The Edinburgh Reporter May 2024

By PHYLLIS STEPHEN

RESIDENTS IN GREENDYKES are calling on

the UK Government to help as their heating

costs have gone up by 500%.

Tommy Sheppard, MP for Edinburgh East, is

also involved, asking the government to take

urgent action to extend energy price caps for

these residents whose homes are heated

through district heating.

People in Edinburgh East who receive their

heat and hot water from district heating have

had eye-watering energy bill increases on unit

charges when the UK Government’s Energy

Bills Discount Scheme concluded at the end of

March.

Residents in one 2019 newbuild

development in Greendykes, built by Places for

People, have said bills have skyrocketed with

some experiencing overnight price increases

well in excess of £1,200 a year for heat and hot

water alone.

The Edinburgh East MP said that the UK

Government has repeatedly ignored SNP calls

to close a loophole meaning residents getting

their heat from district heating sources are not

covered by the energy price cap that most

households benefit from. The result has been

that, following the ending of temporary UK

Government support, energy bills for residents

and businesses have skyrocketed since 1 April.

Mr Sheppard has written to The UK

Government to seek an urgent update on

district heating systems being charged at

commercial, rather than domestic rates. This

has meant residents who are part of district

heating schemes fall into a loophole of the UK

Government’s energy price cap, meaning price

rises for them are not subject to the same

controls.

He said: “Residents are worried and rightly

angry about the impact of these eye-watering

rises. It’s farcical that having done everything

right, these residents now face bills well in

excess of what they would be paying if they had

an individual gas boiler. This defeats the entire

point of low carbon energy schemes which are

essential if we’re to continue to make progress

on tackling climate change.

“The UK Government need to urgently bring

district heating schemes under the same price

protections as the rest of the energy market. It’s

not right that energy companies continue to

make a killing out of residents purely because

of a technicality that the UK Government have

been aware of for years and have done nothing

to resolve.

“I’m demanding action from UK Ministers.

They’ve been asleep at the wheel while

residents in my constituency are suffering, they

need to fix this now. What’s happening isn’t

fair.” 

Local resident Claire who has lived in the

development for the last four years said: “As of

the 1st of April my provider has implemented a

500% increase in the price I pay per kWh from

5p to 26p - with no notice to myself or my

neighbours.  I am now facing bills in excess of

£200 a month for simple heating and hot water

requirements.

“This has put a huge financial strain on my

budgeting, alongside the many other cost of

living increases faced today.  As our home is

served by district heating not only are we not

protected by any price cap or regulations, we

are also trapped to one provider with no option

to shop around or swap tariffs, leaving myself

and my neighbours forced to find five times the

money to simply have warm showers and heat

our homes.”

6

Fatal accident inquiry to be held

into 2018 tram pedestrian death

NEWS

By STAFF REPORTER

A PRELIMINARY HEARING, part

of the proceedings which lead up to

a fatal accident inquiry (FAI), will be

held on 31 May at Edinburgh Sheriff

Court to investigate the death of

Carlos Correa in September 2018.

In a hearing in 2023 Edinburgh

Trams Limited was fined £240,

when the company admitted a

breach of health and safety

legislation.

The pedestrian, 53-year-old Mr

Correa, crossed the track on his way

home from work as a bus driver. The

tram driver sounded his bell a

number of times and slowed the

vehicle down when he saw Mr

Correa.

Applying the emergency brake

approximately 18 metres from the

tram crossing also set off the

warning horn which all trams are

fitted with, but Mr Correa was killed

in the incident. The Crown Office

and Procurator Fiscal Service

(COPFS) said: “The criminal

investigation found Edinburgh

Trams Limited had fail to carry out a

suitable and sufficient risk

assessment of the layout of the

crossing, and to ensure that it

provided sufficient notice and

warning to pedestrians of the

crossing itself. 

“The company failed to

assess the loudness of

audible warning devices on

Edinburgh trams, or the

emergency braking distances

of trams approaching the

crossing in order to identify

and implement adequate control

measures to address these hazards. 

“The absence of any written risk

assessment was made worse by the

failure to regularly review which

meant the original error went

unnoticed. A near miss incident at

the same crossing in November

2016 was reported but failed to

result in any action in relation to the

risk assessment. 

“The investigation found there

were no issues with the tram drivers

driving and that he had responded

to the situation in accordance with

his training. The tram was in

working order and the braking

system was functional.”

An FAI will decide the cause of

death, the circumstances in which

the death occurred, and what

reasonable precautions could have

been taken, if any can be identified

and could be implemented in the

future, to minimise the risk of any

deaths in similar circumstances. The

FAI will explore the circumstances of

Mr Correa’s death, looking at the

process of risk assessment and

safety management at Edinburgh

Trams Limited.

District heating costs rise

by 500%

Residents look to the

UK Government for

help with their bills

Alan Simpson

NEWS IN BRIEF

LIVING RENT will hold a public meeting

about development of Daltons

Scrapyard in Leith on 10 May 2024 at

6.30pm at Duncan Place Community

Hub. Land owned by Daltons on Eyre

Place Lane was earmarked by developers

for student flats. After two appeals to the

Government Reporter the application to

build student flats has been refused. The

decision stated that the proposed

development does not “accord overall

with the relevant provisions of the

development plan and that there are no

material considerations which would

justify granting planning permission”.

On 4 May join a discussion of

developments at Granton Waterfront

as ideas and comments are invited on

heritage restoration in Granton -

particularly Granton Lighthouse,

Granton Station Platforms, Madelvic

House and the Granton Castle Walled

Garden. The council already has the

funding but wants to know what locals

think. There is an online survey

running from 1 May and on 4 May

there is a drop in session at Granton

Station from 11am to 2pm. Staff from

Granton Station will also be there to

talk about WASPS in Granton.

During Mental Health Awareness

Week, the National Museum of Scotland

will host a Wellbeing Week with a range

of events designed to help visitors

discover mindful moments at the

museum. From 13–17 May, join in

Wellbeing Wanders, a guided tour

around the museum that takes a closer

look at some of the objects on display.

Edinburgh Bookshop has announced

they are moving to the former

Oddbins shop on Bruntsfield Place

with an open evening for the

neighbourhood on 17 May.