Category: News Item

A washing machine and tumble dryer are to be installed at a school in Glasgow following an infestation of bed bugs. 

St Bride's Primary is located in the Strathbungo area, which Glasgow City Council said had been affected by pest control issues for several years. 

The council said free to use washing and drying machines are to be installed in the school in the coming months to help tackle the issue and will be used to boil wash clothes of children whose families do not have available facilities.

A council spokeswoman said: "Our schools play an active and important role in many different issues affecting their local community – offering support and advice to their families far beyond learning and teaching. 

"Supporting our children and our staff are a top priority and while challenging for all, we are working with a number of agencies to do all that we can to put measures in place that will help the school manage the situation. 

"This must be done as sensitively as possible so that there is no stigma for our children and families."

The council said that it had been working to deal with pest control issues in Govanhill for some time. Pest control officers also visited the school in March and two other visits are planned before the new term in August.

The council spokeswoman added: "The measures introduced in the school are having an impact with no active sightings in the school since January and no additional staff affected.

"This includes hosting information sessions – inviting along other professionals, as appropriate – to help educate families with problems affecting their homes that can sometimes have an impact on schools."

Tom Bell, Chief Executive of REHIS was asked to provide an informed view to the Evening Times and offered a general view of bed bugs and treatment of infestation and not a comment on the particular school of interest.

The followiNg was advised:

How could bed bugs get into a school in the first place?

Bed Bugs are an increasingly common pest across the world – perhaps the increased movement of people over and within national borders is a factor – domestic and international travel, and migration have increased in recent years.

Bed Bugs are more likely to be found in harbourages within close proximity of the human host – carpet edges, skirting boards, loose wallpaper, bed leg/head joints and folds in bed mattresses. They can be carried from e.g. the home into a school on clothes and bedding and if these clothes and bedding are left in a warm room adult Bed Bugs may leave the safety of the clothing/bedding and lay eggs in harbourages described above before seeking a human host to feed on.

With repeated visits, is there a possibility that this was caused by re-infestation from staff and/or pupils? 

Re-infestation of a treated premises is very possible if staff/pupils return to the school from infested homes – see above.

Is there a possibility that, if the bugs have not been eradicated from people's homes, as well as schools, that these could return if not properly policed? 

This scenario is highly likely. Homes should also be appropriately surveyed and treated – this can be especially difficult if houses are overcrowded as there are likely to be many personal possessions and more furniture making effective/targeted application of insecticide difficult to achieve. Reluctance by an occupier to admit that their house may be infested along with practical difficulties associated with gaining access are two of many obstacles to efficient and effective control in homes.

What treatments could have been used to rid the school of the bugs? Is there a chance, with repeated exposure to these chemicals, that this could be damaging to people's health in the long term if exposure continues? 

There are chemical and non-chemical treatments available to treat Bed Bugs but the most usual in the situation you describe would be a chemical treatment.

If this is the case then the Council will have engaged a trained and competent organisation to carry out a pre-treatment survey to establish the presence and location of any infestation – this is best practice and should always be undertaken. A number of chemical insecticides are available for eradication of such an infestation. All will have to have been licensed for use in given situations and personnel will have been trained and deemed competent to apply the insecticide appropriately and safely (for themselves and for anyone using the premises – teachers, students, visitors and ancillary staff.

Treatments/repeat treatments should only be undertaken if there is evidence of infestation/re-infestation. Occasionally bites on humans are deemed to indicate infestation in one premises when the reality is that the human was bitten in a different premises. Knowledge of the lifecycle of the Bed Bug is essential if treatments are to properly control the infestation. Adult females lay eggs (up to 25 each week) and the eggs hatch within between 4/5 days (in warm conditions) and 17/18 days (in cold or hot conditions). Eggs hatch and nymphs emerge – there are five nymphal stages before Bed Bugs mature into adults – egg to adult stage can take between 36 and 128 days. Schools tend to be warm all day especially within term times so development between eggs hatching and nymphs reaching adult stage will be quicker. Insecticides should therefore be reapplied at intervals which take account of the lifecycle – re-treatments should be undertaken after perhaps two/three weeks to allow eggs to hatch and for first stage nymphs to emerge.

Potentially infested bedding/clothing should be removed from the infested room and washed at as hot a temperature as the fabric will allow. Tumble drying at a temperature as hot as the fabric will allow should follow. No untreated bedding/clothing should be re-introduced to the treated room and the treated room should not be vacuum cleaned between treatments.

All insecticides used in the UK are licensed and approved by Government for use in particular situations. The application of these insecticides is also regulated and all personnel fully trained in the appropriate use of them. Staff and students should be kept out of the treated rooms in line with advice from the manufacturer’s which should be relayed to the staff by the personnel applying the insecticide in question. Ill health resulting from exposure to insecticides in the UK is very unlikely.

The Scottish Government has announced that an independent review will be conducted in relation to reported health and safety concerns at two Coatbridge schools after water supply contamination fears.

The review, jointly agreed between the Scottish Government, North Lanarkshire Council and NHS Lanarkshire, is looking at specific health and safety concerns raised as well as the history, construction and maintenance of the site.

It comes after four teachers at Buchanan High were diagnosed with the same form of bladder cancer. Concerns have been voiced over the possible contamination of the Coatbridge site, upon which the shared campus of Buchanan High School, St Ambrose High School and Townhead Road community centre was built, since it was reported that blue water was emerging from the pipes.

The campus opened in 2012 on land which had previously been used by Gartsherrie Ironworks for the dumping of industrial waste between 1945 and 1972.

The review will address specific health concerns that have been raised by the school and local community such as possible exposure to unspecified chemicals resulting from previous land use, attending the school and acquiring cancer and the presence of copper in the water supply.

The review will also assess the risk assessment made and validation of works undertaken across the site to assess whether all activity was carried out in accordance with appropriate Regulations and best practice to mitigate against any risk to public health.

The review will be carried out by a party independent of the original works. The party will review reports and scientific or other information relevant to decisions within scope of the review made by organisations such as Drinking Water Regulator for Scotland, Health & Safety Executive, North Lanarkshire Council’s Director of Enterprise and Communities (Planning/Building and Environmental Health), NHS Lanarkshire, SEPA and Scottish Water

The purpose of the review is to provide further reassurance to the local community and will determine whether additional evidence or action is required in order to provide such further reassurance.

Paul Cackette and Dr Margaret Hannah, who are leading the investigation, met with the headteachers of Buchanan High and St Ambrose High schools, public health experts from NHS Lanarkshire and representatives of North Lanarkshire Council.

Depute First Minister John Swinney said: “There have been a number of significant concerns raised by families, teachers and elected representatives about the safety of the Buchanan and St Ambrose High School.

“I recognise that North Lanarkshire Council and NHS Lanarkshire have undertaken extensive work in an effort to address the concerns expressed by the local community.

“However in light of continuing concerns being raised, ministers have agreed with North Lanarkshire Council and NHS Lanarkshire to immediately commission an impartial, independent review.

“This will assess existing evidence and determine if more needs to be done to further mitigate any concerns of pupils, their parents and staff and provide further reassurance to the local community.”

North Lanarkshire Council chief executive Des Murray said: ‘We welcome the support of the Government in providing further reassurance to the community.

‘Specialist doctors from NHS Lanarkshire have confirmed no incidence of cancer is linked to the schools. They also confirmed no other serious illness is connected to the schools or the site on which they are built. All the facts demonstrate that the schools and site on which they are built are safe.’

New regulations on school meals will be introduced in Scotland as part of an effort to tackle childhood obesity.

The regulations include setting a maximum limit on the amount of red processed meat that can be consumed over the course of the school week.

Scotland will become the first part of the UK to set such a limit when the change is brought in.

The move is part of a new initiative to make school food healthier and will see an increase in the amount of fruit and vegetables served, whilst significantly reducing the amount of sugar available throughout the school day.

The Scottish Government and local authorities are jointly committed to providing the healthiest food to children and young people. This commitment is underpinned by a duty to provide school meals that meet strict nutritional requirements, including encouraging the use of fresh, local and sustainable produce.

The change strengthens the Scottish Government and Local Government efforts to improve diet, halve childhood obesity by 2030 and strengthen children and young people’s healthy eating habits.

School food regulations will be amended to ensure:

• a minimum of two full portions of vegetables and a full portion of fruit are offered as part of a school lunch, with full portions of fruit and or vegetables also available in, for example, tuck shops
• a maximum amount of red and processed red meat provision –  such as bacon, ham and pepperoni – in school lunches to help reduce exposure to nitrites
• removal of fruit juice and smoothies from primary and secondary schools to help reduce sugar intake

The measures follow advice from a technical working group established in 2017 with representation from NHS Health Scotland, Education Scotland, Food Standards Scotland and others. The Scottish Government accepted all of the recommendations from their report and final recommendations.

The measures also follow an extensive public consultation on school food regulations which took place in 2018. 1,359 responses were received, 1,280 from individuals and 79 from organisations.

The regulations will come into effect by autumn 2020 to allow councils time to plan their menus and supply chains.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney said:

“Our school food and drink regulations are now over a decade old. With more than 360,000 meals served a day, schools must follow the latest scientific and dietary advice and encourage young people to choose healthy habits for life.

“Every school lunch will now contain more fruit and vegetables, and where food is served elsewhere in school full portions of fruit and vegetables must be on offer.

“We have set maximum limits for consumption of red processed meat which is linked to an increased risk of cancer. This will also reduce exposure to harmful nitrites.

“And we know that one small carton of fruit juice or smoothie contains more than the entire recommended sugar intake for a primary pupil’s lunch, so these drinks will no longer be served in schools.

“These changes will improve our school food, help tackle childhood obesity and give our children the best start in life.”

How will school meals change?

The guidelines differ between primary and secondary schools. 

Younger children will not be offered any more than 175g of red or red processed meat at school mealtimes over the course of a week. 

Of that, no more than 100g should be red processed meat such as bacon, ham or pepperoni.

In secondary schools, pupils will be offered no more than 230g of red meat – 130g of which can be processed. 

Meanwhile, at least two portions of vegetables and one portion of fruit should form part of every school lunch in all schools. 

In primary schools, a portion is 40g, in high schools, 80g. 

Fruit and vegetables must also be available elsewhere in the school, for example in tuck shops.

Fruit juices and smoothies will be off the menu, as children are encouraged to drink water or milk. No added sugar and lower fat milk drinks such as flavoured and hot chocolate will be permitted.

The volume of alcohol sold per adult in Scotland in 2018 has fallen to its lowest level since records began in 1994.

The first expert analysis of data, just over a year since Scotland became the first country in the world to introduce minimum unit pricing, shows a 3% fall in alcohol sales per adult in Scotland from the previous year.

The Scottish Government estimates that if trends continue its minimum unit pricing (MUP) strategy will save 392 lives over its first five years.

Results of the NHS Health Scotland Monitoring and Evaluating Scotland’s Alcohol Strategy (MESAS) programme found that the volume of alcohol sold per adult in Scotland was 9% higher than in England and Wales, where 9.1 litres was sold per adult.

The 2019 MESAS (Monitoring and Evaluating Scotland's Alcohol Strategy) report also said:

• The average Scottish adult bought 19 units of alcohol per week (The UK recommended limit was 14 units a week for men and women). 
• The annual volume of "pure alcohol" in drinks sold in Scotland was 9.9 litres per adult, down about 3% from 10.2 litres in 2017. 
• The volume of pure alcohol sold in Scotland in 2018 was 9% higher than in England & Wales, the smallest difference since 2003. 
• 87% of the total difference in per adult sales between Scotland and England & Wales was due to higher off-trade sales in Scotland. 
• 73% of all alcohol sold in Scotland was sold through the off-trade (supermarkets and other off-licences) compared with 27% sold through the on-trade (such as pubs, clubs and restaurants). 
• In 2017, 1,120 people died in Scotland due to a cause wholly attributable to alcohol (alcohol-specific), an average of 22 people per week. 

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said:

“This is a promising start following our world-leading action to introduce minimum unit pricing, and with this 3% fall we are moving in the right direction.

“There are, on average, 22 alcohol-specific deaths every week in Scotland, and 683 hospital admissions, and behind every one of these statistics is a person, a family, and a community badly affected by alcohol harm.

“Given the clear and proven link between consumption and harm, minimum unit pricing is the most effective and efficient way to tackle the cheap, high strength alcohol that causes so much harm to so many families.”

On 1 May 2018 Scotland brought into force legislation setting a minimum 50 pence per unit price to tackle the harm caused by cheap, high strength alcohol.

A multi-agency investigation is being carried out into cases of listeria infection in nine seriously ill hospital patients in England, five of whom have sadly died.  No infections have been found in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.

On 14 June, Public Health England (PHE) announced the number of deaths related to pre-packed sandwiches and salads at hospitals had risen from three to five. It also announced the number of confirmed cases had risen from six to nine.

The additional cases were identified after PHE analysed previously known cases of listeria from the past two months to see if they were linked to this outbreak using Whole Genome Sequencing analysis.

PHE had initially announced on 7 June, six confirmed cases of listeria which two patients from Manchester Royal Infirmary and one at Aintree Hospital had died.

Evidence suggests that all individuals ate the affected products before the withdrawal took place in hospitals on the 25 May 2019.

The source of the outbreak has been linked to Staffordshire sandwich producer The Good Food Chain which has now voluntarily ceased production while investigations continue. 

Affected sandwiches and salads were also withdrawn from hospitals when the link to listeria infections were first identified.

The Good Food Chain was supplied with meat from North Country Cooked Meats, which subsequently produced a positive test result for the outbreak strain of listeria has also voluntarily ceased production.  Their distributor North Country Quality Foods have also voluntarily ceased production.

Dr Nick Phin, Public Health England, said:

“To date, there have been no patients linked to this incident outside healthcare organisations, but we continue to investigate. Swift action was taken to protect patients and any risk to the public is low. PHE is continuing to analyse all recent and ongoing samples of listeria from hospital patients to understand whether their illness is linked to this outbreak.”

Listeria has such a long incubation period and can withstand cold temperatures such as refrigeration and even freezing.

Public Health England, The Food Standards Agency, Public Health Wales, Food Standards Scotland, Health Protection Scotland and a number of local authorities are investigating the outbreak.

With less than a year to go until the establishment of Public Health Scotland, Health Secretary Jeanne Freeman has confirmed the appointment of Professor Jim McGoldrick, as Shadow Chair of Public Health Scotland.

Professor McGoldrick is current Convenor of the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) and a Board Member of the Care Inspectorate. He is also a Member of the Disability and Carer Benefits Expert Advisory Group.

As Shadow Chair, Jim will have an important role in laying the foundations of the new organisation and establishing the leadership required to create a body equipped to tackle Scotland future public health challenges. Professor McGoldrick said:

‘’I am delighted to be given the opportunity to play a role in the establishment of Public Health Scotland. This is an exciting opportunity to make a real difference to communities the length and breadth of Scotland. Realising the potential of the new organisation and the wider public health workforce to lead a renewed effort across national and local government, public services and the third sector to improve health and wellbeing is exciting and challenging in equal measure but one I am looking forward to’’

Jim has extensive experience of the NHS and wider public sector as Chairman of the Fife NHS Board and Vice Chair of the Fife Community Planning Partnership Board until the end of April 2013. He served as a member of the Ministerial Strategic Group for Health and Community Care and worked in Education as a Member of the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council from July 2001 until its merger with the Further Education Funding Council in October 2005.

Jim will take up the role of Shadow Chair from 1 July 2019 on a transitional basis to allow recruitment for a permanent Chair to be completed. As Shadow Chair, Jim will oversee the establishment of the organisation and appointment of the shadow board and senior management team in advance of Public Health Scotland becoming fully operational on the 1st April 2020.

Several events took place on June 20 across Scotland to celebrate Clean Air Day.

Clean Air Day is the UK’s largest air pollution campaign which takes place on 20 June every year and is coordinated by Environmental Protection Scotland in Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government.

The day, is supported by several organisations including Cleaner Air for Scotland (CAFS) strategy, Cycling Scotland, Energy Saving Trust Scotland, Greener Scotland, Health Protection Scotland, Scottish Transport Emissions Partnership, Sustrans and Transport Scotland.

More than 100 organisations across the length and breadth of Scotland took part in the day’s events, with 20 local authorities from Comhairle nan Eilean Siar to North Ayrshire getting involved.

Those involved ranged from nurseries to larger schools, health boards, active travel hubs and private and public sector organisations.

Glasgow staged a free flagship event which closed off part of George Square and featured many clean air-themed events and activities. Festivities included a BMX track, live music, displays of low emission buses and electric vehicles and information on air quality in Scotland.

Aberdeen organised a public event on similar lines which had stalls from Aberdeen City Council, First Bus, the NHS and air quality specialists Ricardos. First Bus gave away free day passes as part of a national campaign and NHS representatives educated members of the public on how to travel more healthily. There was also three electric and hydrogen vehicles on show.

While in Argyll, pupils at Rhunahaorine Primary School in Tayinloan conducted a traffic survey on the nearby A83 main route to Campbeltown to make a short video promoting the benefits of cleaner air. Plockton High School had a Clean Air Day theme in their classes, with pupils discussing and debating air quality and what can be done to improve it.

Other engagement events included an initiative to encourage active travel organised by Falkirk Active Travel Hub at Forth Valley Royal Hospital and free breakfast vouchers for NHS staff who cycle or walk to work at Crosshouse Hospital, Kilmarnock.

The UK government is consulting on plans to introduce mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid in the UK help prevent neural tube defects in foetuses.

The launch of the 12-week consultation follows years of campaigns urging the Government to make the fortification of flour mandatory.

Neural tube defects, such as spina bifida (abnormal development of the spine) and anencephaly, which affects the brain, affect about 1,000 pregnancies per year in the UK. Over 40% of cases are fatal. Most babies who survive will need continuing care.

There is strong evidence that many neural tube defects can be prevented by increasing women’s intake of folic acid.

Women trying to become pregnant are already advised to take a daily supplement of 400 micrograms of folic acid before they conceive and during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. But about half of pregnancies are unplanned, and women are not always aware they should take the supplement – or forget to.

Fortification is seen as the most effective way of reaching women with the lowest intakes, typically younger woman from deprived areas. 

Mandatory fortification would mean everybody who ate foods such as bread would get more folic acid, but scientists have advised the government the recommended level is safe.

More than 60 countries already add folic acid to flour. When Canada introduced mandatory fortification, in the late 1990s, neural tube defects halved. And when the same change was made in Australia, neural tube defects fell by 14%.

UK milled wheat flour already has the vitamins thiamine and niacin as well as iron and calcium added.

Food waste from Scottish homes even worse for climate change than plastic waste, Zero Waste Scotland warns as it urges everyone to play their part through its new Food Waste Reduction Action Plan.

The agency issued the warning as it began work to implement its new Food Waste Reduction Action Plan, launched with the Scottish Government with the aim of reducing food waste across Scotland by a third by 2025.

When food waste ends up in landfill, it rots, producing methane – one of the most damaging greenhouse gases driving up climate change.  In the short-term methane is many times worse than carbon dioxide.

Iain Gulland, chief executive Zero Waste Scotland, said: “It might seem bizarre but scraping that leftover lasagne, mince or salad from your plate into the bin is seriously damaging the planet, because when those scraps of pasta and lettuce which you never got around to eating end up in landfill, they rot. And as they break down they emit methane, which is many times more harmful in the short-term to our climate than carbon dioxide (CO2).

“Food waste is actually a bigger cause of climate change than plastics. It is still vital that we continue to reduce plastic waste, which remains an extremely serious issue. But as more people ditch single use plastics as awareness grows of the wider impact of plastic waste, including pollution, we will send a strong message on the damage caused by binning leftovers and other wasted food.” 

Only 93,000 tonnes of the food waste collected in Scotland in 2016 was sent to dedicated food waste recycling collections, with most of the remainder sent to landfill, while around 150,000 tonnes went to home composting or ended up in sewage works after going down the drain from kitchen sinks.

Zero Waste Scotland calculated that the carbon footprint of food waste collected from Scottish households that year was nearly three times that of plastic waste collected from people's homes, at roughly 1.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) compared to 0.73MtCO2e.

One of the key reasons why food waste has a far greater impact on global warming is that there is much more of it, with the amount of food waste collected from Scottish households in 2016 roughly double the amount of plastic waste collected. Zero Waste Scotland figures for that year calculated that 456,000 tonnes of food waste was collected in total, compared with 224,000 tonnes of plastic waste.

The Scottish government has also launched a new advertising campaign, entitled Food Gone Bad, to help raise awareness of the impact food waste has on climate change and how to reduce it.

A £30 million project to improve services, and ensure high quality drinking water to more than 54,000 people in parts of Bearsden, Milngavie, Clydebank and Strathblane, will be carried out for Scottish Water by its partners Caledonia Water Alliance (CWA). It is expected this work will take around two years to complete. 

The project will change the source of the water supply from the ageing Burncrooks Water Treatment Works (WTW) in West Stirlingshire to the state-of-the-art Milngavie WTW in East Dunbartonshire.

The works will involve the installation of around 8 miles of new water main, the transfer of supply to Milngavie WTW and the decommissioning of Burncrooks WTW.    

Burncrooks WTW, in the Kilpatrick Hills near Strathblane, was built in the late 1950s and has served the area well.  But it's reaching the end of its working life and is not suitable in the long-term to meet stringent water quality standards.

The state-of-the-art Milngavie WTW was opened in 2007 and already serves about 700,0000 across much of the Greater Glasgow area.

The project will enable the provision of high-quality water to thousands of domestic properties and businesses and a large number of public buildings including more than 30 schools in three local authority areas, and the Golden Jubilee Hospital in Clydebank.

The investment will also enable Scottish Water to supply customers with water from more than one WTW which will provide improved resilience and reduce the risk of disruption to normal water supplies.

The main 4.3 miles section of new plastic twin-pipe water main will be installed from Bankell Service Reservoir in the east, to Baljaffray Service Reservoir in the west, following a route up part of Strathblane Road, west along the north of Craigmaddie Reservoir, round the north and west of Mugdock Reservoir, down Mugdock Road to Drumclog Car Park.

It will continue across the south of Mugdock Country Park, crossing the West Highland Way over the Allander Water near Clober, crossing the A809 just south of Craigton village, to Baljaffray Service Reservoir.  

The total of 8 miles of water main will also include a second stretch of 3.5 miles of  250ml pipe, to be installed from near Baljaffray to Carbeth, where it will connect to the existing network. 

This new plastic main will replace an existing stretch of old 21 inch main, which has a history of bursts, and will provide improved security of supply.

More than 80% of the pipe route will be installed on private land, rather than under public roads and footpaths, to reduce inconvenience to the public.

For more information on the project visit Scottish Water project page: Burncrooks Water Improvements

Health Protection Scotland (HPS) published the following gastrointestinal surveillance reports for 2018: 

Hepatitis A 

In 2018, there were 34 cases of Hepatitis A reported to HPS. This is lower than that reported in 2017 when 153 cases were reported. However, these reports in 2017 included 91 cases associated with a foodborne outbreak of Hepatitis A focused in NHS Lanarkshire.​

Hepatitis E 

​​​​In 2018, HPS received 112 reports of Hepatitis E , with a rate of 2.1 cases per 100,000 population. This is a decline of 34.5% and 50.4% when compared with case numbers in 2017 and 2016 respectively.​

​​Listeria monocytogenes 

There were 12 cases of Listeria​monocytogenes reported in 2018, a slight decline on the 17 cases reported in 2017, and reflects the random year on year variation seen in the small number of cases.

Norovirus

​​​In 2018, HPS received 1,491 laboratory reports of norovirus, a rate of 16.3 per 100,000. This was an increase of 514 (52.6%) on the 977 reports received in 2017.​

Shigella

​​In 2018, there were 115 reports of Shigella in Scotland, 112 (97.4%) of which were further speciated. This is an increase when compared with the 38 reports (59.4%) in 2017 and 44 reports (50.6%) in 2016.​

The surveillance reports can be read on the HPS website here.

On the Sunday 5 May roads in the centre of Edinburgh were closed to traffic for the first time as the city joined the Open Streets movement to reduce air pollution.

It is the first city in the UK to join the Open Streets movement, a movement which has seen cities around the world temporarily close some streets to all but pedestrians and non-motorised vehicles on a regular basis.

In Edinburgh, the initiative will take place on the first Sunday of every month as part of an 18-month trial. Streets closed to traffic are in the Old Town, including the Canongate, Cockburn Street and Victoria Street and will be closed between midday and 17:00.

Councillor Lesley Macinnes said: “We’ve seen how successful similar schemes internationally have proved by encouraging active travel, improving air quality and creating a safer, more relaxed atmosphere so I can’t wait to see this take shape in the capital.

“Climate change is a real threat to society, it’s clear that we have to act, and Open Streets is undoubtedly a step in the right direction. We are wholeheartedly committed to creating an accessible, sustainable and people-friendly city.”

Picture: City of Edinburgh Council tweeted a picture of one iconic street devoid of cars