he Edinburgh Reporter www.theedinburghreporter.co.uk FREE! the New Town on my way to Conser‐ vative Central Office and a song came into my head. Not Rule Britan‐ nia or even Robbie Williams No Re‐ grets, but it was In the Jungle, the Mighty Jungle. "Unfortunately across this city it doesn't seem to be that the Lion Sleeps Tonight but the council has when it comes to weeds.
Getting a handle on weeds At last month's council meeting new Conservative councillor Callum Laidlaw made his maiden speech and introduced a motion on a grow‐ ing problem - weeds.
"Weeds may seem a bit of a trivial is‐ sue to end on but weeds are about more than just the aesthetics of the city. Clearly the weeds in this city are a problem.
It is something which concerns many people and the matter was ex‐ tensively debated.
"We see weeds growing throughout the World Heritage Site in walls and pavements. Anyone who has crossed the Dean Bridge recently will see a veritable herbaceous border growing along the wall between the road and the bridge."
he council took a decision last November to phase out strong weedkillers such as those which are glyphosate based, and had asked for a report by this November on the options and alternatives. But Cllr Laidlaw decided the matter could not wait till then and asked for immediate action. He explained : "Just after the Gener‐ al Election I was walking through
An Edinburgh Reporter reader con‐ tacted us recently about the problem of weeds in the north of the city. He told us : "he area which I have reported is the worst I have ever seen in 45 years of living in the area. I believe that the shopkeepers have regularly reported the 'weed' issue
with no success. "Edinburgh is an eyesore when it comes to cleanliness. It's citizens are demonstrating their lack of concern by 'why care' attitudes. Accountabili‐ ty is not evident by our elected councils." DECISION DELAYED In June the council decided to defer the matter to the Transport and En‐ vironment Committee on 10 August for matters to be discussed further on the recommendation of Council‐ lor Lesley Macinnes, the Transport and Environment Convener, who ar‐ gued for this deferment saying at the time: "We agree that weeds rep‐ resent a signiicant issue. I have al‐ ready been talking to officers about the number of different methods that may or may not be employed in the circumstances that we have here in the city. "We believe that the issue would be better served by having the oppor‐ tunity to question officers at the Transport and Environment Com‐ mittee. his would create a much more effective roadmap to solution which will allow us to achieve what I believe we all want for the city."
"It is our intention to ind the most effective, safest solutions for tackling weeds in Edinburgh, and this matter will be discussed by Councillors at the next Transport and Environment Committee in August." Councillor McInnes When we put our North Edinburgh resident's complaint to Councillor McInnes she stuck to her guns say‐ ing that complaints about weeds have decreased over the last three years.
he Edinburgh Reporter spotted one of the eight council staff charged with ridding the city of its weeds hard at work.
She concluded : "We acknowledge that the problem of weeds has been more noticeable this year, in part
thanks to wet weather, which re‐ duces the effectiveness of herbicides used, and appreciate residents' frus‐ tration. "While we are working hard to ad‐ dress the current situation, we are also exploring the most appropriate measures to target roadsides, pave‐ ments, parks and other green spaces, focusing on the best method of treatment for each surface as part of necessary changes to our use of particular weed killers. "It is our intention to ind the most effective, safest solutions for tack‐ ling weeds in Edinburgh, and this matter will be discussed by Council‐ lors at the next Transport and Envi‐ ronment Committee in August."
Edinburgh Art Festival 2017
he Dragon of Proit and Private Ownership created by Zoë Walker and Neil Bromwich heralded the opening of Edinburgh Art Festival when they paraded up the Royal Mile helped on their way by children from Canal View Primary School Wester Hailes. he artists are working with the children and families of the school exploring alternative models to capitalism, inspired by Geddes' expression 'By Leaves we Live ... not by Coins.' Photos John Preece