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To: Residents and everyone who loves Edinburgh

We demand the resignation of the Edinburgh Council Leader Adam McVey

The residents of Edinburgh have had enough. We demand the immediate resignation of City of Edinburgh Council Leader, because of his shambolic leadership in a city that’s going from bad to worse. Public trust in his leadership is forever damaged.

Why is this important?

The Edinburgh Council Leader has allowed for the uncontrolled and unregulated commercialisation of central Edinburgh. Councillors and residents no longer know what is happening. The over-exploitation, commercialisation of public spaces, and the turning of Edinburgh into a constant uncontrolled theme park lies fairly and squarely with Edinburgh City Council. The Edinburgh Council Leader is the leader of this administration and therefore should resign.

The focus of this petition is on the disneyfication, commercialisation and unsustainable (over-) exploitation of Edinburgh. It is not focused on the severely deteriorating basic services for its residents such as waste and road repairs.

Let’s start with the disastrous planning mistakes of the Edinburgh Christmas market. It is held on a public green space that is managed on behalf of the residents of the city and for the common good. It belongs to the residents and not to a private company. Despite Underbelly not following the correct planning procedures and not having planning permission in place, the Edinburgh Council Leader did not initiate any enforcement action against Underbelly, the company which has the contract to organise Edinburgh’s Christmas. Various professional bodies and numerous residents called for a stop to the Christmas market. Thee Edinburgh Council Leader looked the other way knowing the possible threats to Edinburgh’s world heritage status. He had absolutely no regard for Edinburgh residents in this matter.

Then, during the Christmas market construction, memorial benches were discarded. The Edinburgh Council Leader called for ‘urgent’ action. Again, no further action was taken.

Reassurances were also given that East Princes Street Gardens (where new landscaping, in particular the trees) would be be protected from the Christmas market construction. However, McVey allowed Edinburgh Christmas Market to be non-compliant with the Council’s ‘Trees in the City’ plan e.g. ignoring BS5837, a planning condition. It certainly didn’t follow the spirit of the Tree Charter, which sets out 10 principles for a society in which trees and society can stand stronger together. There are no sustainability measures in place either. Why is he allowed to pimp out our public green spaces and allow these to be damaged by a private company?

Then there is the shambolic handling of the Edinburgh Christmas Festival on the Royal Mile. Local businesses claim to have suffered significant losses of trade and operational problems due to the suspension of licences for pavement cafes, the “mismanagement” of pedestrian traffic and problems in getting staff into their workplaces in time for the start of their shifts after key thoroughfares were blocked off.

Rightly causing immense fury, was when Edinburgh residents were told to pass a police check in order to be granted access to their own homes during the Hogmanay festivities. Residents were told to wear a valid wristband and carry their access pass at all times, and to use specific perimeter gates to enter the controlled zone. The he Edinburgh Council Leader contradicted Underbelly when he insisted that visitor access was not subject to approval. No further action was taken.

The latest saga is Underbelly throwing aside the Christmas Nativity scene on the Mound. Thrown aside to build even more platforms. It was kindly funded by Sir Tom & Lady Farmer for Edinburgh. This is the thanks they get.

There has been no consultation with the residents, and despite repeated calls for an independent enquiry, this has been ignored by Edinburgh City Council.

Underbelly are a Ltd company and designed to run a profit. The Edinburgh Council Leader agreed to inadequate contracts and therefore committed wilful misconduct as they failed to negotiate appropriate terms. McVey has a reckless attitude and doesn’t care if Underbelly committed a breach of duty at the expense of both Edinburgh City and its residents.

The Edinburgh Council Leader is the Leader of the SNP-Labour administration and they have some serious problems. He’s not confronting them, he’s in public denial. His administration is ineffective due to self-serving party politics.

Edinburgh welcomes tourism. Not over-tourism at the expense of.... well just about everything!

The buck stops with him. He needs to go.

We need someone that will stand up for and protect our city and serve its residents interests. We need somebody who deals with matters and doesn’t bury their head in the sand. We need somebody with leadership capabilities who is able to make tough decisions in the public interest. We need somebody who leads Edinburgh into the future in a sustainable manner. Let’s claim our city back by demanding the Edinburgh Council Leader's resignation.

How it will be delivered

Petition will be emailed to the Petitions Officer at City of Edinburgh Council.

Edinburgh

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Updates

2019-12-31 17:26:56 +0000

1,000 signatures reached

2019-12-30 19:44:31 +0000

500 signatures reached

2019-12-30 12:48:09 +0000

100 signatures reached

2019-12-30 12:16:39 +0000

50 signatures reached

2019-12-30 02:09:24 +0000

25 signatures reached

2019-12-29 18:05:12 +0000

10 signatures reached