Heroin ‘shooting gallery’ lined up for city centre in bid to cut drug deaths
Heroin ‘shooting gallery’ lined up for city centre in bid to cut drug deaths
Plus: Campaign to Save Edinburgh Filmhouse is on a roll; Sherlock Holmes' creator is back in the limelight; and recognition for city's top Turkish restaurants
Plans to open a controlled drug consumption room (DCR) are to be considered in Edinburgh in an effort to tackle the stubbornly high number of overdose deaths in the Capital.
The move comes after Scotland’s Lord Advocate effectively gave the go-ahead for a trial in Glasgow by stating it “would not be in the public interest” to prosecute drug users for possession of personal use quantities. A feasibility study looking at the “local appetite” for a facility, where drug users can inject themselves in a safer and supervised environment, is to be presented to city councillors later this month.
DEATH TOLL: Scotland’s drug death rate remains the highest in Europe despite years of debate on how to tackle the issue. While drug deaths fell across Scotland last year, they rose slightly in Edinburgh with 113 recorded, up from 109 the year before. Supporters say these facilities, also known as overdose prevention centres, can cut deaths and prevent the spread of infections including HIV by providing sterile equipment in a controlled environment.
SAVING LIVES: Councillor Finlay McFarlane, an SNP member who represents the city centre, called for the study to be undertaken. He said: “People currently are dying unnecessarily from drug overdoses and we need to do everything and anything we can do to stop them from dying.” Drug addiction can affect “literally anybody, he added, saying: “It could be me next. It could be anybody that can fall into that cycle. All these deaths are entirely avoidable.”
CITY CENTRE LOCATION: The feasibility study will include recommendation of “models and neighbourhoods where there is evidence of need for a DCR, how many people would be expected to use the unit, how many overdoses reversed and blood-bourne virus transmissions prevented” and an “indication of the less tangible benefits such as anti-stigma impact of this compassionate approach”. The findings are expected to form the basis of a proposal to set-up a pilot, most likely in the city centre, to be put to Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain for approval.
WHY CONAN DOYLE MATTERS IN EDINBURGH
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories are still being told and re-imagined around the world. While most fans associate Sherlock and Dr Watson with 212B Baker Street in London, the author and creator of the fictional detective was inspired by his early life in Edinburgh. He was born on 22 May 1859 at 11 Picardy Place, Edinburgh. Last Wednesday, Conan Doyle’s step-great granddaughter and designer of the Sherlock Holmes tartan, Tania Henzell, and Transport Convener Councillor Scott Arthur were joined by Sherlock Holmes enthusiasts and community members to welcome the statue to its new position on Picardy Place island.
The life-sized bronze sculpture, sculpted by Gerald Ogilvie Laing, was removed in 2018 while Trams to Newhaven works were carried out. It has been renovated by Black Isle Bronze in Nairn. It was originally installed near 11 Picardy Place, a house that has since been demolished. The reconstruction of Picardy Square has been delivered as part of the Growth Accelerator Model Agreement for the St James Quarter development.
Conan Doyle was the third child and eldest son of Charles and Mary Doyle. According to biographers, Conan Doyle’s father, a civil servant and artist, suffered from alcoholism which left the family on the verge of financial ruin. To make ends meet, the family took in lodgers for rental. Mary Doyle bore the responsibility of bringing up the children. When his father’s situation grew worse, Arthur was sent to live with a family friend, Mary Burton, who lived in Liberton Bank. From the age of seven to nine, Arthur lived at Liberton Bank and attended Liberton Academy. He was then sent off to school in Lancashire. He attended Stonyhurst college and spent a year in Austria before returning to Edinburgh in 1876 to study medicine. It was during his time as a medical student that he encountered Dr Joseph Bell, a lecturer in clinical surgery, who was to have an immense influence on the budding writer. Bell instilled the ‘intuitive powers of deduction’ which were the hallmarks of Sherlock Holmes.
YOUR EDINBURGH BRIEFING
STEPHEN DUNN: Everyone at The Inquirer was deeply saddened at the passing of Hibernian FC Board Director Stephen Dunn on September 13th.
I met Stephen Dunn through Hibernian FC, a shared passion (writes David Forsyth). That was in 1998, 25 years ago. Stephen first served on the club’s board between June 1998 and May 2006, before returning in June 2015 and staying as a Board member until May 2021. When he rejoined for the third time in July last year in his own unique way he notched up a triple that few, if any, others have achieved. It might not have gotten the acclamation received by the hat-tricks netted by the Famous Five, Joe Baker, Jimmy O’Rourke, Ivan Sproule or Martin Boyle. But it should have.
Because Stephen, who passed peacefully at the Western General after a short illness, didn’t merely serve on the Board he immersed himself, barely missing a game. He was a Director, friend, and mentor to many people who worked at the Club during his tenures. He helped establish the Hibernian Historical Trust, was influential for some time in Hibernian Supporters Limited, and through one of his other passions – his love and expertise in photography and videography – he helped encourage the Club’s creativity in that growing area. A fully-fledged and qualified commercial photographer (as a hobby) he also took many official Club photographs just for the fun of it. I had hoped to persuade him to join us in an advisory role at The Inquirer, he loved journalism, but his illness prevented this.
He was interested in anything, and everything, Hibernian. He was, however, anything but a one-trick pony. Stephen was a high-achieving businessman and held many Board level roles including a spell on the Board of Edinburgh College, and as Human Resources and Communications Director with the Miller Group, and Corporate Services Director at ScottishPower, working his way up in the energy giant after joining the company as a raw teenager.
He was also a cultured man, he enjoyed reading and loved theatre, and served on the Board of his beloved Edinburgh’s Royal Lyceum Theatre. He was knowledgeable on fine wine, and his penchant for a good steak was the stuff of legend. The best kind of dinner companion. Stephen was a man who grabbed life by the tail. He charted his own course, and he did it well. He was a friend, and he will be missed. Our thoughts are with his wife and family.
TOP PROSPECTS: Growing up in the Edinburgh City-Region is one of the best ways of setting yourself up to secure a professional job in the UK - no matter what social background you come from. A Social Mobility Commission report found that children growing up in and around Edinburgh, Manchester and London were the most likely to end up working as chief executives, or in professions such as medicine or law, compared to people from the same socio-economic background from other areas. Alongside the positive results, researchers also found high chances of unemployment among working class children in the three City-Regions. Commission chair Alun Francis suggested disparities within regions, rather than a clear north-south divide, were the big issue.
MURRAYFIELD(S) FOREVER: John Lennon’s regular visits to Ormidale Terrace in Murrayfield look set to be commemorated with a plaque on the terraced home where his cousins used to live. Lennon often stayed there as a child and reputedly wrote the track that would become the B-side to Paperback Writer, entitled Rain, in the cupboard under the stairs. Part of a programme by Murrayfield Community Council to mark points of special interest, plans are being drawn up for an official unveiling featuring the music of The Beatles.
CHEAPER TRAIN COMMUTES: Peak fares are to be scrapped for a six-month trial from Monday, 2 October, in an effort to encourage more people back to rail. Scotrail say Edinburgh-Glasgow fares will drop from £28.90 to £14.90 and Inverkeithing-Edinburgh tickets will drop to from £11.10 to £6.50. Rail passenger numbers have only returned to 70% of pre-pandemic levels, compared to more than 90% on bus services operated by Lothian.
CRUMBLING CONCRETE: Blackhall Library has closed for safety checks as the RAAC concrete crisis continues to affect more public buildings across the region. City council leader Cammy Day has called on the UK and Scottish Governments to make funding available to meet the growing cost of tackling the problem. Parts of schools and university buildings across the region have been shut so far as well as the theatre at the Brunton in Musselburgh.
STUDENT FLATS: More student flats are being planned for Fountainbridge with plans submitted for the development of land on Dundee Street and Dundee Terrace currently occupied by a car show room and other commercial premises. Glencairn Property plans a mixed-use development including student flats at 185/187 Dundee Street and 4/5 Dundee Terrace. The site is close to a scrapyard on Yeaman Place which is due to be developed as student flats overlooking the Union Canal.
NIGHT CZAR: The Capital’s pubs and nightclubs need a dedicated commissioner to look after the needs of the night-time economy, which has been badly hit by lockdown and the cost-of-living crisis, according to industry leaders. Many bars and restaurants have had to close or reduce their hours with staff and customers affected by issues including a fall in the number of taxis and city centre office workers. The idea of appointing a ‘night czar’ is being considered by the city council to help address issues around licensing, planning and environmental health, after being proposed by Green councillor Alex Staniforth, as reported by STV.
EXPECT DELAYS: More road hold-ups and one-way traffic delays are likely to continue for some time on the busy arterial Mayfield Road in Edinburgh as Clark Contracts begins the second phase of its student accommodation. For the last two years, the road from the A701 south end of the road up towards the University of Edinburgh’s King’s Building campus has been closed to traffic. This has caused congestion in Esslemont Road, leaving to the Lady Road junction, and a rat-run of traffic through Gordon Terrace. The two five-storey buildings, built beside an outlet of the Braid Burn, will provide a total of 257 rooms, with the first phase now open and providing 148 beds. The second providing a further 109.
CONNECTING CAUSE: Edinburgh people are being encouraged to hand in their unwanted laptops, phones, tablets, cameras and chargers which will be refurbished and passed on to people who suffer from digital poverty. The City of Edinburgh Council has partnered with the Edinburgh Remakery, an award-winning social enterprise committed to diverting waste from landfill and promoting a culture of repair and reuse. The request is for no household goods like kettles or toasters please. Three tech donation centres have been set up at the following locations:
Now – 16 Oct : Central Library
17 Oct – 20 Nov : Wester Hailes Library
21 Nov – 13 Dec : South East Locality Office, Captain’s Road
Fans and stars back bid to reopen Filmhouse
Film stars and hundreds of cinema fans are rallying round a new crowdfunding campaign aimed at reopening the Edinburgh Filmhouse in its former home on Lothian Road.
As of last night, approaching 600 people had donated more than £40,000 to the Open the Doors! campaign in its first week with celebrity support from father and daughter actors Ewan and Harmony Rose Bremner, Brian Cox, Alan Cumming and Jack Lowden. A charity set up by four former Filmhouse employees has struck a deal with the building’s new owners Caledonian Heritable for a 21-year lease, but needs to raise significant funds - ideally around £1.25million in total, they say - to modernise the venue. It has set an initial fund-raising target of £250,000 to cover essential maintenance and improvements, including improved accessibility and toilets, potentially paving the way for reopening next year.
PAST GLORIES: Opened in 1978, the much-loved art house cinema was home to the Edinburgh International Festival before closing last October. Showing 80-plus film titles a month, including many screened nowhere else in the Capital, it prided itself on the diversity of its programming. A young Jennifer Lawrence and Stanley Tucci are among the stars to have attended premieres there in recent years. The charity established by former Filmhouse chief executive Ginnie Atkinson, head of programming Rod White, head technician David Boyd and programme manager James Rice wants to resume the same cultural programme and reopen the popular cafe-bar.
PAST STRUGGLES: The Filmhouse and the Film Festival shut abruptly after their parent company went into administration last October. Various attempts to save it including a more ambitous crowdfunder by the same charity failed to reverse the closure or halt the building’s sale. A fundraising sprint last collected £764,000 in just three weeks last year but was abandoned when it was unable to reach its £2million target fast enough.
WHAT’S NEXT? The charity has a six-month agreement with Caledonian Heritable, which also owns The Dome, Theatre Royal and Ryan’s Bar, to give it time to raise necessary funding. The new owners are, in the meantime, investing heavily in essential maintenance to the fabric of the building. If the charity hits its initial target, the intention is to launch another crowdfund campaign to finance the refurbishment of the cafe-bar and foyer. The cafe-bar would be operated by the Filmhouse, not Caledonian Heritable, with profits covenanted to the charity.
SUPPORTERS: As well as passionate film fans and celebrity actors, the charity behind the crowdfunder is working with Screen Scotland, the national agency funded by the Scottish Government and National Lottery, and Edinburgh City Council, as it targets potential funding from grants and philanthropists. Kevin Doyle, the pub and hotel developer behind Caledonian Heritable, is also an arts enthusiast and a longtime supporter of the sector in Edinburgh. Trainspotting producer Andrew MacDonald, who has been appointed chair of the film festival to lead its revival next summer, will be a key ally.
THE BUSINESS
BANK OF ENGLAND - STICK OR RAISE: Edinburgh’s businesses will be keeping a wary eye on the Bank of England’s next interest rate decision – due on Thursday – with debate focusing over the need to control inflation versus the risk of tipping the economy into recession.
The Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee updates interest rates every six weeks, and has increased them a record 14 consecutive times to 5.25 per cent at the start of August. The smart money says it will be increase 15 to 5.5%.
The Bank has seen reducing inflation as its top priority and raising interest rates is its best weapon. It has set a 2 per cent target but believes that may not be achieved until 2025. The current inflation rate is 6.8 per cent, down from a high of 11.1 per cent in October 2022. The Bank operates as independent, but the UK Government has pledged to cut inflation in half within this year.
RAISE: Inflation is coming down – but it is far from an even picture. According to the Office of National Statistics latest figures, average regular earnings growth, excluding bonuses, remained at a record high of 7.8 per cent in the three months to July compared to the same period last year. Wage rises are higher than inflation for the first time in 18 months. Many economists believe this will persuade the MPC that, while the situation is easing, complacency cannot be afforded and another increase is likely.
STICK: Research for British Chambers of Commerce shows that for many businesses interest rates are now emerging as a rival to inflation as their greatest concern – a point made when Will Rowson, the Bank of England’s Agent for Scotland, met business leaders in a round table organised by Edinburgh Chamber recently. The recent rise in insolvencies indicates that the economic environment is becoming particularly stacked against smaller firms, as they often have fewer cash reserves and therefore greater exposure to borrowing. Most important, there are real concerns that interest rates may already be at a level where a recession becomes likely, and a further increase is unnecessary and will only further exacerbate that situation. As evidence, those against further increases point to the latest GDP figures which showed a fall of 0.5% in July, as opposed to the expected 0.2%. Lowering activity and UK economic output.
WHAT NEXT: Andrew Bailey, Governor of the Bank of England, told MPs he believes we are nearer “the top of the cycle” on interest rate rises, prompting hopes that this month’s increase, assuming it happens, may be the last or penultimate increase.
SCOTMID PARTNERSHIP: Edinburgh headquartered retailer and co-operative Scotmid has announced the launch of a new charity partnership with the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution). Funds raised will enable the RNLI to purchase a new Atlantic 85 lifeboat, which will form part of the relief fleet and will be used by stations to assist in critical rescues during times when vessels are undergoing repairs or maintenance. The partnership was launched beside the Forth Bridge at South Queensferry.
HOUSEBUILDING CRISIS: Efforts to resolve the housing shortage in Edinburgh is being hindered by a combination of factors affecting Scottish housebuilders. Jane Wood, Chief Executive of Homes for Scotland, has expressed concern that the decrease in the number of houses being built looks likely to continue. City of Edinburgh Council has set a target of 37,000 new houses by 2030, 20,000 of them affordable homes.
Scottish Government figures published last week report a 12 per cent fall in new home starts in the year to end June 2023, offsetting a 6.3 per cent increase in completions for the same period and further compounding the 17 per cent decrease in starts in year to end June 2022.
Homes for Scotland represents around 200 companies which together provide the vast majority of all new homes built across the country. Jane Wood added: “Our concerns regarding the downward trend in starts is not abating, with the 12% decrease year end to June 2023 evidencing the ongoing challenges and blockers facing our members in delivering the homes of all tenures that our country so badly needs.
“The sustained increase in completions is welcomed (rising 9% in 2022 and 6.3% in 2023) and clearly demonstrates both the high demand for new homes as well as the capacity of the home building sector to deliver more across the country. However, unless the challenges surrounding land availability and wider consents process are addressed, the number of completions in future years are likely to decrease.“
NEW RECRUITS: Last week the Inquirer looked at how Big Four accountants Deloitte were welcoming its newest intake at Haymarket Square, Edinburgh. PwC Scotland has taken on 90 students in Scotland, the majority, a total of 43, will be joining the Edinburgh office. This year’s Scottish number is an increase of 12.5% on last year’s graduate intake. 77% of the intake is joining the Scottish firm’s Audit practice. The latest cohort results in a 7.8% increase in headcount, taking the number of partners and staff at PwC Scotland to 1,249.
THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT
REELED IN: Whether its tricks or treats, screams or shrieks, a unique outdoor cinema experience promises to reel you in next month showcasing family-friendly Hocus Pocus and Monsters Inc, to switching up the scare factor with The Lost Boys, Scream and not-to-forget old school classics like Ghostbusters! Adventure Cinema, which bills itself as the largest touring outdoor cinema, returns this October for its Halloween tour, including several days in the spectacular setting of Dalkeith Country Park in Midlothian. Running from October 13-17, it is one of 14 locations on the epic tour from running right up until October 31. Tickets available online from £9.50 and more details at Dalkeith Country Park | Outdoor Cinema in Midlothian (adventurecinema.co.uk)
DOORS OPEN: One of our favourite weekends of the year is nearly upon us as scores of venues prepare to welcome free visitors for a glimpse behind the scenes. This weekend is the turn of Edinburgh and East Lothian to take centre stage with attractions ranging from the Bayes Centre, home to Edinburgh University’s world-leading data science and artificial intelligence teams, to the Library of Mistakes in the New Town’s Melville Street Lane. Doors Open Day, Saturday and Sunday, September 23-24.
TALL TALES: The Scottish Storytelling Centre in the High Street in Edinburgh is hosting live storytelling in the relaxed setting of the Netherbow Theatre, on Thursday at 7.30pm, where apprentice storytellers share supernatural stories of strange, sensory and subtle beings. The event is hosted by Janis Mackay, and tickets cost £8.
LIGHTEN UP: Further afield but it promises to be worth the journey. Prepare to be enchanted as Monteviot House & Gardens at Jedburgh unveils its inaugural winter light trail event, Monteviot Lights, illuminating the natural beauty of the Scottish Borders on nine dates between November 30 and December 10. It is being produced by NL Productions, who have over 50 years’ experience of delivering large-scale events, including Castle of Light at Edinburgh Castle; and Edinburgh Zoo’s Halloween Spooktakular and Christmas Nights. For more information, ticket bookings, and updates, visit the website www.monteviotlights.co.uk
QUICK BITES
DELICIOUS NEWS: Andrew Radford and his family, whose Timberyard, under the careful eye of head chef James Murray, was awarded a prized Michelin star this year, is to open a second Capital venture, a wine bar and restaurant called Montrose House in Abbeyhill later this year. The Radford Family are fine dining pioneers of the Edinburgh restaurant scene, through previous and fondly remembered restaurants The Atrium and Blue. The Atrium was one of the city’s first modern fine-dining experiences and earned a Bib Gourmand. Good times on the menu at Abbeyhill we think!
TALKING TURKEY: Five Edinburgh restaurants have made the shortlist for a prestigious national awards celebrating the UK's best Turkish restaurants. Shish from Potterrow, Kezdan Mediterranean from Leith, Meze Meze on Rose Street, Pera in Elm Row and finally Memed BBQ Grill and Meze Bar in Clerk Street are all among the finalists. Good luck to all of them.
SOME EXTRA DIARY DATES FOR YOU
MONSTER AMBITION: Jurassic Park 30th anniversary In Concert. The RSNO will play John Williams’ soundtrack of the classic monster movie with the film projected on the big screen in HD. Friday 29th September, Usher Hall.
SHANG-A-LANG: The Bay City Rollers’ Rollin’ Into Christmas is likely to be a hot retro ticket for tartan-trousered fans. Friday, 1 December, La Belle Angele, Edinburgh. Tickets via Renegade Communications.