[ACE] URGENT - ACE premises: action needed

[Mike92@riseup.net]

URGENT ACTION NEEDED BY THIS TUESDAY - PLEASE SUPPORT ACE BY WRITING TO THE COUNCILLORS ON THE PLANNING COMMITTEE 

 

This Wednesday 15th August the relevant Council committee will decide on the application by ACE's landlord for planning permission to permit him to turn the ACE premises into a flat.  We appeal to all supporters of ACE to e mail the councillors on the committee - addresses below - to urge them to reject this application.

 

While we have, in the last week, managed to negotiate a new 3 year lease with the landlord, it is still important to try to stop this "change of use" application - if we succeed in doing this then we will be in a much stronger position to keep the premises in the longer term.  On the other hand, if the Council grants the landlord's application, after the 3 year lease expires we will face the potential danger that the landlord could try and proceed with plans to convert the premises into a flat.

 

Thanks to everyone who wrote in objections to the Council Planning Department.  Despite the short notice no fewer than 247 letters of objection were received, plus two petitions.  It is because of all these objections that the decision has been referred to a committee of councillors.  Without your support the Planning Department would undoubtedly have approved the application.  Nevertheless the Planners are recommending to the councillors that they accept the landlord's application.  This makes it doubly important for as many people as possible to send in more e mails, this time to the actual councillors on the committee.

 

At this stage it is especially important to have support from people who live in Edinburgh.  And it is crucially important to have support from people who live in the neighbourhood of the premises, eg in EH7, in the London Road/ Easter Road/ Leith Walk area to prove ACE meets a real local need.  If you live in Edinburgh  PLEASE do make sure you send a message to the councillors, it could make a real difference.

 

Please e mail asap, by this Monday 13th if possible, and at the latest by the afternoon of Tuesday 14th, sorry about the short notice.

 

Things you could stress in your message include :

 

ACE meets a real local need.  There is nowhere else in the area which provides similar resources and facilities.

 

Facilities provided by ACE include :

Leith Wholefoods Coop, good quality healthy food at affordable prices

A local outlet for Fair trade coffee and other fair trade products

Free internet and computer access, with informal tuition

Womens Health Workshops

A community meeting space, both for individuals and for groups

Community film showings

Advice and support for people faced with debt, benefits, housing and other problems

Access to information on a wide range of social issues

Valuable volunteering opportunities

 

 

Granting this application to convert a thriving community space into a flat would go against important provisions of the Edinburgh City Local Plan, which states in Chapter Six :

"it is an objective of the Plan to resist the conversion of empty shop units to residential use, and to safeguard these for shopping and small business use" (6.21) 

"(Housing) Development involving the loss of valuable local community facilities without replacement will not be allowed, unless appropriate alternative provision is to be made."

"Facilities such as local doctor and dental surgeries, local shops, community halls and meeting rooms are necessary to foster community life. Equally, the Council will seek to retain facilities of proven value, if threatened by redevelopment proposals without prospect of replacement." (3.18)

On similar lines, in the Central Edinburgh Local Plan - 

Policy S9 (PROTECTION OF SHOPPING - LOCAL NEED) seeks the retention in

shopping use of existing shopping facilities for which there is a clear local need.

 

PLEASE E MAIL THE COUNCILLORS ON THE DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT SUB COMMITTEE OF THE PLANNING COMMITTEE

which will consider the planning application from the ace landlord, at their meeting this wed 15th

Councillor Lowrie (Convener) (Scottish Liberal Democrat)
jim.lowrie at edinburgh.gov.uk

Councillor Rob Munn (SNP)    rob.munn at edinburgh.gov.uk

 Councillor Dundas (Scottish Liberal Democrat) City Centre
> charles.dundas at edinburgh.gov.uk
> Councillor Morris (Scottish Liberal Democrat)  Forth
> elaine.morris at edinburgh.gov.uk
> Councillor Peacock (Scottish Liberal Democrat) Craigentinny/Duddingston
> gary.peacock at edinburgh.gov.uk
> Councillor Thomas (Scottish Liberal Democrat) Leith Links
> marjorie.thomas at edinburgh.gov.uk
> Councillor Keir (SNP) Drumbrae/Gyle  Drumbrae/Gyle
> colin.keir at edinburgh.gov.uk
> Councillor McIvor (Vice Convener) (SNP) Inverleith
> stuart.mcivor at edinburgh.gov.uk
> Councillor Buchanan (SNP) Liberton/Gilmerton 
> tom.buchanan at edinburgh.gov.uk
> Councillor Hinds (Labour) Muirhouse/Drylaw  lesley.hinds at edinburgh.gov.uk
> Councillor Hart (Labour) Liberton/Gilmerton Norma.Hart at edinburgh.gov.uk
> Councillor Milligan (Labour) Stenhouse eric.milligan at edinburgh.gov.uk
> Councillor Mowat (Conservative) City Centre Joanna.Mowat at edinburgh.gov.uk
> Councillor Rose (Conservative) Southside/Newington
> Cameron.Rose at edinburgh.gov.uk
> Councillor Paisley (Conservative) Baberton 
> alastair.paisley at edinburgh.gov.uk
> Councillor Burgess (Green) Southside/Newington
> steve.burgess at edinburgh.gov.uk





----------------------------------------------------------

The meeting starts at 10am on Wed 15th August at the City Chambers, High St, and is open to the public.  At present the ACE item is scheduled to be heard towards the end of the meeting, though that may change.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

 

AUTONOMOUS CENTRE OF EDINBURGH 17 WEST MONTGOMERY PLACE EDINBURGH EH7 5HA

OPEN 

TUES 1-4PM - INCLUDING ADVICE AND SOLIDARITY ON BENEFITS, DEBT ETC

SAT 10AM - 6PM

TEL 0131 557 6242

Plus regular meetings of  IWW, Edinburgh Chiapas Solidarity Group, Edinburgh Claimants etc.

www.autonomous.org.uk    ace at autonomous.org.uk

ACE monthly meetings at the premises, 7.30pm first Wednesday each month.  All interested welcome.

 

 

 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.mutualaid.org/pipermail/ace/attachments/20070812/f4f675f3/attachment.html