Leith Sucks.net

The news desk at Leith Sucks invites Ilene “The Puppet” Davidson’s manager at Chesser House to contact us and confirm that she has permission to sit on the Leith Centre Management Committee and when this was agreed.

Just read an interesting article in the Edinburgh Evening News (28^th June) to twin Leith with Rio. I was intrigued by Steve Cardownie’s comments” Leith Festival which is now established as one of Britain’s community festivals” Ingleston market was renowned as the biggest outdoor market in the world, now its a car boot sale. Maybe a number of years ago the Leith Festival could fall into a category to be proud of. Perhaps Cardownie has been drinking too much of the old amber nectar, and Sandy Campbell wants to fund his globe trotting adventures to Rio by screwing the money out of the good people of Leith.

Real Leithers need to stand up and be counted. Quangos popping up all over the area to regenerate this, that and the other. Who’s benefitting. Not the true Leithers that’s for sure. Forth Ports and the local agencies associated with them are the real enemies. Take the Museum campaign. Forth Ports could easily afford a start-up fund to make this dream a reality. Real Leithers could then take charge and bring the museum back into public ownership. However, that’s too easy. Its so easy, it should already have become a reality. No the reason it hasn’t happened is that public bodies/officials masquerading as lovers of Leith are not interested because there is nothing in it for them!. Sneaky Brown envelopes is what will make the Museum a reality. Long Live the Peoples Republic of Leith.

The council have a code of conduct the covers all employees, quote: “If you are a member of an organisation or a club, and membership might result in a conflict of interest in relation to any aspect of your work with the Council, you must declare this membership to your line manager. Details of such declarations shall be retained on your personal file. This applies equally to membership of organisations or clubs that are not open to the public. In addition, it is your responsibility to monitor continually for such conflicts and to ensure that any potential conflicts that arise are brought to the attention of your line manager”.

We at the Leith Sucks throw down the gauntlet and challenge Ilene “The Puppet” Davidson to answer the following questions:

• Have you had any meetings, discussions or been approached by either Stevenson or Mackay in relation to her role as Chairperson in Leith Centre?

• As a Council employee you are required to have permission to serve on outside bodies such as Unincorporated Groups, have you sought such permission from her employer? If so from whom and when?

Should the “The Puppet” decide to take up this challenge, she can contact us at admin at leithsucks dot net.

After shambles of the Centre’s AGM in May, the first meeting of the newly elected management committee took place last week, and what a farce that was. The meeting was chaired by Ilene “The Puppet” Davidson (a Council employee) and the meeting was dominated by the puppeteers Christine “Hard as Nails” MacKay and Paul “The Fat Man” James, who were certainly pulling Ilene’s strings. How can a management committee overturn decisions made at the AGM?? They want to co-opt five members of the Leith Festival Mafia (after they tried to take over the centre at the AGM) to sit on the committee on an ex-offico capacity until such times the constitution can be revamped. The constitution clearly states twelve members to be elected annually.

In addition the committee were to look at the leasing of the empty shop unit adjacent to the centre as a designated youth drop in space and would be managed by Paul “The Fat Man” James. How can a management committee undertake a ten year lease at roughly £12000 per year when they do not hold the lease for the centre?? According to the “Fat Man” this unit would purely be a youth drop in point and would not be made available for other groups. How can a management committee agree to spend this amount of the association’s money on a single project?

Itchy, Bitchy, Sweaty, Sleepy, Bloated, Forgetful and CHRISTINE MACKAY

LIDL have taken over the car parking facilities that surround their new store in the Kirkgate, ironically they own St Anthony Street and St Anthony Place both just of Henderson Street. You can park on the streets for 90 minutes to do your shopping in the store, however your car in photographed entering and leaving the car park, should you exceed the 90 minutes expect a £30 fine to drop through your door

Saturday 9th June saw the yearly parade of the Leith Festival. It was sunshine on Leith, people having fun, however this  was spoiled by Gordon “slimeball” Munro all smiles at the head of the parade on the open top bus. Isn’t it about time he realised it’s time to move over and give his cheesey grin a rest and let the real Councilors get on with it!!

Over the past year the Children and Families department especially Christine Mackay or (Rosendale) has dictated how Leith Community Centre should be ran without consulting the people of Leith and they are getting away with it. Is this because the newly elected Chairperson Ilene Davidson has been got at. Ilene works as a Personal Support Officer in Health and Social Care. If her manager or one of her managers is a direct colleague of Mackay then that may be inappropriate. Either way Ilene works for the Council and there may be a conflict of interest.

If Ilene works for works for Children and Families has she had any direct or indirect dealings with John Stevenson or Mackay?

Has Ilene had any meetings, discussions or been approached by either Stevenson or Mackay in relation to her role as Chairperson in Leith Centre?

As a Council employee you are required to have permission to serve on outside bodies such as Unincorporated Groups, has she sought such permission from her employer? If so from whom and when?

The committee is under pressure from the Children and Families department to renegotiate with the Kirkgate developer the lease the empty shop unit adjacent to the centre. Last year the councils building control advised against this as a “red herring” and would cost £90,000 to refurbish it to their standards. The idea was to turn this unit in to a designated youth space and would be managed by Paul James. How can the management committee agree to spend this amount of money belonging to the centre on a single project!