Very busy couple of days - yesterday afternoon was the quarterly (or thereabouts) City Centre Beacon Management Group meeting organised by Tayside Police. I find these meetings really useful on City Centre issues and it brings together police, city council, city centre businesses, health service, universities and other organisations.
Was able to update the group on the impending pedestrian safety improvements in Commercial Street (junction with Murraygate/High Street). Also lengthy discussion about graffiti issues in City Centre and in particular the problem in various pends and near to City Churches. Both the Police & City Ambassasdors taking a proactive approach.
And talking of graffiti - good news - the graffiti in Fleuchar Street I mentioned recently has, I am told by Waste Management, been painted over.
Yesterday teatime, went along to a meeting of residents and the owners of the Kingsway West Retail Park about some of the outstanding issues affecting residents there. OK, you may say, just a few miles from my area in the West End & City Centre! I was actually there to assist my colleague Helen, the local councillor in Strathmartine. I originally got involved with this when Helen was on holiday ages ago (we cover each others' issues when the other is on leave) and Helen & I have been very keen to see the outstanding issues resolved. Good meeting; felt it was most productive, but the proof of the pudding will be in the remaining issues sorted for the residents who live close to the retail park.
OK - back to home territory! My colleague Claire Matthew & I have just produced another FOCUS newsletter for City Centre - if you click the headline above, you can download it.
In e-mail correspondence with the Head of Environmental Health & Trading Standards again today about waste bags / rubbish/ seagulls - to quote his response, he has taken action "to get this refuse presentation problem sorted out properly once and for all" including resourcing the time of a senior environmental health officer to get any remaining waste presentation issues sorted.