Letters: Road surface after tram work like a patchwork quilt

Now that the grossly overbudget tram project is about to resume, with the route now changed from Edinburgh Airport to St Andrew Square after various meetings between the council and the contractors, it amazes me that one thing seems to be swept under the mat.

It seems no-one has cared to take into account the hardship caused to businesses and residents of the Leith Walk area caused by preparing the utilities on the original tram route.

If the council are now intent on not routing the trams past St Andrew Square, maybe they could, before they start any major works, think about resurfacing the whole of Leith Walk first.

The Walk is like a patchwork quilt with all the various holes dug up then temporarily filled in before awaiting the arrival of the proposed tram route. If the road gets any worse with pot holes and uneven road surfaces, the only decent way to drive up it will be with a 4x4.

Colin Stevenson, Edinburgh

What a mess that greets our visitors

YET again our beautiful city is besmirched by overflowing waste bins in Princes Street Gardens and other places where visitors throng.

Yesterday afternoon I watched as tourists tried valiantly to place wrappings and paper cups into bins that were already spilling their contents.

Surely the thousands of summer visitors are entitled to enjoy the Gardens without the embarrassment of having to add to the litter already scattered on the grass and footpaths.

The cost of a regular clean-up would be a tiny fraction of the millions of pounds these visitors spend in the city.

Sadly, this is an annual problem.

Bill Sinclair, Edinburgh

The right people, with right skills

I WAS delighted to note the award of 300,000 of funding to deliver closer collaboration between Scottish colleges to train workers for the energy sector, with a specific focus on renewable energy.

Through pooling expertise and resources, thus avoiding unnecessary duplication, such collaboration will enable the colleges, who already have an excellent track record in energy skills training, to respond quickly to the changing skills requirements of energy employers.

Energy is one of the Scottish Government's key economic development priorities and it has been estimated that low carbon employment in Scotland, such as offshore wind, marine energy and carbon capture and storage, could increase by around 60,000 to approximately 130,000 by 2020, and there are still tremendous opportunities in oil and gas.

With Scotland poised to become a global leader in low carbon and renewable energy technologies it is critical that we have the right people, with the right skills, in the right place and in the right numbers.Jacqui Hepburn, Director, Alliance of Sector Skills Councils in Scotland, Edinburgh

Coming along in Leaps and bounds

WELL done to Lothian and Edinburgh Abstinence Project (Leap) on their fourth reunion (News, July 23). Such a powerful celebration of recovery and a massive thank-you to all who took part, I found it at times very moving.

Great to know that Leap is showing the way to others in the recovery field and its work is much studied.

Amazing to hear of the large numbers of former patients that have progressed into further education and employment.

Andrew P Shaw, Royston Mains Gardens, Edinburgh

Subsidy nothing to worry about

YOU report that Councillor Elaine Morris resigned from the Lib Dems on account of, inter alia, 'the subsidy for nuclear power', something that other Lib Dems, including Jenny Dawe, also appear to be 'unhappy about' ('Defection plunges coalition into doubt', News, July 22).

In fact a subsidy for nuclear power neither exists nor is proposed. Perhaps Cllr Morris is just making up excuses.

Steuart Campbell, Dovecot Loan, Edinburgh