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Edinburgh Reporter
3 days ago
- Politics
- Edinburgh Reporter
Action needed to control busking in the capital councillor warns
Action is needed to control busking in the Capital, a councillor has warned, as it emerged new rules for performers have been delayed beyond the start of the summer. The council started work last year to try and develop new rules for busking and busker management. Officers had intended to submit a report on the topic in autumn last year – but this has since been delayed until beyond the start of this summer. Liberal Democrat councillor Edward Thornley put forward a motion to the city's Culture and Communities Committee calling for an update on busking in the city. In it, he asks for council officers to present information on how effective temporary measures put in place during summer 2024 were, highlighting any new approaches and asking for any data that might be available. Last summer, the council put up posters at popular busking spots reminding performers of rules and passed out 'busking guides', in addition to an increased level of street outreach. He also asks that officers provide an update on the report concerning the new busker rules, and an outline of what steps will be taken towards their introduction. Officers met with buskers, fringe acts and members of the public when developing the new rules. At present, the council's rules for busking are available on the city's website. It calls on buskers to only perform between 9am and 9pm, and to move to a new site at least 50 metres away after every hour. Additionally, it asks them to keep the volume of their performances low, to not disturb nearby businesses and residents. It also says that buskers should not pitch up within 50 metres of another performer, and calls on them to not block pavements, doorways or cashpoints. It further says that Police Scotland can charge and seize the equipment of buskers in some circumstances. As of now, buskers do not need a licence to perform in the city. By Joseph Sullivan Local Democracy Reporter Like this: Like Related
Edinburgh Reporter
12-05-2025
- Business
- Edinburgh Reporter
Trading standards officials in Edinburgh lack funds to tackle vape ban
Trading standards officials in Edinburgh have warned that they lack extra funding to tackle enforcement of the upcoming single use vapes ban. In a report to councillors, they say that any efforts to combat sales of disposable vapes will have to be drawn from existing resources, pulling staff from other tasks. And they said there would be a need to enforce the new rules, with test purchases of tobacco and vapes over the last year seeing 42% of venues tested illegally selling products to under-18s. From 1 June 2025, single-use vapes will become illegal across the UK as part of an effort to help reduce littering and other environmental issues. The legislation places the responsibility for enforcement with council trading standards teams, but officers say that no new funding has come from the Scottish Government to help with enforcement. And, they say the council is not technically legally required to enforce the ban – however, they say the health and environmental impacts of vaping make it a priority. Enforcing the single use vape ban will incur extra costs for the trading standards team due to the cost of disposing of seized goods. Officers said that some of the cost of running enforcement activities could be met through income from fixed penalty notices – but that it would be 'unlikely' to cover the full costs of enforcing the legislation. COSLA, the trade group representing councils to the Scottish government, also believes more funding should be made available to councils to enforce the ban. Officers also provided an update on their current enforcement activities around tobacco and vaping products. The trading standards team said that it had undertaken 99 test purchases across the city this year. They found that in 42 cases, vapes had been sold to under-18s, leading to 24 fixed penalty notices being issued. And, they said that for the first time ever, the council had applied to the Sheriff Court for a banning order, preventing a premise which had failed three separate test purchases from selling tobacco or vapes. A second application for a banning order is in progress for another premises. Officers noted that the enforcement teams specifically targeted premises where high numbers of complaints had been received. According to the report, the council's efforts to enforce the single use vape ban will start later in 2025. They also said that enforcing the expected lifetime ban on purchasing nicotine products for those born on or after 1 January 2009 will also cause additional pressure on the city's trading standards team. By Joseph Sullivan Local Democracy Reporter Like this: Like Related
Edinburgh Reporter
01-05-2025
- Business
- Edinburgh Reporter
Bonnington Mains quarry denied permission to expand
A quarry in Edinburgh has been denied permission to expand over concerns about the impact on locals. The Bonnington Mains quarry, which sits just south of the junction of the M8 and M9 in Newbridge, had applied for planning permission to expand in fields to the southwest. Council officers recommended that planning permission be granted, but a majority of Edinburgh's development sub committee voted against it. Owned by construction materials firm Breedon, the quarry opened in the early 1990s, with a period of closure through the 2010s. Bosses at the firm told councillors that they wanted to open a material recycling site on the premises, and use products from it to fill in the quarry when it closes. But some locals said they did not believe their plans were feasible. One objector told councillors: 'We believe that this resource is best kept in the ground at this time. This will, for a historic amount of time, be a massive cavity in the ground. 'It will be restored some way by reclamation, but it will not be restored to farmland. We will not get this hole in the ground taken away.' Respondents and councillors also raised concerns about the impact of the expanded quarry on the local area, as well as the increased road traffic it could cause. Councillors eventually voted eight to three against approving the expansion of the quarry. The decision stood in contrast to another one later in the day, where the same councillors approved the expansion of the Ravelrig quarry west of Balerno. SNP councillor Neil Gardiner, who represents part of the area surrounding the quarry, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: 'Following numerous local objections Ratho residents will be happy that the proposed quarry on the farm field next to Bonnington Mains Quarry was rejected at the Development Management Subcommittee. 'This field is not identified for mineral extraction in the City Plan 2030 and has protections as a countryside area. 'The Ratho Community also has concerns about the current quarry.' By Joseph Sullivan Local Democracy Reporter Like this: Like Related
Edinburgh Reporter
24-04-2025
- Business
- Edinburgh Reporter
Edinburgh Council overpaid staff to the tune of £1.78m in five years
Edinburgh Council has overpaid staff to the tune of £1,780,000 over what is believed to be five years – with councillors being asked to write off almost £140,000 in unrecovered overpayments and implement changes to reduce the burden of overpayments on staff. In a report to councillors, officers said 1,459 staff members had been overpaid in that time – 579 of them being current staff, while 880 had already left the council. The council report said that the bulk of the overpayments – £1.1m – were made to staff in education, including cases where 'council or school management was at fault' which risked causing staff significant financial hardship. Some £440,000 came from the city's Place division, while £200,000 came from the Health and Social Care Partnership, £32,800 came from Corporate Services and £1,600 from the Chief Executive's Office. Councillors are now set to consider a new pay policy, which would aim to make repaying overpaid wages less burdensome. If councillors approve changes, employees who have been overpaid over several months will have at least as many months as they were overpaid to pay back the excess wages. Officers also want to see £139,978.80 of overpaid wages written off, which come from 27 cases of overpayment. All involve situations where efforts to reach employees to set up repayment plans have been unsuccessful. According to the report, 20% of salary overpayments were due to 'processing errors', while 34% was due to issues with annual leave calculations. And 36% were due to 'late information submitted to HR', while 4% were listed under 'system error'. The bulk of overpayments were made to staff on grades 1 through 4 on the council's pay scale, with under a third of current employee overpayment cases and under a fifth of overpayment cases for staff who have left the organisation falling above this band. Labour councillor Mandy Watt, convener of the Finance and Resources committee said: 'Our payroll salary and wage payments are around £550m annually, for a workforce of over 17,000 colleagues, and on average 99.5% of monthly payments are accurate. 'We've recently taken a more considered approach to overpayments, allowing more flexible and extended repayment plans to be put in place. 'Where an overpayment has been made, the new pay policy encourages colleagues to get involved in the process, so a repayment plan can be agreed which takes all the circumstances into account. 'There's also a new HR and Payroll system which gives all colleagues improved visibility of the information that's used to calculate their pay and they can view their payslip electronically each month allowing earlier discussion of any potential issues.' The overpayment was reported in the Edinburgh Reporter last September following a Freedom of Information request. By Joseph Sullivan Local Democracy Reporter Like this: Like Related
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Yahoo
Wichita police to provide feedback on gunshot detection policy
Video above is from a meeting held in January. WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – The Wichita Police Department will provide feedback and get input on its gunshot detection policy at a meeting next week. It will be on Thursday, April 10, 6 to 10 p.m., at Strangers Rest Missionary Baptist Church, 2521 N. Grove. 'This meeting will highlight how your feedback has influenced the policy's direction and the changes we have made on some of your recommendations,' Kris Gupilan, Wichita Police Department public information officer, said. Police Chief Joseph Sullivan and Deputy Chief Paul Duff will attend. The last meeting was held in January. Wichita City Council approves gunshot detecting device 'We held our first meeting input session to hear your thoughts and ideas. Now we are returning to share the progress we've made in response to your input,' he said. 'Your voice continues to play a vital role in this process, and we hope to see you there as we work together to build a safer Wichita.' For more Kansas news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news by downloading our mobile app and signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track 3 Weather app by clicking here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
