Leader's Report

Sean Stephen

I want to begin by passing on my condolences once again to the family and friends of Sean Stephen who tragically passed away in the Customer Hub on the Royal Mile early last month. I also want to repeat my assurances that the Council has fully supported Police Scotland with their inquiries, which are continuing.

Based on our understanding of the circumstances following his death, we immediately reviewed all arrangements with our security contractor. We then commissioned an independent investigation to help us to determine why procedures weren’t followed correctly and what further action we need to take. This will be completed as soon as the Police have concluded their own investigation.

Summertime in the city

We’re proud to bring some of the world’s best arts and culture to our city each summer. From the Jazz and Blues Festival in July, through to the Fringe, Art, Film, Book, Military Tattoo and International festivals throughout this month, we’re truly spoiled for choice here in the culture capital of the world.

Add to that three sell-out and hugely successful Oasis concerts, which saw over 200,000 fans flock to Murrayfield, the return of rockers AC/DC to their Scottish roots on Thursday evening and the forthcoming Summer Sessions concerts, it promises to be a month like no other.

Of course, this doesn’t happen by accident and it’s thanks to the hard work of Council officers and our partners in the lead up to, during and after events that they run so smoothly. It’s also thanks to many months of careful planning and preparation – and taking on board the lessons from previous years, particularly around how we communicate with local residents and businesses.

Aside from the cultural benefits our festivals and events bring to the city and our residents, it’s also important to remember just how vital they are to our economy. Tourism in Edinburgh sustains over 30,000 jobs, bringing in £2.7 billion worth of visitor spend each year, with the festivals alone supporting over 7,000 FTE jobs and contributing £407 million. Beyond that, of course, it affords us, as residents, the choice of restaurants, bars, and other attractions that we simply wouldn’t be able to enjoy otherwise.

For all these benefits, however, our growing popularity comes at a cost – both to the Council and to the city. We’re increasingly aware of the impact this has on our services and on our residents, and that we have a responsibility to manage this as best we can.

One way we can do this is through the introduction of the Edinburgh Visitor Levy next July. This is a fantastic opportunity to raise much-needed funds for the whole city as well as improving and sustaining the things that make Edinburgh such a great place to live in and visit. It can’t come quickly enough.

Back to school

For many young people across the city, last week marked the end of the summer holidays and the start of the new school year. I hope you’re all well rested and ready for the year ahead.

Over the holidays, 12,860 of our young people received their SQA results, and I was pleased to see that attainment remains high across the board. A particular highlight for me was the achievements we’re seeing in vocational courses, with more than 1,700 of our young people gaining awards in National Progression Award courses – a 61% increase in the number of passes at levels 4, 5 and 6.

Alongside traditional standard grade, higher and advanced higher courses, it’s really encouraging to see the growing range of courses on offer in our secondary schools, including film, fitness, stonemasonry and even data science. There really is something for everyone.

Alongside the results themselves, our young people are telling us that this broader range of subjects is having a positive impact. As well as helping to grow their self-confidence and develop hands-on skills, they value the choice, with many having already secured employment and apprenticeships with local businesses.

There is much to be proud of and look forward to in the new school year, and I wish everyone a fantastic start to the new term and a successful year ahead.

A powerful reminder of climate change

While we’ve all been enjoying what must be one of the most pleasant festival seasons weatherwise in recent memory, it has been heart-breaking to see the damage caused to Arthur’s Seat and elsewhere by wildfires. Weather conditions meant the fire spread quickly and I’m hugely grateful to the emergency services who worked so hard to keep people and wildlife safe.

This year has brought the driest start to the summer for decades, yet we’ve also endured damage to our homes, roads and parks from ever more frequent and devastating storms. Such extremes are only set to continue, which is why we’re working hard to deliver the actions in our ambitious Climate Ready Edinburgh Plan, so that we can be resilient and ready for more severe weather events in the future.

I’m glad to report that our work towards achieving our climate goals is being globally recognised, with Edinburgh awarded ‘A-list’ status from the Carbon Disclosure Project. These efforts are set to be bolstered when we receive funding from the Bloomberg Philanthropies i-Team initiative, which will help us to develop innovative solutions to tackle both climate change and poverty – two of the biggest challenges of our time.

On track for transport and active travel

Sticking with our climate ambitions, we’ll soon be seeking the public’s views on our plans to expand our hugely popular and multi award-winning tram service. From next Monday, people will be able to have their say on the proposed new tram routes from Granton in the north of the city to Edinburgh BioQuarter and the Royal Infirmary.

This consultation will help us to develop a Strategic Business Case for the project, which councillors will consider in detail at a Transport and Environment Committee meeting next year. This is a key stage in the process, and I’d encourage everyone to share their views with us. The expansion has the potential to bring significant social, economic, and environmental benefits to our city, while helping us to face the challenges of the future.

Elsewhere, you may have seen Voi named as the preferred provider for our two-year cycle hire pilot scheme – which I’m glad to say will come at no cost to the public purse. Voi already operates in over 100 locations across 11 countries and I’m looking forward to seeing them here in Edinburgh.

We’ll be launching the scheme later this month before expanding across the city in the autumn. From offering better transport choices while reducing congestion and pollution, I look forward to the benefits the scheme will bring to the city and our residents.

Celebrating Edinburgh's literary heritage

As the world’s first UNESCO City of Literature, we have much to be proud of, both in terms of our many centuries of literary heritage, together with our ongoing support for literature and the arts.

Our libraries are of course central to this, and I was delighted that Her Majesty the Queen joined Culture and Communities Convener Margaret Graham and Deputy Lieutenant Sir Ian Rankin to officially open the doors of the city’s brand-new Ratho Library in July. It was wonderful to hear Queen Camilla’s words of appreciation and delight at the opening of a new library, when so many are being forced to close their doors elsewhere.

HM The Queen also helped launch Paper Trails, our partnership project with the International Book Festival, a fantastic initiative helping to tackle social isolation, especially among older adults, by encouraging library use and developing creative skills.

Throughout Edinburgh’s 20 years as a City of Literature, one person has been a driving force behind its success and I was delighted that Director, Ali Bowden, was named the 19th recipient of the Edinburgh Award last month.

Ali will join literary giants JK Rowling and Ian Rankin in having her handprints set in stone outside the City Chambers before receiving the Loving Cup from the Lord Provost in a ceremony later this year.

Grow your own!

Eating and growing food locally is another way we can address our collective impact on the climate, and I’m pleased that our new Grow Your Own Fund is supporting some fantastic local projects to do just that.

Just last week, we announced the 13 worthy recipients of a portion of this £52,500 fund, which will help groups to create food growing spaces and provide education and training for those looking to get involved. These innovative projects include setting up a food growing initiative on the site of a former nuclear bunker on Corstorphine Hill and an outdoor farm at Longstone Primary School.

Not only is food growing kind to the environment, but it benefits our health and wellbeing too. By helping groups to do everything from purchasing seeds, plants, and tools to delivering education and training activities, the Grow Your Own Fund is bringing these benefits to even more people.

Craigroyston kicks on with great new facilities

Finally, it was my great pleasure last week to hand over the keys to the young people and coaches of Craigroyston Community Youth Football Club as we opened their fantastic new pavilion on Marine Drive.

The half a million-pound project, which forms part of our wider £1.3bn generation of Granton Waterfront, has delivered modern changing rooms with showers and a café for club members, their families and other visitors to enjoy.

The club had been based on neighbouring land, but their facilities were in poor condition and in desperate need of replacement. This arrangement, kindly supported by Cruden Homes, freed up the land for us to build 143 new environmentally friendly affordable homes, while delivering great new facilities for the community.

Investing in our young people is an important part of any regeneration project and I hope this helps the club to thrive and attract new members for many years to come.