Merchiston Community Council has a number of elected and associate (co-opted) members. If you’d like to contact any of us, please fill in the contact form.
Members
Ian Doig
ChairIan has been an MCC Member for 14 years and has lived in Merchiston since 1982.
Appointed Chair of MCC in 2019.
MCC interests include Public Services Modernisation to align with changing public demands, Policing, Public Safety, Environmental Issues, and Controlled Parking Zones (CPZ).
Community representative on SW Locality Community Planning Partnership, and Chair of CEC’s Community Grants Scheme for SW Edinburgh, which awards grants to a range of community organisations. Founder member of Merchiston and Polwarth Neighbourhood Watch Scheme.
Retired Chartered Accountant, specialising in public services finance and governance.
Other governance roles have included: National Trust for Scotland Trustee, Care Inspectorate Board, National Records of Scotland Board, SEPA Board, SSSC Board, Scottish Court Services, and Edinburgh College.
Dan C
SecretaryDan has been a member of the MCC since early 2019.
Frances Hawarden
TreasurerI have been Treasurer for Merchiston Community Council from 2005 to date. A self-imposed project is currently to research a secure and efficient option for fully digitized payments and record-keeping.
Vivien Kitteringham
Vice ChairI am entering my second year on Merchiston Community Council and am particularly interested in developing ways of improving reciprocal communication between MCC and the neighbourhood we represent. Please do get in touch with any local issues where you think we may be able to help.
As a retired science and psychology teacher, I have a strong interest in the local and wider environment, transport and planning, especially encouraging and maintaining strong communities. As a volunteer with Re-Union I love the Union Canal and am keen to see it well maintained and accessible for as many local residents as possible.
Mairianna Clyde
Planning LeadI’ve been a member of Merchiston Community Council for about ten years. My main roles are in planning, where I act as the planning lead, but I’m also interested in traffic, parking (ensuring the Controlled Parking Zones are working effectively), health and well-being, and parks and green-spaces. I usually represent MCC at the walkabouts undertaken by South West Neighbourhood Partnership in the Ward 9 part of the community council area. (So if you have any issues re pavements, roads, park, email us!)
Bridget Stevens
Licensing LeadBridget Stevens, a former Chair of Merchiston Community Council, has lived in Merchiston for around 25 years. In her current role as Licensing Lead, she attends CEC Licensing Board meetings and other city council meetings as appropriate. She represents MCC on the Board of FOMBL (Friends of the Meadows & Bruntsfield Links) and was in the past a trustee of Dig-In community grocer and of the Eric Liddell Centre.
She chairs a small local charity, Tap into IT, which introduces older residents to the joys of the internet, while another of her volunteering activities is as an audio describer of live theatre for the benefit of visually impaired members of the audience.
In 2012 she was made a Deputy Lieutenant of the City of Edinburgh.
Joan Houston
MCC MemberI have been a member of Merchiston Community Council for 4 years and have lived in Merchiston for 16 years. The impact of George Watson College on the local residents concerning traffic and parking has been of great concern. I sustained a fractured shoulder after tripping on a pavement in Glasgow and a fracture wrist on my daily walk during Lockdown (May 2020). Hence, I reviewed the condition of pavements in my local area and am one of the leads for the Merchiston Leaf Clearing 2021 initiative (merchistonleafclearing@gmail.com )
A pilot area has been set up and, by 24th September 2021, 34 residents have volunteered to keep ‘their’ pavements clear of leaves.
I am a MCC representative on the George Watsons College Community Forum.
I have had great pleasure in learning about the link between MCC and the City of Edinburgh Council. We are fortunate to have excellent councillors who have given much support. They give advice and help to address aspects which residents bring up at the virtual Public MCC Meetings.
I would recommend that if you are interested in maintaining Merchiston, a Conservation Area, as an attractive part of Edinburgh, please consider approaching Ian Doig, mershistonchair@gmail.com for more information.
Helen Zealley
MCC MemberI have been co-opted to represent Merchiston Community Council on the Astley Ainslie Hospital Community Engagement Group (AAHCEG) – a group involving four Community Councils and the Grange Association appointed by NHS Lothian to facilitate effective public consultation in the development of a ‘place brief’ for the future of the AAH site. The place brief will provide the framework for future development of the hospital grounds when the health services currently provided on the site transfer to the Royal Edinburgh Campus around 2022. In the past I worked on the AAH campus and more recently I have, with colleagues from the Group, been leading walks around the hospital grounds for members of the public.
Roma Menlowe
MCC MemberRoma has lived in Merchiston for over 20 years. Previously a policy manager in the Scottish Government, she now volunteers for various charities. She feels very privileged to have a flat with a garden in this wonderful neighbourhood. Through the Community Council she hopes to help residents change some things for the better, while protecting the area’s remarkable amenity. She is currently working on the Polwarth Pavements initiative.
Declan Murray
MCC MemberI moved back to Merchiston (from Leith) in 2019 and joined MCC as Transport Co-Lead in summer 2021. I am interested in how we can improve the walking environment in the area and in helping more people use bus or bicycle for getting around the city. Professionally I work in waste management which means I am also interested in bins! My other passions are running and listening to music (folk and electronic).
John McKenna
MCC Member
Raina Bergasse
MCC MemberAssociate Members
Amelie Haag
Boroughmuir High School (Joint Associate)Sam Moore
Boroughmuir High School (Joint Associate)