way of treating potholes called "Right First Time". Instead of numerous temporary repairs we will be undertaking far more permanent ones which, although more expensive to begin with, save money over time. This new approach has been piloted in the South West Neighbourhood and has been very well received.

Road Safety and Active Travel  £250k 

Bus passengers, cyclists and blind travellers are among those set to benefit from a £250,000 boost to road safety and Active Travel.  

The money will fund a variety of schemes that will make travelling across the city not only safer but more environmentally friendly too. The list of projects includes 25 new bus shelters across Edinburgh and 'Wayfinder' signs for blind travellers at the city's bus station. The funding will also help accelerate Edinburgh's Active Travel programme with additional funding for road safety initiatives and cycle parking.

Transport Leader, Councillor Gordon Mackenzie said: "This will make it easier for people to take the bus or cycle around the city, not only benefiting those who choose to make these journeys but helping to reduce congestion as well. It's a win win for those travelling around the city.

Telecare - helping vulnerable people £100k

Specialist equipment for disabled and elderly people £100k

Transforming and improving care and protection for our increasing elderly population is a key Council priority and Telecare is a great example of modern technology enabling older people to stay in their own homes rather than needing hospital treatment or going into care homes.

The Council has invested heavily in the Telecare service in recent years and the £100k will compliment and accelerate the investment to date.

A Telecare package is based on an individual assessment but can include a range of detectors and communication aids often with an automatic link to the Council's call centre with a fast and immediate response. The electronic devices available include GPS systems to aid people suffering from dementia, switches which turn off cookers if they have been left on accidentally and bed sensors to raise an alert that someone has got up during the night unexpectedly.

The shift in the balance of care provision from institutions to supporting more people at home results in a high level of care needs. So, additional equipment worth £100k - specialist beds, chairs and hoists - will be provided for people in their own homes as well as care homes.

Health Leader, Councillor Paul Edie, said: "Transforming and improving care and protection for our increasing elderly population is a key priority of this Administration. Telecare is a great example of modern technology enabling older people to stay in their own homes rather than needing hospital treatment or going into care homes."

 

Investing in Marketing Edinburgh £35k

Open for Business £100k

The Open for Business programme has been established to assist businesses in areas of the city centre which are affected by the tram works.  The extra £100k investment aims to address the following priorities: 

· tailored support for businesses, especially in the West End , Shandwick Place and St.Andrew Square  where work will be ongoing in 2012/13

· the provision of information to the public about how best to access and move around the city centre during the tram works

· new events, promotions and innovative ways to animate space in the city centre to help drive and sustain visitor footfall in the affected areas

· targeted destination promotion and marketing campaign to support city centre businesses

· ensuring that maximum benefit is gained fro the existing calendar of events e.g. the Cultural Olympiad during this year's festivals.

Economic Leader Cllr Tom Buchanan, said: "I'm delighted we're able to give additional money for the marketing and promotion of Edinburgh . This Administration realises the importance of this during difficult economic times so I'm particularly pleased to see additional money going towards 'Open for Business'  -  this should take the sting out of the second phase of the recession."

Edinburgh Design Initiative £25k

Sir Terry Farrell as City Design Champion introduced the notion of 'Place Making' to ensure that the values which made Edinburgh a great liveable city, were understood and continued to shape its future. The Edinburgh Design Initiative has continued to champion 'Place Making' and is using the ' Whole Place ' approach to ensure that the Council understands the real impact of developments and investments.

This £25k will be used to ensure that the proposed new Seaview Children's Respite Centre located at Bingham is developed using the ' Whole Place ' approach and that the masterplan intentions are delivered. These include proposals for community facilities and residential developments.

The designs and layouts for these will be developed in consultation with the local community. In this way, Bingham can be an exemplar project to develop and test the value of the ' Whole Place ' approach.

Pothole and Pavement repairs £500k

Although the condition of the road network has improved dramatically since 2007 (the percentage of the network requiring repair having fallen from over half to less than a third) the last two severe winters have left a number of serious potholes across the city.

The Council has developed an effective new way of treating potholes called "Right First Time". Instead of numerous temporary repairs we will be undertaking far more permanent ones which, although more expensive to begin with, save money over time. This new approach has been piloted in the South West Neighbourhood and has been very well received.

Environment Leader, Councillor Robert Aldridge said: "This Administration has turned around the decline in the condition of Edinburgh 's roads. In 2005/6 over half of the city's roads were in need of repair, that figure is now below one third. The additional £500k in the current financial year for permanent potholes repairs will be spread fairly across Edinburgh , with an additional 'Right First Time' crew in each of the six Neighbourhood Management areas. This will deliver approximately 8000 additional permanent pothole repairs over the next two months."

Street cleansing and local community environmental priorities £650k

Local communities say that being clean, green and safe are priorities to improve their quality of life.

This £650k investment will help deliver on these priorities - leading to improved standards of cleanliness, a better response to tackling graffiti and a range of small projects such as spring cleaning in our parks, open spaces and waterways.

Cllr Aldridge said: "We will mount an Edinburgh Spring Clean initiative, linking to the Keep Scotland Beautiful National Spring Clean, at a cost of £650k. This will include extra street cleansing equipment and a focus on tackling graffiti, as well as delivering a wide range of amenity improvements across the city."