I have cleared my desk at PEP, done what I can do at the Council and everything is ready for the summer holidays - hurray. We have booked an apartment in Puerto Banus, hired a car and when we're there hope to spend a couple of days in Cadiz. I have stocked up on books 'Atonement' being top of the list, and am taking the laptop to do some writing - so, along with the joy of preparing fresh local produce to eat and drinking the best rioja - my holiday is all planned. I can't wait.
While we're away my sister and two of her adult children are travelling from London to settle her son in as a Fresher at Edinburgh University and are using our house as their base. He has found a flat but I am warned to expect regular visits for feeding - I have drawn the line at doing his laundry!
So that's it - no more blogs for a while: normal service resumes mid September
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What happened to the Waterfront's money lady
What's this:
FRESH questions have been raised over Waterfront Edinburgh's finances after it emerged a city elderly group received free handouts.
New board members at the company are to investigate why the Pilton Elderly Project (PEP) had received cash boosts, such as minibus insurance and accommodation, when other local charities did not.
Councillor Elaine Morris, who was appointed a board director in May called into question Cllr Elizabeth Maginnis' links with Waterfront Edinburgh and PEP, which is now the Pilton Equalities Project.
Cllr Maginnis is a former chairwoman of Waterfront Edinburgh and is now the manager of PEP.
However, Cllr Maginnis hit back by saying she was not on the board of Waterfront Edinburgh when the deals with PEP were struck.
Cllr Morris said: "There is a big question mark here over both the paying of insurance for PEP's minibus and the three years' worth of free accommodation.
"Not only is it the [taxpayers'] money we are talking about but, from Waterfront Edinburgh's perspective, a property being rented out for free may have had development potential."
Confidential documents revealing lavish expenditure by the company were obtained by the Evening News earlier this week.
The documents show that Waterfront Edinburgh paid £1750 a year towards PEP's insurance for their minibus in 2005 and 2006. The payment was also sanctioned for this year, but was then cancelled after May's elections when the new board came in.
PEP, which has its base at West Pilton Park, also had free use of a garage space on the Granton waterfront. The charity used it to store its minibus fleet and other items.
It is understood this arrangement lasted for at least three years, but has also now stopped since the new board came in.
Board chairman Cllr Steve Cardownie said: "I do find this rather concerning. It seems to anyone like a conflict of interests here. The connection is odd, to say the least.
"If PEP had come to the board to appeal for some help as a local organisation then fine, but the board were never asked."
A senior Waterfront Edinburgh source told the Evening News the company's former chief executive was influenced into the funding of PEP.
The source said: "There's no way Stephen Izatt came into this organisation and just decided they were a worthy organisation for the money, absolutely no way. It would have been brought to his attention by someone."
However, Cllr Maginnis dismissed the claims, saying they were long-standing allegations.
She said: "When the deal was struck with regards to the garaging arrangements for PEP, I wasn't actually on the board for the Waterfront Edinburgh company. I was the manager of PEP but not on the board of Waterfront Edinburgh. Once I was on the board, I declared that as an interest. Scottish Gas also gave us money at that time so it was a similar deal.
"There were a number of other local organisations that got support from Waterfront Edinburgh, including schools and football groups, and it also supported the Business Incubator Centre.
"These kind of rumours are shabby and all they do is damage a popular and valuable local contribution."
The Evening News revealed earlier this month how the company spent £120,000 on foreign trips, extravagant parties and sports equipment.
And while Mr Izatt said this was all par for the course in such an organisation, and all expenses were approved by the board, the expenditure has met with heavy criticism from new board members.
Cllr Allan Jackson, who is also on the board, said: "Certainly this is something that can never be allowed to happen again. We, as a board, are keen that any expense is run past us and we know about anything that is spent. Taxpayers' money should be spent wisely.
"I'm keen that we should be squeaky clean, I don't want to be involved in anything that isn't.
"We need to look at everything that happened before we came in and decide what to do from there."
No-one at PEP was available for comment.
This article: http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1447212007
Oh look, another yin
THE company behind the regeneration of Edinburgh's waterfront spent tens of thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money on foreign trips, lavish entertaining and bicycles that no-one has used.
A confidential report obtained by the Evening News today raises questions over more than £120,000 worth of spending by Waterfront Edinburgh.
It includes expenses claims for two trips to a property show in Cannes and business class flights for former chief executive Stephen Izatt and ex-board chairman Councillor Elizabeth Maginnis to attend Tartan Week in Boston.
A further £50,000 was blown on two huge St Andrew's Night parties, while more than £5500 was spent entertaining guests at Murrayfield rugby internationals.
Waterfront Edinburgh is redeveloping around 120 acres of the waterfront at Granton. It was set-up by the council and Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian to oversee the £1 billion regeneration. The full extent of spending by Waterfront chiefs has emerged just weeks after it was revealed that Mr Izatt sanctioned £10,000 worth of gym equipment, which was only used by him and another senior member of staff.
The report shows that at the same time, £7000 was spent on mountain bikes to encourage employees to cycle to work more often. According to sources, the bikes have never been used and remain at the organisation's headquarters at Madelvic House in Granton.
Mr Izatt has now left Waterfront Edinburgh to take up a new role in the Channel Islands and new councillors have been elected to the board since the election.
Today, the body's new chairman, SNP Councillor Steve Cardownie, pledged to end the "inappropriate spending" and said all expenses would now have to be approved by the board. He said: "I'm confident, and the staff are too, that the old style has gone."
THE BILL: A list of Edinburgh Waterfront spending, much of which was never justified to members of the board
Before the changes, the board gave special powers of delegation to senior officials, so significant financial decisions could be taken without board approval.
It is understood that board members are disgusted that senior representatives of the old regime were able to go to the US and France without ever presenting a report or details on their trip.
The new board ordered the report after stories emerged about foreign visits and items being bought without any knowledge of staff or fellow board members.
The accounts reveal how £170,000 was spent on events, sponsorship and miscellaneous items between January 2005 and May this year. More than £120,000 of that has raised eyebrows as to what benefit it brought the company or development.
During the £20,000 St Andrew's Night celebrations in 2005, £4500 was spent on lights that were never used after the event, while folk legend Aly Bain got £7500 for appearing. Dancing girls received £2500, while almost £2000 was spent on alcohol and a photographer was paid £350.
Elsewhere, accounts show £150 was spent on a tow bar for a Land Rover to transport the unused bicycles. A further £8000 was splashed out on Waterfront tartan goods between November 2005 and September 2006. Like the bicycles, however, the corporate gifts - rings, ties, cases and belts - lie unused at Madelvic House.
Officials also had dreams of showing off the development to potential investors and developers from the Firth of Forth itself. And although aspirations of buying a company speedboat to do this never came to fruition, £650 was invested in a survey "with a view to purchase" in November 2005.
Councillor Maginnis' and Mr Izatt's trip to Boston included £1500 expenses for accommodation, meals and entertainment.
The Waterfront Edinburgh team who travelled twice to Cannes property show Marché International des Professionnels d'Immobilier claimed more than £16,000. No reports on the Boston trip and at least one of the Cannes visits were given to the board.
Taking a range of guests to some of Scotland's home Six Nations rugby fixtures, between 2005 and 2007, accounted for £5500. For the game against Ireland in February 2005, this included lunch in Fishers restaurant in Thistle Street before the game. Among those attending were representatives of Barratt, Wimpey, then-councillor Billy Fitzpatrick, and Ian Wall of the council's development arm EDI.
Waterfront Edinburgh also sponsored many events in the last two years. About £14,000 went to the city's Jazz Festival, for promotion and "supporting the arts".
In addition to the sponsorship money, more than £4000 was spent at the festival on corporate entertainment.
A further £11,000 was spent on T-shirts and polo shirts. The report states that the benefit to the company was "promotional and advertising" and they were to be distributed for staff to wear and sport teams to use.
Newly-elected board member Councillor Elaine Morris said the report raised serious questions. "It is very disappointing that the former chief executive and chairperson of Waterfront Edinburgh should consider such expenditure to be an appropriate use of public money," she said.
"Those in charge of companies such as Waterfront have a duty, not only to conduct the business of the company in a responsible manner, they also have a duty to safeguard public finances.
"I do not believe they fulfilled either of these functions by condoning or instigating unnecessary expenditure on events and visits which did not bring any added value to the company."
Board members changed after the May elections. Cllrs Morris, Allan Jackson and Cardownie all came in, while remaining Forth councillor and former chairwoman Elizabeth Maginnis was voted off. Colin Hunter replaced Mr Izatt as chief executive.
Mr Izatt, who left in February to take the helm of a similar project in Jersey - St Helier Waterfront programme - could not be contacted for comment. Cllr Maginnis was also unavailable for comment.
LOCAL GROUPS GET THEIR SHARE
WATERFRONT Edinburgh also invested considerably in a variety of local organisations.
Sport featured heavily in their donations, with £1000 worth of plastic sports bottles distributed to local school children and sport teams.
The East of Scotland league football team Spartans were the main recipients of the funds.
In March this year, the company fund gave the club £3300 to support development between the club and local schools and colleges. The report said this would be an advertising benefit and show the firm was supporting local community sport.
Then, in June, Waterfront Edinburgh sanctioned a £5000 donation for floodlights for the side's City Park.
Youth football team Royston Rangers were given £500 last August to sponsor their new strips, a deal that was repeated in July.
This article: http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1402232007
Last updated: 03-Sep-07 13:13 BST
Well, well, well - I've found another yin as well - who's a good person then. Somebody is telling lies Coonsillor - is it you or is it Izatt? - Any chance of you resigning your council seat? The community are waiting for the city's first bi-election.....
THE former chief executive of Waterfront Edinburgh has defended the organisation's spending during his time in charge.
Earlier this week the Evening News revealed the company spent tens of thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money to fund foreign trips and parties during Stephen Izatt's tenure.
However Mr Izatt, who now leads a similar project in the Channel Islands, said the £120,000 list of expenses was justifiable.
He said: "Everything that was spent was done so with the approval of the board."
His defence came as former city leader Donald Anderson revealed he opposed Mr Izatt's appointment in 2003. Mr Anderson said: "I think it was the wrong decision and time has shown this to be the case. I met the director of city development [Andrew Holmes] to express the view very strongly that I didn't think it was the right appointment."
New board chairman, Councillor Steve Cardownie, and new board member Cllr Elaine Morris also questioned the expenses, saying three foreign trips - one to Boston and two to Cannes - were particularly questionable, and that despite thousands being spent, no reports ever appeared.
However, Mr Izatt said this was not the case, and that he was encouraged by the Scottish Executive to "sell Scotland" abroad.
He said: "All of these things were reported at our monthly board meetings, everyone knew about them and no questions were raised at the time. The trip to Boston was to see a similar development there, where federal buildings were built on the waterfront. Before I left, one of the last things I worked on was to move a museum to the Waterfront."
He said two trips to Cannes were for conferences to attract interest in the 120-acre site being developed by Waterfront Edinburgh at Granton. This was also the reason for entertaining prospective investors, he said. The organisation spent £50,000 on two St Andrew's Day celebrations and several thousand pounds taking clients to Six Nations rugby matches at Murrayfield.
But Mr Izatt, who left Waterfront Edinburgh in February, said entertaining clients was part of the process of attracting investors.
He said: "At that time it was not easy getting developers to develop there until we got things going. We tried to encourage this with a huge amount of presentations."
Waterfront Edinburgh also spent £10,000 on gym equipment and £8000 on mountain bikes during Mr Izatt's three-year role at the Granton-based organisation, which was set up by the city council and Scottish Enterprise.
Mr Izatt said: "We were encouraged to invest in sustainable transport. Bikes were ideal for moving round our sites."
He added: "I wasn't aware of Donald Anderson's remarks - I had a very good working relationship with him."
On Mr Izatt's appointment, council chief executive Tom Aitchison, said: "Waterfront Edinburgh Limited followed professional recruitment procedures, supported by the use of independent recruitment advisers."
This article: http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1431752007
P.S. How was Cadiz?
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