The Edinburgh Reporter January 2023

3

Stephen Rafferty

Portobello celebrates after officials reject plans for 66ft telecoms mast

Early Christ-mast

Portobello campaigners

Louise Birnie and Morag Pendreigh

All aboard the Floating Stage planned for canal

By STEPHEN RAFFERTY

RESIDENTS AND businesses in Portobello

celebrated an early Christ Mast present after

planning officials rejected proposals for a

controversial 66ft telecoms mast.

Hutchison Networks wanted to place the 5G

mast and four large equipment cabinets just

metres away from a residential building at 275

Portobello High Street but almost 90 objections

were lodged. Residents were backed by local

politicians, Portobello Amenity Society and

Action Porty, with plans branded an eyesore

and a blight on the town’s conservation area.

Now city planners have agreed, refusing

permission for the mast and ruling that the

proposal would have had an adverse and

unacceptable impact on the character and

appearance of the Portobello Conservation

Area, the built heritage of the city, the

immediate outlook of neighbouring residents

and did not comply with several policies

outlined in the Edinburgh Local Development

Plan, the council’s non statutory guidance for

communications infrastructure, or the relevant

Scottish Planning Policy. If the application had

succeeded, the mast would have been 23ft

higher than the former government offices

at 275 Portobello High Street - converted

five years ago to residential flats - and just

6.3 metres from the balconies and windows

of homes.

Louise Birnie, resident’s association

spokesperson, said: “This is the Christmas

present we were hoping and waiting for. The

decision to refuse permission is a huge relief

for residents living near to what potentially

would have been an almighty eyesore and

detrimental to the fabric of the High Street.

“We are delighted that planning officials have

given this matter some serious thought, taken

on board the genuine concerns of a large

number of residents and businesses, and come

to the right conclusion that a 66ft mast was not

the right fit at this location.”

Cllr Kate Campbell objected to the proposals

and said: “Credit goes to the community who

came together to make sure their voices were

heard, but I was glad to be able to support

residents. The reasons for the refusal are

actually really obvious, and I’m glad the

planners agreed that it was unacceptable

because of the impact on residents and the

impact on the conservation area. You can’t

just plonk a huge mast right in front of

people’s windows. We all accept that we need

these masts so we can be digitally connected,

but I hope the message has been received

loud and clear that a lot more thought needs

to go into where they are positioned for any

future applications.”

Tommy Sheppard MP added: “I am delighted

that Edinburgh City Council have refused this

application. As I said in my representations to

the council, this mast would have been visually

intrusive, adversely impacting residents and the

built environment. It is reassuring that planners

have listened to local people who submitted a

significant number of objections, opposing this

monstrous eyesore. This is a real win for

community action.”

John Stewart, spokesman for Portobello

Amenity Society, said: “The mast would also

have been a huge visual intrusion in this part of

the Portobello Conservation Area. All of the

properties on the north side of this part of the

High Street are listed buildings and their

setting would have been adversely affected had

this application been granted. The society

leafleted residents to raise awareness of the

application and this, combined with the efforts

of the residents of the flats at 275 Portobello

High Street, resulted in 88 objections being

lodged against this application, showing the

strong determination of Portobello residents to

protect the conservation area.”

By PHYLLIS STEPHEN

A NEW performance venue is in the

wings for the Union and Forth &

Clyde Canals. The vision is of a

floating stage that can be moored at

different places providing a

performance space for amateur,

semi and professional entertainers.

 The Floating Stage project aims

to serve all the villages, towns and

communities along the 66 miles of

canal between Glasgow and

Edinburgh. Those invited to use it

will include community

organisations, charity fundraisers,

local choirs, bands, dramatic

societies and schools a unique

venue and a way to reach their

communities.

 This project evolved from

the recent Flotilla200, the

200th anniversary celebrations

of the Lowland canals, when

boaters, charity and volunteer

organisations and local

communities come together for

a weekend of celebration.

Entertainment included lots of

music and dance. The organisers

were approached by many

individuals and groups, wishing to

be involved. All of this provided the

inspiration for a floating stage that

will bring communities together to

enjoy the unique environment of

the canals.

People have already signed up

for membership or volunteering

with The Floating Stage. There are

many ways to get involved, from

receiving the newsletter to

volunteering for anything from

the initial management team,

a trustee or the committee.

Stuart Rennie, founder and

principal of the Floating Stage

project said: “The concept for the

Floating Stage was borne out of the

celebrations of the 200th anniversary

of the Union Canal, which brought

together the boating fraternity, local

communities, and many types of

entertainment both on the water

and on the banks of the canal. It

really was a festival of entertainment,

and it’s now great to see the vision

moving towards becoming a reality. I

would encourage as many as

possible to show their support,

either through our website, or on

our social media channels.” 

A new not for profit charitable

organisation will be formed to

create and operate the stage along

the canal with real possibilities of

using it during the Festival.

http://www.thefloatingstage.co.uk

For Billy Collins

An obscure member of the Olympian family

was the nymph Okay,

who, for complicated reasons

was cursed

with starting everyone's sentences for them.

She was incredibly annoying

both for her apparent prescience

and her habit of setting folk off

with the word okay

for all they tried to not do it.

Her heart was broken

after she fell in love with this dude

who drowned himself in a well

when he caught sight of his own reflection.

She grew fat and miserable on goat ice cream

and a sort of feta calzone popular at that time

and spread herself around generally everywhere.

To this day, when you wander

lost in the dead acoustics

of a snowfield or a pine forest,

or regard the black maw of a cave

as the storm clouds gather behind you,

if you listen carefully

just as you draw the breath into your lungs,

you will catch her whispered prompts of

Where the hell

What do you mean you didn’t

I think we should start seeing other

The poem OKAY comes from The Arctic,

the latest collection from much-loved

Scottish poet Don Paterson. The Arctic

may or may not be the name of a real

bar in Dundee ‘frequented by the

survivors of several kinds of

apocalypse’. The Arctic was published in

2022 by Faber. Our poem is provided by

The Scottish Poetry Library.