Rt Hon Alistair Darling MP
Currie & Balerno News (farmers market and planning for water of Leith, greenbelt, mobile masts)
Congratulations to those brave people who visited the Farmers Market in January. The weather was poor but the organisers were determined that the Market should go on. It’s been so successful in providing a focus every month.
The one big issue that keeps coming up time and time again in Currie and Balerno is planning. People are rightly concerned about encroachments on the Green Belt, along the Water of Leith and elsewhere. It’s true that we will need a lot more housing in the years to come but I’m quite sure that much of it could be built on brownfield sites or in areas where we won’t lose amenity that can never be recovered. Of course there is a balance to be struck but protecting the Green Belt is very, very important.
That is equally true so far as mobile ‘phone masts are concerned. Most people have mobile ‘phones and indeed in some houses there are several. That means of course there has to be the mast to transmit the signals.
But I believe the Council should be rigorous in ensuring that where mast sites can be shared that operators should be asked to do just that. If that isn’t possible then they should look for sites that aren’t on the Green Belt and that don’t unnecessarily intrude on people’s amenity. And the masts themselves can and indeed are being improved.
We’ve got to accept that whether it’s housing or mobile ‘phones there are pressures and it is very easy to yield to the temptation of nimbyism. However, the amenity in Currie and Balerno needs to be protected and I hope the Planning Committee will be vigilant about it.
Finally, to those readers who have written to me about the state of roads in Currie and Balerno hopefully the financial year will bring some help. Clearly there is a lot more to do.
In the meantime I wish readers a good and Happy New Year. I look forward to hearing from you.
