Drivers 'getting used to LEZ' despite huge number of fines
Plus: New bin strike pay offer; football fans' abuse ends cricket match; and microbrewery music festival
Capital issues double the number of fines as Glasgow’s £1m-a-year LEZ
Motorists are ‘getting used to’ the Capital’s new ‘clean air zone’ despite the huge level of fines issued in its first weeks, according to the city’s transport leader.
More than 6000 fines were imposed in the first month of enforcement of the city centre LEZ in June - more than double the rate handed out in the first month in Glasgow.
The LEZ bans the most polluting vehicles - in practice mainly older diesel cars and delivery vehicles - from the immediate city centre. There are £60 fines (reduced to £30 for prompt payment) for first-time transgressors, with a sliding scale of penalties which sees fines double with each breach to a maximum of £480 for cars and £960 for buses and HGVs.
All money raised through fines goes into the running of the LEZ with any profit going into supporting schemes such as environmentally-friendly public transport.
‘Encouraging evidence’: Scott Arthur, the city council’s transport convener, said: “I was encouraged to see the relatively low level of second contraventions alongside none for further levels. This clearly shows people are getting used to the LEZs and modifying their transport habits accordingly.”
The figures: Edinburgh issued 6,030 fines in June, with just 274 of them being for second offences, and none for further breaches. Glasgow issued 2,897 in its first month. Dundee and Aberdeen are yet to publish figures for the LEZs they launched this summer.
Glasgow’s £1m-plus fines: While Edinburgh’s declared aim is zero income from fines, due to changing driver habits, based purely on the first month’s figures it is on course to gather more than £2m a year. Glasgow started enforcing its LEZ last summer and between June last year and April this year collected £1,010,585 in fines.
YOUR EDINBURGH BRIEFING
FOOTBALL FANS’ ABUSE: Football thugs visiting Murrayfield for Saturday’s Rangers versus Manchester United clash are being blamed for a cricket match having to be abandoned close to the stadium. Murrayfield DAFS CC had to call off their match against Stewart’s Melville CC on Roseburn Park due to sexist, homophobic and racist abuse, and two players being assaulted. Police Scotland is investigating the incident after the club said officers failed to intervene while the abuse was taking place.
LOTHIAN BUS LIFE: A couple are living in a converted number 16 Lothian Bus on Australia’s Queensland coast. Kim Ricardo and Ted Dwight bought the 1960s Leyland Atlantean - which used to serve travelers between the Pentlands and the city - after discovering it online. They told the BBC: “As soon as we laid eyes on it, we were in love.”
AIRPORT FLIGHTS: Flights at Edinburgh Airport are returning to normal after they were among those affected by the historically huge IT outage on Friday. More than 50 flights in and out of Edinburgh were cancelled on Friday, with some knock-on impact continuing over the weekend. Passengers are still being advised to check their flights before travelling. NHS Lothian said it avoided any major disruption despite other parts of the NHS being severely impacted. The move comes as UK
BIN STRIKE PAY OFFER: The biggest union representing council waste collection staff have rejected the latest pay offer aimed at avoiding a bin strike during the Edinburgh’s August festivals. The deal would see staff receive a 3.2% pay rise, but has been rejected by Unison. The GMB and Unite unions are considering the offer with a decision expected as early as today. The move comes as UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves has hinted at an above-inflation pay deal for nurses and teachers south of the border.
THE OFFICIAL NOW DEPARTING… The city council has been dealt a blow by the departure of another highly-rated senior transport official. Hannah Ross, who oversaw the successful delivery of the tram line extension to Leith, has been appointed chief executive of Scottish Rail Holdings. Her departure follows that of head of placemaking and mobility Daisy Naranyanan who left this summer to become director of public realm at the Crown Estate.
MORE STUDENT FLATS: A six-storey student flat development has been given the go-ahead in Dunedin Street, Warriston, after reducing the number of beds from 73 to 65 studio flats. A former car rental garage will be demolished to make way for the development which sits next to the site of a planned 155-bed student halls.
BUT NOT HERE: Plans to demolish the Murrayfield Sports Bar in Gorgie to make way for student flats have been thrown out by the Scottish Government. A planning reporter ruled the proposed six-storey block would be vulnerable to serious flooding, but rejected arguments that it represented over-development of student housing within the neighbourhood.
FUTURE TENANT: The University of Edinburgh has welcomed its first commercial tenant to the new Edinburgh Futures Institute in the capital’s historic Old Royal Infirmary in Lauriston Place. Smart Data Foundry has moved from the nearby Bayes Centre to a state-of-the-art workspace. The not-for-profit, a subsidiary of the University, aims to unlock the power of financial data to tackle major issues facing society. Over the past two years it has seen its workforce grow and mature and forged partnerships with clients like Sage, NatWest Group and Financial Conduct Authority.
POLICE CHASE: A woman was hit by the driver of a stolen car on Princes Street following a police chase through the Old Town. Police stopped following the car for safety reasons before it hit the woman and then crashed into a parked vehicle on South St David St. A 17-year-old has been charged following the incident which took place shortly before 8pm on Wednesday.
THE BUSINESS
Will “big bang” reform unlock economic growth and improve our pensions ?
The first phase of a review aimed at utilising billions stored in pension funds to boost UK-wide economic growth and improve pension outcomes takes place today when Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Pensions Minister Emma Reynolds will co-chair a meeting with the sector.
The review, announced by the Chancellor at the weekend, has been welcomed by the industry and builds on work undertaken by the previous Government. The government wants to access the £800 billion funds that will be held in defined contribution schemes, used by most pension fund providers, by the end of the decade.
The Government say that even a 1 per cent movement into productive investments leads to £8 billion of new investment to grow the UK economy and build vital infrastructure by the end of the decade. The Government maintains this would also mean pension pots for savers in defined contribution schemes could be boosted by over £11,000, although ultimately this is defined through investment performance achieved by individual funds.
Massive, public sector pension funds will also be engaged in the process, with the review also set to work closely with the Minister for Housing, Communities and Local Government Jim McMahon. The Government has warned that it wants to see public sector funds pooling resources to increase UK investment and a £2billion fee bill.
The next phase of the review, starting later this year, will consider further steps to improve pension outcomes and increase investment in UK markets, including assessing retirement adequacy, with only one in seven people in the UK saving enough for a decent standard of living in retirement
The Chancellor said: “The review we are announcing is the latest in a big bang of reforms to unlock growth, boost investment and deliver savings for pensioners. There is no time to waste. That is why I am determined to fix the foundations of our economy so we can rebuild Britain and improve people’s lives.”
António Simões, the Chief Executive of the UK’s largest manager of pension funds, Legal & General Group, said: “Driving pensions capital into areas such as science, technology and infrastructure can help support better returns for millions of retirement savers, as well as stimulate much needed long-term growth for the economy.”
And Michael Moore, the chief executive of the private equity and venture capital industry body BVCA, added: “The Chancellor has a real opportunity to deliver economic growth by facilitating increased investment in UK businesses to the benefit of returns to pension savers as well as the wider economy.”
GREEN FREEPORT BOSS: Sarah Murray, the newly appointed Chief Executive of the public/private consortium, Forth Green Freeport, is to take up her role on August 27. She is currently the Director of Local London, a sub-regional economic growth partnership of nine London boroughs, and was previously Head of Regulation for the City of London Corporation.
NORDIC GROWTH: One of Edinburgh’s most successful interiors brands is celebrating its continued growth with the opening of its second store in the city’s Bruntsfield neighbourhood. Nordic Living by Biehl has launched a new store focused on interior and lifestyle accessories, gifts and more - located at 175 Bruntsfield Place just a few doors from the brand’s original showroom.
NEW RESIDENT: The Resident Hotel in Edinburgh is to open to guests from September 1. The new hotel, on Drumsheugh Gardens, is a first Scottish venue for the luxury hotel brand and offers 164 rooms and suites designed to offer a “home from home” experience, complete with mini kitchens.
THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT
MUSIC AND BEER: Leith microbrewery Moonwake’s own micro arts and music festival Lunarpalooza boasts a stellar line-up including Blue Giant Orkestar, Kathryn Joseph and Callum Easter. Live music, street food and, naturally, great beer, at Moonwake, The Shore, on Friday to Sunday.
BARREL OF LAUGHS: Award-winning Australian comedian Laura Davis is offering a preview of her latest show ahead of her August residency at the Monkey Barrel. Get in before the crowds at Monkey Barrel, on Blair Street, on Wednesday.
SEASIDE BOOK TALK: Rebecca Watson visits Portobello Bookshop to talk about her follow-up to her acclaimed, experimental novel little scratch. She talks about her second major work I Will Crash with Edinburgh-based novelist Alan Trotter on Thursday.
QUICK BITES
SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL: An Edinburgh restaurant has been listed amongst the 12 most beautiful in the UK by restaurant booking app Open Table. The Spence at Gleneagles Townhouse, located in what was once a banking hall on St Andrew Square, was also acclaimed as the most beautiful spot to enjoy afternoon tea.
STAR ON BOARD: Michelin-star chef Conor Toomey, formerly of Condita in Edinburgh’s southside, will board the luxury floating hotel Fingal in Leith next month to present three evenings of fine dining events. The chef will bring a special set dinner menu to Fingal from August 23 to 25.
NEW VENTURE: Cafebar Nineteen62 has opened a new venue at Livingston Designer Outlet – its third in total and its first within a shopping centre.