It’s fair to say Muirhouse and Pennywell have known happier times. With local businesses closing down and new homes still some way off, there are few reasons to be cheerful but Muirhouse St. Andrew’s Church plan to tackle the despondency with the launch of a new initiative. Muirhouse Centipede Project gets under way next month with an initial consultation exercise at the church on 15 March.
“It’s not been an easy time for the area and the community is weary”, said Muirhouse St. Andrew’s locum minister Linda Dunbar. “As well as the ongoing work there is a concern that, when the new houses eventually do get built, that could cause more tension too. Local people have fond memories of Muirhouse Gala and the way everybody worked together to make it happen, and that’s what we hope we can rekindle with the Centipede project.”
There are a wide range of groups, organisations and agencies working across the area and Linda hopes that they can all join together to come up with ideas to regenerate community spirit in Muirhouse. A centipede needs to get it’s many legs working together if it wants to get somewhere – hence the name of the project.
“We’ve contacted all of the schools and organisations based in the area to invite them to an ideas day – we’ve called it ‘Imagination Pick and Mix’ – on 15 March and the response we’ve received so far has been very encouraging. We’re delighted that Liz Gardiner of Fablevision will be leading the session – Liz has worked in community settings for over twenty years and she has a great reputation for helping communities produce ground-breaking projects. We’d like the 15 March sessions to produce ideas we can take forward together as a community.”
Linda stressed that Muirhouse St. Andrew’s is not leading the project, purely facilitating it. “We’re not the ‘head’ of the centipede; we are one of the legs like everyone else. For this to work it’s got to be ideas from the ground up and that’s why we’re hoping that all local organisations will come along on 15 March, bringing lots of ideas and enthusiasm. What happens after that will depend on the Muirhouse community itself. It’s a great opportunity to be involved in something really new and exciting”.
Imagination Pick and Mix takes place on Thursday15 March from 10am – 3pm at Muirhouse St Andrew’s Church on Pennywell Gardens. Lunch provided. For further information email centipedeproject@gmail.com