Information on Edinburgh
Edinburgh Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Èideann) is the capital of Scotland, the seat of the Scottish parliament and government, the largest city by area and the second largest by population in the country. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a 30 square miles (78 km2) rural area. Located in the south-east of Scotland, Edinburgh lies on the east coast of the Central Belt, along the Firth of Forth, near the North Sea.
The city was one of the historical major centres of the Enlightenment, led by the University of Edinburgh, helping to earn it the nickname Athens of the North. The Old Town and New Town districts of Edinburgh were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995 in recognition of the unique character of the Medieval Old Town and the planned Georgian New Town. It covers both the Old and New Towns together with the Dean Village and the Calton Hill areas. There are over 4,500 listed buildings within the city. In May 2010, it had a total of 40 conservation areascovering 23% of the building stock and 23% of the population, the highest such ratios of any major city in the UK. In the 2011 mid-year population estimates, Edinburgh had a total resident population of 495,360.
The city hosts the annual Edinburgh Festival, a group of official and independent festivals held annually over about four weeks beginning in early August. The number of visitors attracted to Edinburgh for the Festival is roughly equal to the settled population of the city. The best-known of these events are the Edinburgh Fringe, the largest performing-arts festival in the world; the Edinburgh International Festival; the Edinburgh Military Tattoo; and the Edinburgh International Book Festival. Other annual events include the Hogmanay street party and the Beltane Fire Festival. Edinburgh attracts over 1 million overseas visitors a year, making it the second most visited tourist destination in the United Kingdom.
Culturally, Edinburgh is best known for the Edinburgh Festival, which is a series of separate events running from the end of July until early September each year. The longest established festival is the Edinburgh International Festival, which first ran in 1947. The International Festival centres on a programme of high-profile theatre productions and classical music performances, featuring international directors, conductors, theatre companies and orchestras.
The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo is an annual series of Military tattoos performed by British Armed Forces, Commonwealth and International military bands and display teams on the esplanade of Edinburgh Castle in the Scottish capital, Edinburgh. The event takes place annually throughout August, as part of the wider Edinburgh Festival (a collective name for many independent festivals and events held in Edinburgh during August).
The Scotland national rugby union team plays at Murrayfield Stadium, which is owned by the Scottish Rugby Union and is also used as a venue for other events, including music concerts. Edinburgh's professional rugby team, Edinburgh Rugby, play in the Magners League at Murrayfield. It is the largest capacity stadium in Scotland, with around 67,000 seats. Edinburgh is also home to RBS Premier One rugby teams Heriot's Rugby Club,Boroughmuir RFC, the Edinburgh Academicals and Currie RFC.
Crime in Edinburgh
The Evening News reports that crime has dropped by 10% in the Capital,with even greater drops in the crime hot-spots the city centre and Leith Walk, of 17% and 20% respectively. The only area with a reported increase in crime was in the Corstorphine, Drumbrae and Gyle area.
But Councillor Cameron Rose points out on his blog that there has been a large increase in bike thefts in the Southside and Newington area, already the worst affected part of town because of its large student population.
Buried deep in figures just released by Lothian and Borders Police is an 85% increase in bicycles stolen in the ward during April/May 2010 compared to the same two months in the previous year. That is 48 cycles thefts reported in the two months of this year compared to 26 in the same period last year. That compares with 266 stolen in the ward in the period April '09 to March '10 and 199 in the previous year.
If you're a blogger living in Edinburgh, take a look at the crime statistics for your part of the city, and let us know what they mean to you.
Fraud in Edinburgh
Four former council employees and 11 other people have been charged with fraud over the Edinburgh council repairs scandal.
Lothian and Borders Police announced the move today after an investigation into alleged corruption and fraud involving former employees of City of Edinburgh Council's Property Care Department.
The four former council employees, who are all men and aged 42, 45, 59 and 62, have been charged with alleged corruption and fraud over regard to repairs carried out at council buildings in Edinburgh.
As part of the same inquiry, nine men and two women aged between the ages of 30 and 64 have been charged with alleged fraud, corruption and money laundering offences.
The procurator-fiscal has been briefed and a report will be submitted in due course.
Police said the charges were not connected to the Statutory Repair Notices scheme operated by the Property Conservation Department at City of Edinburgh Council which is being investigated in a separate probe.
A report on that inquiry has been submitted to the Procurator Fiscal following an investigation into the operation of the scheme, however no charges have been brought.
A newspaper artical on Fraud
Missing People in Edinburgh
Around 39,000 people went missing in Scotland last year, according to figures from the National Policing Improvement Agency. The figure for Britain as a whole was nearly 327,000. Some people go missing more than once.
The research, which is being conducted in collaboration with Grampian and Metropolitan police, is being presented to the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)'s annual international conference in Edinburgh today (Tuesday 3 July 2012).
Dr Hester Parr, who is working with colleagues at Glasgow and Dundee universities on the ESRC-funded project, said:
"We are shedding light on a significant social problem, by asking people why they disappeared and where they went, and also by looking at the way police deal with the missing.
"How does the family cope with being left behind? What happens when, and if, missing people come back? These are the questions that lie at the heart of this research."
Data from the Agency suggests that 75-80% of missing persons cases are resolved within a week, 20 people a week are found dead and 2,000 a year remain missing.
Where we are
Hudson House, 8 Albany Street, Edinburgh,EH1 3QB