Report on the year 2006-07

by Marian McIntyre
(reprinted from The Inverleith News, Spring 2007)

?Re-scheduling of Inverleith News and Annual General Meeting
A few of you might have noticed the omission of the usual Inverleith News in September 2006, and more of you will have been surprised by its appearance now in March 2007. Some of you will remember that we decided to reprogramme the Inverleith Society’s calendar by rescheduling the production of the Inverleith News and the Annual General Meeting from their traditional dates of September and November. This change will avoid the hectic period gathering copy and editing the magazine during August, when, just like the rest of Edinburgh, your Committee is either hosting friends and relations who descend for the Festival, or escaping the mêlée altogether. The next AGM will now be held on Monday 26 March 2007, almost eighteen months after the previous AGM in November 2005.

Community Council Boundaries
At the November 2005 AGM we raised the question of the status of the Inverleith Society in relation to Community Councils. While the Inverleith Society has continued for over thirty years as an amenity society, its presence may have inhibited the pressure for a local Community Council, resulting in Inverleith being one of the few remaining areas not represented by any Community Council. The government, through the local authorities, is now trying to rationalise Community Council boundaries so that each area is represented, and at the same time try to align them better with local government wards.

One option was for the Inverleith Society Committee to re-form as a Community Council for Inverleith, but the Committee was reluctant to do this; we are an independent amenity society rather than a grass-roots sub-stratum of government. The Inverleith Society can continue to operate as it always has, alongside the Community Councils.

Inverleith’s neighbouring Community Councils are Stockbridge, to the south-west, and Trinity to the north. The City Council’s first proposal was that the Inverleith area should be split along Inverleith Row and Inverleith Place, with one part coming under the aegis of Stockbridge Community Council, and the other under Trinity Community Council. However, the Committee recommended that Inverleith should not be divided in this way, and that the whole of Inverleith should be joined with Stockbridge Community Council. The Society endorsed this recommendation at the AGM in November 2005 by a large majority, and this has now been ratified by the City Council.

The former Stockbridge Community Council is now known as the Stockbridge and Inverleith Community Council, and it should be noted that the boundaries of the northern extension are wider than those of the Inverleith Society, stretching all the way along Ferry Road from Crewe Toll to include Warriston Cemetery and Crematorium on the east. We endeavour to have at least one Inverleith Society Committee member in attendance at the monthly meetings. You can access the minutes of these meetings on www.sandicc.com if there is a burning issue to check.

Social Evening
The Society’s Social Evening, held in Eildon Street in November, was well attended and most enjoyable. Remember to register for this event at the forthcoming AGM if you would like to be invited in future.

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Report on the year 2008-09
Report on the year 2007-08
Report on the year 2005-06
Report on the year 2004-05
Report on the year 2003-04
Report on the year 2002-03