Face to face with…Peter Strong

The North Neighbourhood Partnerships are supported by the North Neighborhood Team, Services for Communities, the City of Edinburgh Council, Peter Strong is team manager.

Tell us a bit about yourself?

I've been with the Council since 1983, have worked in most areas of the city and was housing neighbourhood manager in East Edinburgh before taking up this post last year.

Tell us a bit about your job?

No two days are ever the same. There's a huge variety as I manage the Council's day-to-day operational services and also have responsibility to deliver community planning by means of the partnerships.

What’s your biggest challenge?

The sheer size of the area is one issue – it covers three Partnerships all of which have unique issues.

Overall the development of the waterfront in Granton and Leith will have a huge impact on the area for generations to come and we need to make sure that everything's properly planned.

Any successes you are particularly proud of?

Throughout my career I've always been committed to working with tenants, residents and communities, most recently with community councils throughout North in developing the Partnerships.

What common problems are you able to help people with?

Because we've got staff and managers from a wide variety of services, all based in one office and all with a firm focus on what's best for North neighbourhood, we've been able to join up our services better.

Any interesting stories

Two members of staff from the Housing Property Team were on their rounds when they came across an elderly tenant who had collapsed. They helped him into his house, got him a glass of water and waited until help came. The multi-storey concierge team at Fort House helped lots of tenants up the stairs with their shopping when the lifts broke down one day. Customers took the time to write praising the staff and we presented them with awards as a thank you.