Sports clubs told to find volunteer lifesavers as pools cut cover
Plus: Bid to make Leith's Low Traffic Neighbourhood permanent; animation festival returns; and private investors back Edinburgh
Sports clubs take the strain as city pools cut lifesaving staff cover
Sports clubs have been told the city’s cash-strapped public pools are to stop providing lifesaving staff during their training sessions.
The cut leaves many swimming and water sports clubs having to recruit and train lifesaving volunteers in order to stage coaching sessions. The move increases pressure on the volunteer-run clubs which provide much of the sport on offer to young people in the Capital.
There are concerns some - already struggling after missing two years of recruitment during Covid - will struggle to cope with the extra demand.
The decision comes amid ongoing financial pressures on Edinburgh Leisure, the charitable trust which runs the city’s sports centres. It applies to clubs booking entire pools from training from August and does not affect public swimming.
Edinburgh Leisure says the cut is part of its “continued efforts to support a sustainable future for our facilities”. The subsidy it receives from the city council has been cut substantially in recent years.
Venue closures: Edinburgh Leisure has so far avoided the large-scale venue closures seen in many other parts of the country. However, it warned of “significant financial challenges” around this time last year. At the time, Edinburgh Leisure said it was committed to keeping all venues open, despite the challenges.
Training help: Edinburgh is offering free lifesaving training to club volunteers in the shortterm, but pool booking fees will not be cut to reflect the reduced service. Edinburgh Leisure has pointed out clubs booking school pools which the charity manages already have to provide their own trained poolside lifesavers.
YOUR EDINBURGH BRIEFING
DOUBLE DEATH PROBE: French police are investigating the deaths of a former Musselburgh couple, Dawn Searle, 56, and her husband Andrew, 62. The couple were found dead at their home near Toulouse last Thursday and investigators say they are keeping an open mind as to their cause of death. Dawn’s son, Callum Kerr, the country musician and actor, who appeared in Netflix hit Virgin River, has appealed for privacy while the family grieve.
3-D BREAKTHROUGH: Scientists at Heriot-Watt University have helped develop facial recognition technology that can see through fog, smoke and camouflage. The sensitive light detection and ranging (LiDAR) system can generate 3-D images with at least 10 times the resolution of similar systems being developed by other research groups. The system, developed using equipment developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Glasgow University’s James Watt School of Engineering, can also accurately detect faces and human activity at distances of up to one kilometre.
LEITH LOW TRAFFIC: City councillors will decide on proposals to make the Low Traffic Neighbourhood measures in Leith permanent at a meeting on Tuesday, 18 February. Six and 12-month reviews showed a reduction in motor traffic on the majority of the roads involved, but consultation by Leith Community Council found opinion split on the scheme.
‘SISTINE CHAPEL’ OPERATOR: The charitable trust which owns the Mansfield Traquair Centre is looking for a new operator for the venue known as ‘Edinburgh’s Sistine Chapel’ due to its beautiful murals. Lambert Smith Hampton is advertising the lease for the entire centre including its events space and offices.
£1M COCAINE RAID: Three men, aged 29, 35, and 54, are due to appear in court today charged with serious organised crime offences after police seized cocaine with an estimated street value of £1m in West Lothian. Officers also seized about £80,000 in cash in a series of raids in Fauldhouse, West Calder, Polbeth and Livingston.
HERE WE GO AGAIN: AC/DC fans trying to grab tickets for the band’s Murrayfield concert in August have complained of huge price surges and the Ticketmaster website crashing. In an echo of the outcry over the sale of Oasis tickets for Murrayfield, fans complained of £65 basic standing tickets rising to £539 plus a booking fee.
OPEN WORKSHOP: Edinburgh Open Workshop is to develop a community programme including family days, makers markets and innovative education sessions after securing funding from the National Lottery. The grant will allow the Leith-based workshops, which support a community of 300 hobbyist and professional makers, to employ an outreach worker.
SCHOOL ‘LOCKDOWN’ DRILL: Schools in East Lothian have been practicing “lockdown drills”, including barricading themselves in classrooms using furniture to block doors, in case of an “unexpected event”.
THE BUSINESS
Private investment cash flowing into Capital
Edinburgh is helping power a growth in investment in Scotland according to a leading firm of international business consultants.
The latest UK Private Equity Review from KPMG shows that private equity deals in Scotland grew by more than a third – almost 36% in fact – to £9.4 billion last year. The volume of deals also increased, from 92 to 111 over the previous year.
Graeme Williams, Head of Corporate Finance in Scotland at KPMG UK, said: “Scotland’s 35.6% growth in private equity investment last year shows just how resilient and attractive the country has become for investors. With greater economic stability and strong deal activity, cities like Edinburgh and Glasgow are leading the charge, securing billion-pound deals that highlight Scotland’s ability to draw major investment across a range of sectors.
“It’s clear that Scotland remains as a dynamic and competitive market within the UK, and we would hope to see increased activity again this year as interest rates continue to ease.”
FINANCIAL LOSS: Edinburgh is set to lose 150 jobs in the finance sector, reports Terry Murden in Daily Business. Global financial services company BNY Mellon has been in consultation with its workforce because the expiration of its lease at Capital House in Festival Square has prompted plans to move to smaller premises.
TAX GROWTH: Two-thirds of councils in Scotland are looking at introducing a Visitor Levy, following Edinburgh which recently confirmed it was to progress with a 5% tax. Data compiled by the Federation of Small Businesses in Scotland shows 21 out of 32 councils are either discussing or actively pursuing plans to introduce a levy.
THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT
AWESOME ANIMATION: Manipulate Festival, Scotland’s annual celebration of animated film, puppetry, and visual theatre, returns to Edinburgh from Wednesday until Saturday. A lively four-day programme includes three short film programmes, two feature films, two open studios, 15 live works and installations, and six workshops, at arts venues across the city. Highlights include a screening of the first ever stop-motion title to be screened at the Cannes Film Festival, A Town Called Panic (Panique Au Village); Queer Stories, a showcase of the very best LGBTQAI+ animated stories from around the world; and the festival-favourite travelling cinema for one, One Bum Cinema Club, showcasing a selection of acclaimed international family-friendly shorts.
OUT OF THIS WORLD: One of the most uplifting weekends in the city’s events calendar is nearly upon us as the Capital Sci-Fi Con returns to the 02 Academy on Saturday and Sunday. The cosplay competition, one of the highlights of the weekend, is on Sunday rather than Saturday this time round. Expect stormtroopers in the queue at Asda on both days.
RHOD’S BACK: Having received the all-clear for cancer, Rhod Gilbert is back on the road. In Rhod Gilbert and the Giant Grapefruit he squeezes every last drop of comedy juice out of his medical ordeal, at the Playhouse on Saturday.
INJECTING HOPE: A new, free exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland celebrates the science behind the COVID-19 vaccine. Injecting Hope: The Race for a COVID-19 Vaccine exhibition tells the inspiring stories of the scientists and their collaborators around the world who came together to find solutions and save lives. Until 27 April.
QUICK BITES
VEGAN GAIN: A second Roman vegan restaurant has opened in Edinburgh. The owners of Sora Lella on Brougham Street opened restaurant and cocktail bar, Sora Diana, on Causewayside, at the weekend.
VEGAN LOSS: The acclaimed Seeds for the Soul eatery on Brunsfield Place has gone on the market, with a price of £75,000 for the leasehold, after seven years of highly reviewed operation.