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Who's Who

Edinburgh’s Culture Plan and Events Strategy are delivered by a complementary group of services and people who will help support you with every aspect of your event. 

    Colourful digital images displayed onto the Usher Hall building as part of the Edinburgh International Festival's Five Telegrams 2018.  Image by: Ryan Buchanan i

    Culture Service

    The City of Edinburgh Council’s Culture Service comprises of the following teams.  The Service works with a variety of external agencies, including Scottish Enterprise, ETAG, Event Scotland and Creative Scotland, Scottish Government, and Essential Edinburgh

    Cultural Development Team

    The Team takes the lead in delivering the Culture Plan by providing information and advice to anyone involved in cultural initiatives, and by helping with funding or access to funding. It also connects representatives from the arts and culture community, fostering relationships that deliver cultural excellence and contribute to the city’s local, national and global reputation. 

    By identifying opportunities for strategic partnership working, and for networking and support, the Team creates opportunities for practitioners - and audiences - to develop and access excellent cultural opportunities. That also helps design and deliver the projects that will achieve the objectives stated in the Culture Plan. 

    Events Team

    The team delivers the Events Strategy through a year-round calendar that includes local, national and international events. They also  provide information and advice on the management and delivery of outdoor events. 

    Achieving these objectives results in a positive environment and infrastructure that both attracts events to Edinburgh and builds on the city’s worldwide reputation as a premier events destination.

    Public Safety Team

    The Public Safety Team act as an advisory service to those wishing to organise an event within Edinburgh, as well as ensuring compliance with current legislation, and provide expert guidance on issues relating to safety at the event. The team chairs Event Planning and Operations Group (EPOG) meetings to ensure the smooth running and safety of events held within Edinburgh. 

    Public Safety also issue and administer Safety Certificates for Sports Grounds, permits for raised structures (Section 89, Civic Government (Scotland) Act), permits for drone use and ensure licensing standards and conditions are met at licensed premises. 

    Other duties include the delivery of festive lights and other City dressing as required throughout the year, floodlighting of buildings/monuments, running and maintenance of public clocks. 

    In addition, Public Safety design, manage and plan the deployment of Counter Terrorist measures for events in Edinburgh, in conjunction with external agencies like Police Scotland.

    Film Edinburgh

    Film Edinburgh is the City of Edinburgh Council's film office, providing film office services for Edinburgh, East Lothian and the Scottish Borders. We offer free advice to productions on the locations, crew and facilities that are available in this area. Our local knowledge will save you time in setting up your shoot. We know the locations that are interested in allowing filming and their location library together with the Edinburgh production guide of local crew and facilities will help you find what you're looking for.

    Film Edinburgh acts as the first point of liaison for productions with the City of Edinburgh Council, East Lothian Council, Scottish Borders Council and Police Scotland (Edinburgh and Lothian & Borders divisions). We have the contacts you will need if your shoot requires parking, road closures, police personnel, street furniture removal etc.

    Contact Film Edinburgh to discuss your project requirements.  

    More information about arranging permission and access for filming and photography in areas of Council responsibility in Edinburgh, including parking dispensations, is available on the Council website.

    Venues Teams

    Museums & Galleries Edinburgh has responsibility for 13 venues and more than 200 monuments across the city.

    Edinburgh Cultural Venues is a consortium of four council-owned venues — the Assembly Rooms, Usher Hall, Church Hill Theatre and Ross Bandstand

    Our Parks and Greenspace Service manages our outdoor green spaces.

    The Estates Service leases a wide range of properties, including the Collective Gallery, Edinburgh World Heritage Trust and the Festival, King’s and Royal Lyceum Theatres.

    Contact information for the Culture Service can be found via our Contact Us page.

    Other Council Services

    We also work with a wide range of other Council services, including neighbourhood partnerships, local communities and city stakeholders to promote cultural and creative activity and decision-making. The main services include: 

    Communications Service

    The Council’s in-house Communications Service:

    • is responsible for all aspects of communications in support of Council business to key groups including residents, businesses, community groups, stakeholders and partner organisations. 

    Email: communications@edinburgh.gov.uk  Tel No: 0131 529 4040.

    Inclusion Growth Service

    The Council's Inclusion Growth Service:

    • supports sustainable and inclusive growth of creative industries and the tourism sector
    • promotes Edinburgh globally to secure investment and develop overseas trade opportunities
    • leads on the funding and delivery of workspaces for small businesses including creative enterprises
    • provides a range of employability and skills services to support employers' current and future needs

    Elin Williamson, Business Growth & Inclusion Senior Manager, Tel No: 0131 529 3211         
    David Cooper, Commercial Development & Investment Senior Manager, Tel No: 0131 529 3211

    Arts and Creative Learning, Lifelong Learning, Communities and Families

    Arts and Creative Learning, within Communities and Families, provides services which complement the work of the Culture Team and: 

    • works closely with schools, communities, partner organisations and colleagues within the Council (such as Culture, Economic Development and Planning)
    • leads on a wide range of projects focusing on learning in, through and about the arts as well as developing Creativity across Learning
    • supports professional learning and pupils’ skills development and work with community groups
    • provides specialist work in art forms such as film, music, dance, film and visual art
    • leads on the National Creative Learning Plan 
    • runs the Council’s highly successful Creative Conversations

    Contact details:

    Linda Lees, Lifelong Learning Strategic Manager (Creativity, Health and Wellbeing) – Tel No: 0131 469 3956

    Martin Hutchison, Lifelong Learning Strategic Development Officer, Creative Learning (Performing Arts) - Tel No: 0131 469 3446

    Lorna Macdonald, Lifelong Learning Strategic Development Officer, Creative Learning (Visual Art, Film & Literature) – Tel No: 0131 469 3381

    Alix Knox, Instrumental Music Service Co-ordinator – Tel No: 0131 469 3169

    Frances Rive, Youth Music Initiative Co-ordinator – Tel No: 0131 469 3155

    Emma Barclay, Youth Music Initiative Projects Assistant – Tel No: 0131 469 3951  

    Pamela Day & Laura McAdam, Dance Development Officers – Tel No: 0131 332 7805/Tel No: 0131 332 7805 

    Graham Fitzpatrick & Dina Subasciaki, Lifelong Learning Development Officers (Screen Education Edinburgh) – Tel No: 0131 343 1151

    Sean Young, Skills & Qualifications Officer (Screen Education Edinburgh) – Tel No: 0131 343 1151

    Estates Services

    Investments Team

    • Manages the Council’s non-operational commercial portfolio which includes retail & leisure properties, office space, industrial units and yards.
    • Deals with the disposal of assets declared surplus to requirements
    • Undertakes strategic acquisitions of assets to assist with delivering Council Commitments

    Email enquiries to: commercial.property@edinburgh.gov.uk Tel: 0131 529 5828

    Operational Estates:

    Planning and Building Standards Service

    • provides input to the process of regional planning and contributes to the delivery of actions which impact on the City Region;
    • prepares the Local Development Plan which sets the detailed policy for development in the city and prepares the Action Programme which sets out what is required to deliver the plan; 
    • prepares guidance on design and other detailed matters to ensure that development is of the highest quality and contributes positively to the city; 
    • through the development management process, ensures that planning policy and guidance objectives are delivered;
    • supports and safeguards the characteristics of the built and natural environment of the city and leads on the place making agenda; 
    • works in collaboration with other services and partner organisations to help deliver public realm projects;
    • verifies the compliance of applications for building warrants with national building standards; and 
    • enforces against breaches of planning or building control.

    More details on the work of the Planning Service, including contact information, is available at www.edinburgh.gov.uk/planning and Building Standards at www.edinburgh.gov.uk/buildingwarrants.

    Neighbourhood Networks

    There are 13 Neighbourhood Networks in Edinburgh. Each is made up of a variety of people - representatives from community groups, voluntary organisations working in the local area, and the City of Edinburgh Council (local Councillors).  

    Neighbourhood Networks talk about issues in their local communities. They influence decisions so that services work together to improve the quality of life and reduce inequalities in their local area.  Much of the work is set out in citywide and more local community plans. More information can be found on the Edinburgh Partnership website.