Spies, Statues and CPOs

A statue of Trump in Edinburgh?

Sign petiton to stop him clearing people from their homes

Anti Trump Protests held across Scotland see STV piece here


Remember CPOs would have to be enforced to enable Caltongate to happen.
see item 4.1 in this document by council
see more news at tripping up trump on spying story...

"Murrayburgh" on TV last night

What a shock to the people of the republic last night when Allan Murray appeared on our screens in yet another Coast spin off type programme,"Scotland Revealed".



The first part of the programme concentrates on Edinburgh, pretty basic stuff and it's 11 or so minutes in, that the architect of Murrayburgh appears to wake you up out of your primary school mindset with teacher Charles Mckean of Edinburgh World Heritage Trust watch here


Another programme we caught this week was Jonathan Meades "Off Kilter" where he visits Aberdeen.

50 mins in he ends the programme with an entertaining and to the point piece on "Trumpton" Remember you can sign the Tripping Up Trump petition

Say NO to compulsory purchase and sign their petition!

Tripping up Trump

Tripping Up Trump is a fresh energised movement standing up for the local people and environment threatened by Donald Trump’s development in Aberdeenshire.

This real life story is no longer just about whether you agree or not with the controversial golf and housing complex. This is now about the human rights of the local people threatened by Donald Trump’s aggressive use of power. Trump is pushing to use compulsory purchase to clear local people from their land, not for a school, or a hospital, but for his profit.

Worse still, Trump received outlined planning permission on the grounds that he had all the land he needed. This is why Tripping Up Trump stands strong, demanding that Donald Trump doesn’t abuse the law and locals affected by his controversial golf course.

Say NO to compulsory purchase and sign their petition!

Like the Caltongate Clearances its a case of homes not hotels, our homes are not on a monopoly board for the rich and greedy.

Photo below shows SOOT campaigners setting up their demonstration outside City of Edinburgh Council City Chambers on the Royal Mile on the morning of the 15th June 2006 before the planning committee met for the third time to consider the revised Masterplan The Forum attended and gave a deputation calling for a council and community led plan.

Movie making in Edinburgh

Pave Paradise and put up a parking lot

The Edinburgh International Film Festival is on at the moment.

In today`s Scotsman Local Hero director Bill Forsyth

"the Scottish film-maker said yesterday he would happily write a film about the "machinations and cynicism" he saw behind the project."

" Speaking during a visit to the Edinburgh International Film Festival, the director said: "Donald Trump gets off a plane and wanders off to a Scottish beach, declares how beautiful it is and wants to destroy it."

Remember we told you back in April 2008 that we had been approached about a film
What we said -

"Its an exciting time here in the Canongate. The campaign has been approached by a world famous film director who is setting their next film here in Scotland. Its caught their attention that Scotland, although it has its first SNP led government and has its eyes on independence, all is not well across the country.

All we are allowed to say at present is that the Save Our Old Town Campaign and the battle against Trump will be the main story lines. Other campaigns around the country will feature too.

It will be a 21st century Local Hero , but harder hitting with the power of big business, corruption in local and national politics and the Scottish people fighting for their rightful inheritance among the themes watch this space...."

Things are progressing .....

Scotland the Theme Park?

Scotland`s people should be heard in the National Planning Framework

Otherwise there may be more Caltongates, unnessary demolitions, more clearances, more erosion of our heritage and culture in the name of greed and development, everyone should be listened to , not just the Manish Chandes and Donald Trumps of this world.

Look at what greed and selfishness has reaped from the last ten years....the worse is still to come. Do we want to be a sad little theme park with the natives serving the visitors as they fly into airports that used to be our farm, homes, heritage and countryside....

What is the National Planning Framework?

You may be aware of the NPF and its importance to all planning decisions.

It is the most important planning document in Scotland today because it sets out what is going to happen in Scotland over the next 20 years.

The NPF is a legal document, once it has established that there is a need for development in a certain area there will be very little you will be able to do to stop it.

All you will be able to do is to influence where it goes and what it looks like.

There are 12 national developments stated in the document. These developments are very likely to go ahead as the NPF effectively removes the ability to question the "need" for the development through any subsequent planning process.

They include airport expansion, the Beauly Denny overhead transmission line and new coal fired power stations amongst others.

So get involved, as an individual or as a group, act before Monday the 12th of January but if you can`t then send it anyway, better late than never......

ACT NOW

How to Give Evidence to the Committee who are Scrutinizing the NPF Document Written views of no more than six sides of A4 can be sent by e-mail to

lgc.committee@scottish.parliament.uk.

You can submit evidence in hard copy to -

The Clerk to the Local Government and Communities Committee
Room T3.40
The Scottish Parliament
Edinburgh
EH99 1SP

The Local Government and Communities Committee are looking at the NPF document over the next 60 days (they will finish the first week of March). They have asked for people to give evidence by 12th January 2009.

They are asking specific questions these can be viewed here.


One of the key questions they ask is

‘Whether the policies set out in the NPF2 support the Government's key aims for the development of Scotland to 2030’.

You can write to them saying that the lack of consultation means that they do not fulfill one of the key aims of the strategy for Scotland ’s spatial development to 2030:

to help build safer, stronger and healthier communities, by promoting
improved opportunities and a better quality of life.

If you want to see all of the key aims see para 43 on page 11 of the final NPF document which can be found here


You can argue that the evidence found from your own experience and others does not fulfill this aim.

Community participation in the planning system is a key part of building safer and stronger communities.

People have a right to influence strategic documents and plans such as the NPF, however the NPF consultation process has not enabled people to do this.

You can quote the Government’s own guidance which states that

‘many people believe that there are barriers to engagement in the planning system, inaccessibility of documents complex procedures, lack of expertise; consultation fatigue; belief that views are not taken into account and distrust of local Government. We need to change all of this. We now have a golden opportunity to create a planning system which Scotland can be proud of- modern, efficient and above all with communities at its heart’ (PAN 81 on Community Engagement 2007)

You can ask MSPs to look at the Critique of the National Planning Framework (NPF) Consultation Process report on the way the consultation was carried out and see the evidence that it has not addressed these key barriers to community engagement.

In September 2006 Scots writer Alasdair Gray said"Mrs Thatcher called upon the Scots to start exploiting their natural resources, not meaning that they should learn to produce good food, clothes and housing for each other, but earn the money to buy these from tourist industries, thus becoming a nation of boarding houses, heritage trails, golf courses and summer schools, with business conference centres in some of the prettiest places, with nuclear submarine and airforce bases in others. New Labour continues this policy, while drug addiction and brutal crime grow worse in once hopeful housing schemes that are now our new slums. There may be small nations in the world with effective democratic constitutions. Scotland is not among them, perhaps not England either. "

2009 What is an SNP led government going to do?

Caltongate the Movie?

Its an exciting time here in the Canongate. The campaign has been approached by a world famous film director who is setting their next film here in Scotland. Its caught their attention that Scotland, although it has its first SNP led government and has its eyes on independence, all is not well across the country.

All we are allowed to say at present is that the Save Our Old Town Campaign and the battle against Trump will be the main story lines. Other campaigns around the country will feature too.

It will be a 21st century Local Hero , but harder hitting with the power of big business, corruption in local and national politics and the Scottish people fighting for their rightful inheritance among the themes.

Watch this space....