Edinburgh Evening News Bulletin 15-12-2023

Here are some of the top stories you can find on our website today.

Transcript

00:00 Hello and welcome back to the Edinburgh Evening News. I'm Neil Johnston, a reporter at the

00:04 paper and these are some of the top stories you can find on our website today.

00:09 Controversial plans to knock down two pubs and a takeaway for student flats at a historic

00:14 site in Edinburgh have been approved. The council had refused permission for student

00:18 accommodation at Jocks Lodge in June, but the decision has now been overturned after

00:23 a Scottish Government reporter approved the application on Thursday, December 14th. In

00:28 total six commercial units, three of which are currently empty, will be demolished and

00:33 replaced with a 191-bed student accommodation block.

00:38 Police investigating vandalism in Edinburgh City Centre have released images of a man

00:43 they believe could have information that will assist their enquiries. The incident happened

00:48 at St Andrew's Square at around 10 to 5 on Saturday, 9th December. The man in the images

00:54 is described as white and aged between 20 to 30 years old with short brown hair. He

00:59 was wearing a flat cap, knee-length coat, blue jeans and carrying a backpack. If anyone

01:04 can help identify the man, they should report this to Police Scotland via 101, quoting incident

01:10 number 2618. And finally, Police Scotland have said five

01:15 police stations in the capital are at risk of closure as it looks to save money amid

01:19 major budget concerns. The announcement is part of an organisation-wide restructure,

01:25 with the force looking to permanently shut more than 40 buildings across the country.

01:30 Police stations in Ballerno, Fettes, Leith, the West End and Portobello are among the

01:35 buildings that could be sold off. Lothian MSP, Miles Briggs, expressed his concern about

01:40 the proposed closures, saying that a strong police presence is essential for preventing

01:45 crime and keeping our communities safe. He added he will be seeking answers on what measures

01:50 are being put in place to ensure that a sufficient police presence will be maintained in these

01:55 areas.

02:04 Bye.

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