September 2025 news from Councillor Pauline Flannery
Festival Fervour
Congrats to our SN venues hosting multiple events across the Ward: Festival Theatre, Queen’s Hall, Summerhall, Zoo Southside, Pleasance, Assembly Roxy, St George’s Square, St Giles & Marchmont, The Meadows, and just outside the boundary at Middle Meadow Walk, The Edinburgh International Book Festival at the Futures Institute. Highlights for me: Figures in Extinction, NDT/Simon Mc Burney, Festival Theatre; Imprints, the Palimpsest Project, at the Anatomy Theatre, Summerhall; ending on a philosophical note with AC Grayling at the Futures Institute.
A 2025/2026 Welcome
To our new students and returners starting the new academic year at our four Universities: the University of Edinburgh, Heriot Watt, Napier, and Queen Margaret’s. And welcome to our new P1s at Preston Street Primary, Prestonfield Primary, and Sciennes; and our new S1s within our catchment area at James Gillespie's, Liberton High School, and St Thomas of Aquin’s. To students of all ages, staff, parent councils, and parents welcome to the Class of 2026.
Community Grants (CGF) Fund
The CGF is a small grants scheme provided by the City of Edinburgh Council as part of the Council’s commitment to support grassroots initiatives. Southside Newington-based voluntary organisations, community groups or parent councils are invited to apply to the Community Grants Fund (CGF) for grants of up to £5000. The deadline for applications is midnight on Tuesday 30 September 2025. To apply use the online application form: https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/cgfapply
Local Place Plan, shaping the City Plan 2040
There is still time for community groups to produce Local Place Plans which will be taken into account in preparation for the City Plan 2040. These will be considered up to June 2026.
Who can do this? You need to be a properly constituted community body e.g. Community Council, a Community Development Trust or a charity/local organisation relating to, in this instance, South Edinburgh.
What are they? Local Place Plans are community-led plans which outline a community’s vision and proposals for their area. A community group can decide what area it wants to cover – it could be a very small site or a larger part of the city. A Local Place Plan does not need to be a professionally produced document. The important thing is that there is good community engagement.
Why should you engage? The opportunity to produce a Local Place Plan to put the local on the map. Groups can contact the Council via cityplan2040@edinburgh.gov.uk for an informal chat. Here is a link to more information.
Local Place Plan – The City of Edinburgh Council
Astley Ainslie Local Place Plan
The Astley Ainslie Community Trust is drawing up a plan for the Astley Ainslie site and is seeking input and ideas from local residents. The current City Plan 2030 envisages up to 500 homes could be built there. The intention is to submit a Local Place plan to the Council to form part of the next city development plan 2040. The Trust is hosting an event at the Eric Liddell Centre on Saturday 27 September 10.00am till 4.00pm for residents to drop in and share their views about the site and the plan. More information about AACT is available here https://www.aact.scot
Launch of My City App
The aim is to give residents an easy route to report, request, pay or access information on an official Council App. The App is available on Apple Store and is to be released on Google Play. Look out for communications to support this new platform through Autumn. The transactions promoted on the App were selected based on analysis of the Council’s website traffic, accounting for 70% online activity. These have been grouped by theme for ease of use: Roads, Travel, Parking; Bins and Recycling; Schools and learning. Report litter, fly tipping or overflowing bin – The City of Edinburgh Council
Smartening up Ward 15, Southside / Newington
Under the 'Pride in our City' initiative, the Council's Waste and Cleansing Division is deploying specialist teams to smarten up Edinburgh's neighbourhoods, tackling dog fouling, dumped items, graffiti and chewing gum. This is to be done ward by ward. Southside Newington, Ward 15, is expected to get its make-over later in the year, 2025. Meanwhile, to report litter, fly tipping or overflowing bins use: https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/litter
Committee Round-Up, August 2025
Housing, Homelessness & Fair Work, 12 August
Allocations Policy Suspension Update & Costed Plan to Meet Homelessness demandPolicy & Sustainability, 19 August
Engagement on Third Sector Support
Council’s Gaelic Language Plan, 2024 – 2029Culture & Communities, 21 August
Firework Control Zones
Physical Activity and Sports Strategy for Edinburgh 2024 – 2034Edinburgh IJB, 26 August
Review of Contracts & Service Level AgreementsFull Council, 28 August
Third Sector Resilience FundConsultations:
Trams from Granton to Edinburgh Bio Quarter and Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and Beyond, closes 17 November 2025.
Bitesize
ACCT Local Place Plan event, Saturday 27 September, Eric Liddell Centre by Holy Corner, from 10.00am – 4.00pm. Drop in at any time to contribute your views.
(Not so Bitesize but an update) Council Business Plan 2023-2027 Our Future Council, Our Future City Progress Update 2024/25 8.1
Grange Cemetery Open Doors Weekend, Grange Road, EH9 1TT, September 27 & 28
Walk: start anywhere in Southside Newington, Ward 15, to the Talbot Rice Gallery. See Wael Shawky’s large-scale film productions, sculptures and drawings, and honour the Islamic Art Historian, David Talbot Rice, who gave the gallery its name 50 years ago.