Sufficient number of nominees for new Old Town Community Council
At least eight valid nominations for community councillors have been received as new members of Old Town Community Council.
In addition a Local Interest Group Representative has also put themselves forward for membership.
The minimum number of elected representatives for a new version of the Old Town Community Council after the recent elections was six.
Old Town Community Council was one of eight community councils which failed to reach the minimum number of nominations in the first round of elections. It would have collapsed if not for a second round of nominations organised by The City of Edinburgh Council, and nominations closed just last week.
Cllr Finlay McFarlane who has been the Returning Officer for the Old Town Community Council Election is delighted. He said: 'I am over the moon that the oldest residential community in the city has rallied to save their Community Council. The Old Town Community Council is an incredibly important voice whose absence would have been a tragic consequence of the councils failure to listen and properly respond to city centre communities.
'Without their campaigning, we may have not secured controls over Short-Term Lets (STLs) from The Scottish Government – a policy already beginning to show green shoots of renewal in one of the most hollowed out areas of the city with residents reporting long-term neighbours returning to their stairs as STLs revert to residential use.
'To say the process for residents wanting to step forward as a community councillor was convoluted would be an understatement. The Crannie Community Hub has been an invaluable help to me in attempting to make the process as easy as possible and acting as a hub for co-ordinating efforts to resurrect the community council and I would like to extend my thanks to them for all their support.
'I look forward to calling the AGM of the new community council term and would encourage the wider community to engage with their work, as I will promise to do everything I can as a city councillor for the Old Town to help secure real change to improve the lives of residents living there.'
Fellow Old Town councillor, Margaret Graham has called for a review of the community council election procedure, saying that she wants 'to give community councils more power and impact within the local community'.
The Old Town is the centre of the Festival Fringe PHOTO Alan Simpson 7/8/2024
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