Latest news with #Cockburn
ABC News
11 hours ago
- General
- ABC News
Perth library trials social worker program to help people in need
Libraries have always been sanctuaries. They're cool in summer, warm and dry in winter, have free wi-fi, comfortable seats and plenty of entertainment. But when librarians at Success library in Perth's south noticed a teenage girl spending long hours in the library each day, they wanted to help. "Librarians are very passionate about helping people," Cockburn Libraries adult services coordinator Deb Rigby said. "She wasn't at school and she didn't want to be at home because she was suffering from domestic and family violence and she didn't want to leave when the library was closing." Ms Rigby said the cost of living crisis had also brought more people to the library in search of free resources and internet, entertainment and to connect with community. "Librarians and library staff realised that a lot of people had unmet support needs and all they needed was some help in finding the right services and support for their needs," Ms Rigby said. "And they felt that they didn't perhaps have the training needed." The idea for a pilot project was formed. Ms Rigby said it was common for libraries in the US and UK to have social workers stationed in the library. But without funding, they had to think outside the box. With support from Cockburn Integrated Health and Communicare, two students from Curtin University have set up a desk in the library. It's tucked just inside the entrance and is staffed by the students a couple of days a week. Social work students Jenara Lane and Amber Proudfoot said they had so far been able to help dozens of people. "It's a drop in style service," Ms Lane said. "It's accessible to everybody, anybody who uses the library space can come in just have a chat with us, they might be looking for resources, they might need a support service perhaps and be looking for a referral. She said people saw libraries as safe spaces. "It is one of the few spaces left where you can go and feel comfortable and not feel obliged to purchase anything." Ms Proudfoot said similar programs had started in South Australia, Fremantle and Melbourne. "A lot of these supports are set up in a very clinical setting and that can be quite daunting for people to go into, whereas in the library setting everyone is accepted, it's a very culturally safe space for people to attend, it's free, it's warm, it's inviting," she said. The students have access to a quiet room, where they can go with a client to have a confidential chat. Success Library hopes to keep the program running, but libraries are already struggling with funding. WA Local Government Association (WALGA) president Karen Chappel said public libraries promoted social cohesion and wellbeing. "The shift in community expectations and needs is placing pressure on our public libraries, and while the services have changed, funding has not," Ms Chappel said. WALGA wants the state government to provide an extra $30million over four years to restore library funding to pre-2013 levels. "The State Government provides support for public libraries through the provision of funds for library resources, however this is out of step with the needs of modern libraries and is falling behind what is required," Ms Chappel said. Deb Rigby said the service was a natural extension of what the library already offered. "I think that it could be a model for other local governments to adopt," Ms Rigby said.
The Herald Scotland
5 days ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Edinburgh must not kill off the golden goose that makes its fortune
A prominent lawyer and judge, Cockburn was also an early heritage conservationist. In 1849 he wrote 'A Letter to the Lord Provost on the Best Ways of Spoiling the Beauty of Edinburgh' in which he outlined his fears for the future. 'Edinburgh is not exempt from the doom that makes everything spoilable,' he said at the time, urging the citizens of the city to take an interest in their civic surroundings and to hold local officials to account. The Cockburn Association was formed 21 years after his death to carry forward his concerns and passion for Edinburgh. The success of the Cockburn Association over 150 years lies in what you cannot see. Read more Thanks to its campaigning, there is no dual carriageway through the Meadows or skyscraper over Haymarket, no shopping mall beneath Princes Street or high-rise hotel looming over George Street. Civic amenities such as Inverleith Park, Corstorphine Hill and the Water of Leith Walkway were the result the Cockburn's efforts. The demolition of the First New Town was averted and historic buildings like Moubray House in the High Street conserved. With Unesco World Heritage Site status in place since 1995, the past has been protected, but what about the future? I became President of the Cockburn Association this year at pivotal moment for the city. Recent years have seen growing dissatisfaction about over tourism and creeping development. The population of Edinburgh is rising fast and could soon catch up with Glasgow. Some believe it could reach 750,000 in the next 20 years. But where will those people live and work and how will they move around an Old Town and New Town where history is baked into the cobblestones? Those are some of the questions authors Cliff Hague and Richard Rodger set out to answer in a new book published by the Cockburn Association. 'Campaigning For Edinburgh' lays out two possible visions for the future. One has overseas investors throwing up buildings wherever they want as deregulation opens up the city to market forces with a 24-hour party zone attracting even more revellers from all around the world. In the other, removing VAT from repairs and maintenance leads to a conservation boom with old, empty buildings carefully repurposed based on the wants and needs of the citizens rather than consultants or developers. Edinburgh already faces a housing emergency with more children in temporary accommodation in the city than in the whole of Wales. The priority for those kids is not architecture or heritage, they just want a home, but it's our job to ensure the myriad housing projects now taking shape around the capital are of the best possible quality and standard for them. Crucially, these places need to be communities with heart and soul and the facilities to live meaningful lives, not just dormitories for workers to eat and sleep. Edinburgh should not be pickled in aspic, with locals moving about simply as extras in a heritage theme park for visitors. But if the next few years are not carefully managed, progress risks killing the golden goose that attracts people in the first place. The architect behind the controversial W Hotel project promised it would be 'expressive… and make people happy'. Despite all the objections it went ahead. Once built, it was then named the worst new building in the world. That's not an accolade anyone wants. The revelation this month that Edinburgh is now the most expensive city-break destination in Western Europe prompted more negative headlines. But the answer is not to relax short-term let restrictions or build more cheap hotels. The solution is to manage numbers and the 5% visitor levy coming next year will help do that. The revenue also provides an opportunity to invest in the civic realm or to employ an army of workers to clean the streets, remove graffiti and pick up litter… all paid for by the tourist tax. There is a lot to be optimistic about. Management of the Old Town is already better with short-term let restrictions rejecting 90% of applications. Council plans to cut traffic volumes are also welcome provided they come with continued investment in transport alternatives. The Cockburn Association is always looking to support what is right for Edinburgh. The reborn Jenners site and the exciting new Dunard Concert Hall are two current projects we've backed with enthusiasm. More than anything, we need bold vision, based on sound heritage and architectural principles rather than the latest trend on Tik Tok . Princes Street remains an eyesore and visual proof of the decay and death of retail. The ambition that led 26-year-old James Craig to design the New Town is required now to revitalise that key thoroughfare and to guide where we go from here. Edinburgh has never been more popular but much of that popularity comes down to what has been s0 carefully protected and preserved. Over the past 150 years a lot of battle have been fought over Scotland's capital and a lot of lessons learned. They should provide the blueprint for the future to protect Edinburgh's beauties for the next generation. Stephen Jardine, President of the Cockburn Association, is a journalist, broadcaster and presenter. He has worked for the BBC, Scottish Television, GMTV and Radio Tay.
Scotsman
24-05-2025
- General
- Scotsman
How Edinburgh was saved from skyscrapers – and why the fight continues
Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... What do you want Edinburgh to look like in 2050? That's the question posed in a new book celebrating this year's 150th anniversary of the Cockburn Association. Scotland's oldest conservation charity was established to continue the work of Lord Cockburn, who called for the preservation of the beauties of Edinburgh in the face of those who believe 'everything can be valued in money'. So much changes, yet so much remains the same. When you look around Edinburgh today, the work of the Cockburn Association is in everything you don't see. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad There is no motorway through the Meadows or underground shopping mall the length of Princes Street, no high-rise hotel on George Street or skyscraper towering over Haymarket because of battles that were hard fought and won against developers and planners down the years. If you want to see what Edinburgh might have become, just take a trip to Glasgow. Edinburgh would still be recognisable to people who lived there in the 19th century (Picture: Andrew Milligan) | PA Preserving the past, looking to the future 'But the past is a foreign country, they do things differently there', as novelist LP Hartley once said. Preserving what went before is one thing but Edinburgh needs to have a future as well as a past. That's why I agreed to become the president of the Cockburn Association as it reshapes for the challenges of the future. In their new book, authors Cliff Hague and Richard Rodger set out two competing visions of what the city might look like. In one, Edinburgh development runs rampant with Chinese and Middle Eastern investors throwing up high-rise buildings wherever they can, as deregulation allows revellers to party non-stop in the city centre. In the other, an Edinburgh model emerges where decision-making is led by citizens, based on lived experience rather than the view of consultants or investors. VAT is stripped from repairs and maintenance leading to a building conservation boom with empty churches and shopping centres repurposed for housing, community hubs and youth centres, the tram network spreads throughout the city, and local neighbourhoods thrive. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The difference between the two really comes down to intervention. When people do nothing, market forces will always dominate. However if we want the best possible outcome, then we have to roll up our sleeves and help shape our own future. Every day is a school day Experience shows us Edinburgh's future is most likely to be somewhere between the two extremes. Holding back commercial forces is incredibly difficult as the controversial W Hotel project proves. Built with American pension fund money, it overcame all objections with the architect saying'it is communicative, it is expressive and it is supposed to make people happy'. Instead, it topped a poll as the worst new building in the world. However, every day is a school day and there are lessons to be learned from that project as well as from all the developments that are turned down and every attempt to commercially exploit what should be free public space in the city centre. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad
Scotsman
23-05-2025
- Scotsman
Convicted OAP back behind bars for dangerous driving in electric wheelchair on busy road in the dark
A convicted child sex offender is back behind bars - after he was caught erratically driving an electric wheelchair along a busy main road. Sign up to the daily Crime UK newsletter. All the latest crime news and trials from across the UK. Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Robert Cockburn, 78, was spotted riding his electric wheelchair in the dark without any lights or reflective materials on the coastal road between Port Seton and Aberlady in East Lothian. Cockburn was said to have driven the power chair at 'grossly insufficient speeds' while swerving across the carriageway into the path of oncoming vehicles. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Motorists were forced to take evasive action to avoid colliding with the pensioner as he repeatedly attempted to re-enter the roadway during the dangerous incident on Monday this week. The police were alerted to the situation and Cockburn, from Port Seton, East Lothian, was arrested and charged. Electric wheelchairs can typically travel at speeds between four and eight miles per hour. The OAP spent the night in the cells and appeared from custody at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Thursday where he pleaded guilty to a charge of culpably and recklessly operating the electric wheelchair in the hours of darkness. Sheriff Francis Gill remanded Cockburn in custody and deferred sentence for social work reports to next month. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Robert Cockburn, 78, was spotted riding his electric wheelchair in the dark without any lights or reflective materials on the coastal road between Port Seton and Aberlady in East Lothian, on Monday, May 19. | Alexander Lawrie Cockburn first hit the headlines in 2017 when he refused to use his mobility scooter on the pavement and regularly held traffic up by trundling along the B1348 road between Port Seton and nearby Longniddry. The retired bus inspector defied angry motorists by claiming he was not breaking any law and that the police were powerless to stop him travelling on the busy road. In 2023 Cockburn was jailed for 212 days when he admitted to a series of sexual offences - including exposing himself to children - carried out over a 14 month period. The pensioner flashed his genitals to women at a supermarket and asked adult men for sexual favours when he repeatedly attended at a public toilet in Musselburgh, East Lothian. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The pervert also exposed his genitals to two schoolboys aged 12 and 14 and asked them to perform a sex act in him at the same public convenience. He was handed an ASBO banning him from entering any public toilet building in East Lothian, but after his release from prison last year he soon began breaching the order. Cockburn was seen within the public convenience near his home in Port Seton where he would sit on the toilet in a state of undress with the door open so members of the public could see him. A second incident at the same location soon after saw the repeat offender smear faeces on the walls of the toilets. He also deliberately watched men while they urinated at toilets at the capital's Waverley train station and exposed himself to women at a dental clinic in Prestonpans, East Lothian. Sentence had been deferred on several occasions for the possibility of Cockburn being re-located to a care home but the court was told no facility was prepared to accept him as a resident. He was eventually caged for eight months and placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years in September last year.
Scotsman
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
Scottish golf club 'punching above its weight' set for centenary celebrations
Bonnybridge urging members to wear tartan and even kilts for milestone tournament Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... A nine-hole Scottish golf club that continues to 'punch above its weight' is celebrating its centenary this weekend. Bonnybridge Golf Club has a two-day programme of events planned to make the milestone occasion while it is also hosting a Scottish Golf tournament early next month. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad An evening of entertainment at the club on Friday will include the raising of a centenary flag while members are being 'encouraged' to wear tartan or even a kilt for a nine-hole scramble on Saturday. Bonnybridge Golf Club is hosting the Scottish 9-Hole Championship next month as part of its centenary celebrations | Contributed Then, on 6 June, the club will stage the Scottish 9-Hole Championship, which will see the three leading pairs qualify for The R&A 9-Hole Challenge at Royal Portrush on the eve of the 153rd Open. 'It's obviously so exciting and such a proud moment to be celebrating 100 years of golf at a nine-hole golf club that for 100 years has been run by volunteers,' said club captain Clive Cockburn. 'Given the current economic hardship surrounding all golf clubs, it's nothing short of amazing but also testament to our hard-working staff and committees over the years and, of course, our very valued members who are very passionate and hold the club close. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Who would have thought after the opening day in 1925, that 100 years on, amongst other things the club would have survived another World War, the effects of Rechem's incineration plant, a banking crisis and an outbreak of one of the worst pandemics in world history. 'Our little village club has punched above its weight, producing no fewer than seven players who turned professional, along with many great amateur golfers, several of whom have represented Stirlingshire. 'There have been many members, ladies and gents who have won notable county and Scottish open competitions over the 100 years.' To mark the centenary, an auction is being held to raise funds for the club, with lots including a fourball at Gleneagles, two fourballs at Fraserburgh and a Falkirk FC top signed by the members of this season's Scottish Championship-winning squad. Top prize in a centenary raffle, meanwhile, is a fourball at Archerfield Links. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'As we enter 2025, we have a greenkeeping facility full of modern machinery and a course in a condition to match any in the country,' added proud member Cockburn. Clive Cockburn has written a book charting the Stirlingshire club's history | Contributed 'We are working hard to qualify for the GEO accreditation for sustainable golf, giving the club a place among the world's most environmentally committed golf clubs. 'It's great that we are hosting the Scottish 9-Hole Challenge this year and in our club championship final last year we had two home-grown juniors, with 15-year-old Kyle Hamilton defeating 16-year-old Luke McNulty.'
