Category: Pennywell

Meeting to discuss community response to Coronavirus pandemic

North Edinburgh activists are to meet tomorrow to formulate a community response to tackling problems caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The meeting will take place in West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre at 2.30pm.

Meeting organiser Willie Black said: “We have already seen communities coming together to do what they can to help their neighbours and our more vulnerable residents, and  the purpose of tomorrow’s meeting is to co-ordinate this community response to make sure no person is being missed or left out.

“By working together and pooling our resources we can better respond to the challenges posed to our community by this pandemic.”

Local voluntary sector organisations, food banks, community centre representatives, council officers, community councils and local elected politicians have all been invited to attended.

What can you do to help? Why not attend the meeting and find out!

 

Planting begins at Pennywell Nature Garden

Local schoolchildren have planted the first trees at the new Pennywell Nature Garden.

Pupils from Pirniehall Primary School were joined by members of the Pennywell community as planting got underway in time for spring yesterday.

Set within Urban Union’s and the City of Edinburgh Council’s Pennywell Living development, the shared nature garden will help foster a sense of community and provide local residents with an attractive outdoor space.

The garden will also allow the community to get involved in several projects which will benefit both the environment and their neighbourhood as a whole.

By creating the nature garden, developer Urban Union and North Edinburgh Arts are hoping to create a space for both adults and children at Pennywell Living to enjoy, as well as attract wildlife and boost biodiversity by planting trees, hedges, snowdrops and seed-bombing wildflowers.

Neil McKay, managing director at Urban Union, said: “Having the chance to enjoy the outdoors is incredibly important. Being in the fresh air and around nature is fantastic for people’s health and well-being.

“The garden will also help create a green area and tranquil setting for the development and neighbourhood.

“Located in the hub of the community, the nature garden will feature a range of colourful flowers, trees and plants. It has been great seeing local pupils, community and organisations all come together to help plant the garden’s first trees.”

Natalie Taylor, designer of the Pennywell Nature Garden, added: “The garden will be a fantastic nature haven full of biodiversity for the Pennywell community to enjoy, offering both adults and children a brilliant chance to see nature’s life cycle in action.”

Set to complete in 2023, Pennywell Living is part of a wider housing regeneration project being delivered through a partnership with the City of Edinburgh Council and Urban Union which will see the delivery of over 770 new homes, half of which will be affordable housing.

With great local primary and secondary schools, as well as a wealth of useful amenities in the area, the development is perfect for young professionals and families.

To find out more about the houses on offer at Pennywell Living, visit: www.urbanunionltd.co.uk/pennywell-living

Celebrate International Women’s Day at North Edinburgh Arts

SHE Scotland invite all women to our International Women’s Day event on Friday 6th March at North Edinburgh Arts.

We will be sharing our Ambassadors workshops and celebrating together. There will be a creche during the workshops.

We will also be opening the SHE Motherhood Exhibition by the fabulous SHE Photography.

Recruitment Day in Muirhouse

Full time and part time roles available in branches across Lothian

Next Step Edinburgh are teaming up with Semichem and Scotmid for an open morning in Muirhouse this Friday 21 February.

Store Managers will be on hand to talk to prospective candidates about what it is like to work with them. Full time and part time positions are available and the successful applicants will enjoy training, staff benefits and excellent career prospects.

As the event has been organised by Next Step Edinburgh, there is also additional support available including support with CV writing, interview prep and much more.

The event takes place at 9.30 – 11.30am at Pennywell Resource Centre, 31 – 33 Pennywell Road, EH4 4PJ.

If you can’t make that date then there will be another session on Tue 25 February 9:30am – 11:30am at the Recruitment and Skills Centre (RSC) at Fort Kinnaird Shopping Centre.

All welcome – just come along with your CV.

If you have any questions then please contact 

Next Step on 0300 365 0025 info@communityrenewal.org.uk

BEWARE: Dinosaurs in North Edinburgh!

DINOSAUR DISPLAY HATCHES IN PENNYWELL!

Local residents are being encouraged to track down and report any unusual sightings of baby dinosaurs in their neighbourhood. It comes as a dozen lanterns were let loose in Pennywell and Muirhouse after featuring in the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s Lost Worlds display at Edinburgh Zoo.

The batch of hatching dinosaur eggs – each symbolising a sign of the zodiac – can be visited in North Edinburgh Arts, Muirhouse Library and North West Locality Council Office until Friday 21 February.

The free event has been made possible through the City of Edinburgh Council’s partnership with the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), Urban Union, Robertson Partnership Homes and support from North Edinburgh Arts and Police Scotland.

Edinburgh’s Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener, Cllr Kate Campbell, said: “Pennywell is a fantastic community which has experienced a great deal of redevelopment in recent years, so I hope the lantern trail will encourage lots of people to explore the area and see how it has evolved.

“Throughout all of this change, our mission and that of the community has always been to create new and exciting opportunities for residents and local businesses. We’ve worked with developers and the Scottish Government to do this, creating the Pennywell All Care Centre for health and wellbeing and of course the incredible North Edinburgh Arts centre, where dinosaurs now roam.

“More than £42 million has been invested in the area which has created 356 affordable homes and more for private sale. With investment of £2.5 billion planned over the next 10 years, we’ll be looking to replicate projects like this under our ambitious plans for council housing.”

The regeneration of Pennywell and Muirhouse is well underway and will deliver around 1,000 new homes for sale and rent, enhanced public services and retail offering and a new public square, alongside new opportunities for learning, arts, culture and employment.

Neil McKay Managing Director of Urban Union added: “Our new collection of homes builds on the success of Phase 2 and 1, by offering an exceptional range of modern, warm and welcoming homes, together with new local amenity.

“We hope the lanterns’ fun pre-historic theme and message of conservation are welcomed by the community and allows everyone to explore the regeneration of Pennywell and Muirhouse.”

James Freel, managing director of Robertson Partnership Homes, said: “We’re really proud to support events that embody the true meaning of community, bringing people together to not only enjoy the lanterns but discover the incredible transformation of the area.

“Regeneration has been at the heart of the whole project and we’re on track to deliver high quality residential units across the town centre. We’re looking forward to literally shining a light on the fantastic progress made so far.”

RZSS events and experiences manager Jonathan Brown said: “Giant Lanterns Lost Worlds gave our visitors the opportunity to discover the amazing creatures that once lived on our planet and helped us raise awareness of the very real threat of extinction faced today by endangered species around the world.

“We were thrilled to see so many people enjoying the event and learning about our wildlife conservation work. It is exciting to have this opportunity to bring it to light again within the local community.”

As a wildlife conservation charity, RZSS is dedicated to connecting people to nature and safeguarding threatened species. This year the theme for the lanterns at the Zoo was Lost Worlds, including hundreds of pre-historic creatures from the beginning of life on earth through to the ice age.

The City of Edinburgh Council and its partners are committed to the conversation of the planet and over the next decade, the Council has committed to planting one million trees and cutting carbon to net zero.

Earlier this week, a new Council report revealed Capital households are more climate aware and generate less waste per resident than those of any other major Scottish city. The city is prioritising plans to tackle climate change with ambitious plans to cut carbon to net zero by 2030 and was recently announced as the second most sustainable city in the UK.

The Pennywell display maximises the time Edinburgh has with these lanterns by reusing elements of the display and spreading the Zoo’s message of conservation.

A Hub for Ideas

First Port is a Scotland wide organisation which supports social enterprises throughout Scotland, from start up to further on in their development. What If…North Edinburgh? is a programme specifically for this area to support the development of social enterprises from idea to action.

I’m Julie Smith,  the programme manager and I’m based in the area in North Edinburgh Arts. I want to work with local people who have ideas about helping themselves and their community through developing businesses which do both!

It could be an idea about anything: a gardening service for older people; teaching people a skill; supporting people to get physically active. Whatever it is I want to hear it. Even if it isn’t a business idea, it might be a good project.

One of the issues we have in the area is a lack of space for people to work in. There has been a growth in co-working spaces in the city, but there’s not a lot between South Queensferry and Leith. A co –working space means someone who just needs a desk and broadband connection can share space with others in a similar situation. Some of the spaces can be quite expensive.

The new North Edinburgh Community Resource Centre, housing Community Renewal and Citizen’s Advice on Pennywell Road has some suitable space available to rent.

There’s room for co-working space, a small training/meeting room and access to a kitchen. It would be a great space for people to work in, meet others and for training and workshops to be delivered in.

I would like to find out if there are people throughout North West Edinburgh who would be interested in such a space and developing a vision for it. The local area has never had a business hub where people can get support, can develop ideas and share with others. I think this is a great opportunity.

There is a viewing on Thursday 6th February at 10am – 11am or 6pm -7pm. Contact me at julie@firstport.org.uk if you’d like more information or to sign up for the tour!