6 years ago the GIS project began to save the Walled Garden and keep it as a community resource.
The Walled Garden was discovered derelict by AiA Art in Architecture and with the help of CLU Community Land Use devised the original Granton sur Mer proposal which included its restoration.
Granton Improvement Society is now the custodian of the project with the continued mission to save the Walled Garden and keep it as a community resource. We found it derelict and have involved the community in this desire to save the Garden throughout the 6 years.
Our vision is for green space, parkland, places for children to run, not just blocks and blocks of housing with no other amenities. We know it will be a success. Who would have thought that in the industrial zone of Falkirk, for instance, there would now be a great park, The Helix, with accompanying Kelpies with tens of thousands of locals and people from far and wide flocking to take their leisure there and to be inspired by art and landscaped open spaces?
Granton Improvement Society has been pursuing a project to develop a garden festival in the Walled Garden, artisans’ village and heated swimming pool for both sport and leisure on the adjacent land. At the original public meetings of the project one of the clear intentions was to save the Walled Garden with no possibility of housing on the site and this remains true today.
The Granton Improvement Society is moving steadily to buying the site from EDI.
This wonderful community owned project will create badly needed community income and jobs for our community.
We have asked for others to give us a clear run at creating the project. We have the plans, the funding, expertise and backing and have been working extremely hard, lobbying, arguing and generally spreading the word as community activists and supporters of the project to be in a position to buy the land and begin the project in the very near future which would take the Walled Garden into community ownership for the first time in its history.
Members of the GIS are as committed and dedicated as anyone to the idea of community gardens on every available and suitable space and have been involved from the beginning in identifying and creating these gardens in our community and winning support from politicians to back and support the expansion of community gardens with proper funding. We are asking everyone especially those who have signed the petition to take a further step and join the Granton Improvement Society.
The Project is a Community Trust with a membership and Trustees. Please join us info@grantonimprovementsociety.org and grantonimprovementsociety.wordpress,org
Barbara Robertson, secretary, on behalf of the Trustees-Granton Improvement Society
Scottish Government increases ‘Help to Buy’ funding
An extra £40 million will be invested in a scheme that helps people get on the housing ladder for the first time or move to a new property, Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon confirmed yesterday.
The Scottish Government’s Help to Buy (Scotland) initiative has allowed more than 1,100 people to buy a new home since its launch in September 2013.
This latest financial boost brings the overall investment to £275 million – investment that has brought much needed financial support to the Scottish construction sector.
The scheme helps people to buy a new-build house from a participating home builder without having to fund all of the purchase price. The buyer is required to contribute a five per cent deposit, with the Scottish Government taking an equity stake of up to 20 per cent of the value of the property.
The buyer then receives the outstanding sum through a repayment mortgage from a participating lender, repaying the Scottish Government’s equity stake when they can financially afford to do so.
So far 156 house-builders have signed up for the initiative, with six mortgage lenders offering mortgages to buyers wanting to benefit from it.
Ms Sturgeon said: “This additional £40 million funding will allow more people in Scotland to buy their first home and continue to make it easier for ‘second-steppers’ and others to move to a new property.
“Since it launched in September last year, our Help to Buy scheme has already helped over 1000 households into home ownership and this additional funding will benefit even more families.
“It is also bringing much needed economic growth to Scotland by supporting our housing industry and creating employment opportunities. This is alongside our continued commitment to investing in affordable housing for communities across Scotland.”
New Homes for Scotland Chair Sandy Adam said: “A significant proportion of new homes are now sold through Help to Buy, delivering on the Scottish Government’s key objectives of providing more homes, creating more jobs and stimulating the economy.
“Additional investment, such as that announced today, and longer term support assisting developers with investment planning will help the industry to, quite literally, build on the scheme’s initial success and step up production to the levels required to meet housing need across all tenures.
“But this welcome boost for Help to Buy (Scotland) is valuable in another way. Many people in Scotland want to own their own home. Raising aspiration and confidence in this way can only be achieved through initiatives such as this.”
Sainsbury’s Blackhall are calling on customers to cast their votes and help a registered local charity receive a year’s worth of fundraising and awareness support. From Wednesday 28 May, customers will be able to vote for their favourite local charity either in store or by visiting www.sainsburys.co.uk/localcharity.
The retailer’s Local Charity scheme is now in its sixth year and gives customers the chance to vote for their favourite local charity to be considered to receive a year’s worth of support from their nearby Sainsbury’s store.
This year’s voting ends on Sunday 8 June. After voting closes, a shortlist of nominations will be drawn up and the stores’ colleagues will then invite the three charities that they feel best fit the needs of the community into store to talk about how Sainsbury’s can support them. The chosen charity will be selected based on the reasons given and the store will announce their chosen charity in July.
Local charities that have benefitted from the scheme in previous years at Sainsbury’s Blackhall include The Guide Dogs for the Blind which was Blackhall store’s Local Charity partner between July 2011 and May 2012 and still collect for them. Over £20,000 was raised from the partnership, which helped towards sponsoring 4 guide dog puppies. Meanwhile, the store’s Local Charity partner last year was Maggie’s Centre and the partnership helped to raise over £8,000 and raise awareness of the centre.
Sainsbury’s Blackhall Store Manager George Paton said: “We’re looking forward to supporting a local charity which touches many of our customer and colleagues’ hearts. The scheme gives us the chance to make a real difference to important causes in the community and we hope our customers get behind this year’s voting stage and nominate their favourite local charity from 28 May”.
How do you get your information? How do you find out what’s happening in your local area? TV, radio, newspapers, social media, newsletters, posters, emails, leaflets … there are so many different ways to be kept informed, but what works best for you?
Forth and Inverleith Neighbourhood Partnerships are supporting an initiative to improve local communications, and they need your help to get things right!
How do you currently access information and how would you prefer to receive communications? Please complete the attached online survey at:
It should only take a few minutes to complete or, if you prefer, this can also be done using the printable version (attached below).
If friends or colleagues don’t go online – and many people still don’t have access to a computer – please let them know about the survey; why not print off a copy for them?
But do it soon – the survey closes in two weeks on 31 May!
A group of North Edinburgh activists have got together to save one of the area’s hidden gems. Granton’s walled garden has lain neglected for years, but gardner Kirsty Sutherland and her friends are determined to save the site from redevelopment and return the garden to it’s former glory.
The ‘secret’ walled garden on Granton’s waterfront is very overgrown but it’s still there, somehow still alive surrounded by derelict industrial land.
“A few of us got together last autumn and started researching this garden’s amazing social history. I was inspired by the Never Give Up book created by local activists”, Kirsty explained.
Granton Castle’s garden has been around for over 450 years and survived many changes in the surrounding land – and wars! The castle may have gone, but from 1914 the walled garden was lovingly tended by three generations of one family. However it is now under threat – developers plan to build 17 luxury townhouses on the site.
Kirsty said: “We want to save this rare garden from development, and safeguard its incredible social history dating back to Mary Queen of Scot’s time.
“There is no need for this walled garden to be developed for housing as it is surrounded by vast areas of vacant post-industrial land, much more suitable.”
The Granton Castle Garden Group is appealing to local people to help preserve the site for future generations to enjoy, and they have created an on-line petition.
The group explain: ‘The petition is aimed at raising local awareness of a quite well hidden garden, which many people have never heard of living locally far less elsewhere in Edinburgh. It has a remarkable social history including almost 100 years of being a working market garden owned and run by three generations of one family.
‘Local community gardeners and folk interested in the story put together a list of ideas for the garden too which I am sure could work in harmony with the aims of Granton Improvement Society.
‘Time is what we requested of the development company, to allow local people to hear about the garden and plans to build in it, and add their opinions and ideas.
‘Some really positive ideas have been generated already and discussed by keen gardeners living in Granton and Pilton. They focus on local food production, and environmental education and activities: ideas are bulleted below:
◾Heritage Orchard restoration and expansion.
◾Retail nursery for production of plants with a purpose; fruit, herbs, vegetables, nectar plants and native wildflower species.
◾Base for a local ‘edible garden design’ social enterprise.
◾Medicinal and culinary herbs production for use in a community café and workshops.
◾Permaculture garden design area showcasing planting to combat environmental changes and save water. Forest garden approach.
◾Victorian Glasshouse restoration for use to supply local community gardens and cafes with both winter crops and vegetable plants in spring
◾Beekeeping and honey products.
◾Small scale free range chickens for egg production.
◾Community education workshops centred on gardening, crafts, herbal medicine, environmental education and seasonal food.
◾History/visitor centre combined with the community café showcasing the gardens long and sometimes dramatic history, dating back as far as Mary Queen of Scots time.
◾Oral and visual History of recent horticulture from Victorian era to present day.
Kirsty added: “Please help us stop demolition planning permission before it’s too late. Help raise awareness of this ‘secret garden’, and save two acres of historic greenbelt for future generations!”
Newhaven Gala Day – join our local community celebrations Saturday 24 May, from 12.30 pm at Newhaven Harbour
As many villages around Scotland know, the local gala day is one of the biggest celebrations of the year, and in our village of Newhaven, in a city that attracts performers from about the world, that is really saying something.
For the first time our Newhaven Fishing Folk Choir, will be entertaining the crowds with a mixture of fishing songs and a brand new ‘Song for Newhaven’, created by Jed Milroy and Victoria Primary’s P4 class especially to mark the occasion.
This event is open to – all
Tickets – Free
the disappearing sea – exhibition preview at the Wee Museum Friday 30 May, 5 – 6.30 pm at Victoria Primary School
For the last few months artist Johnny Gailey has been working with staff and pupils at Victoria Primary towards the redisplay the Wee Museum.
Through workshops and visits to archives they have been learning about the history of Newhaven and what did happened to the sea…
Find out more about Fishing Folk and the Wee Museum by joining us for the opening.
The Wee Museum is open by appointment through out the year.
Newhaven History Day – getting together to discuss this place Saturday 31 May, 12 – 4.30pm, Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop
Since earliest times Newhaven has been famous for it’s fishing, it’s shipbuilding and – it’s local community identity.
Our Newhaven History Day will gather together some of the voices of this place, residents and experts, to discuss the stories, songs and the rich heritage that is the fisher folks legacy. But as the last generations who remember the fishing industry pass on, how will Newhaven survive into the future?
Inverleith Park was alive with animal-loving celebs yesterday. Why? The local park is very popular with dog-walkers so it was the ideal place to announce some great news for our four-legged friends. Thousands of pets now face a brighter future as PDSA has just been awarded £500,000 from players of People’s Postcode Lottery.
The cash boost will be used by the charity’s vets and nurses to extend vital treatment and education programmes across the UK.
Last year alone, over 470,000 pet owners turned to PDSA for help to care for their pets – a figure that has risen by more than 50% in recent years. Annually, it costs over £60 million to run PDSA’s charitable service – all of which is funded entirely by public support and reinforces the fact that the UK is a nation of animal lovers.
PDSA Director General, Jan McLoughlin, said: “We’re delighted to receive this support from players of People’s Postcode Lottery which will make a massive difference to pets’ lives.
“Through our network of 50 pet hospitals and our education work in schools and in communities we’re able to touch the lives of more pets than any other UK animal charity.
“Every single day our amazing team of vets and nurses work flat out to deliver not just life saving treatment but also vital advice and preventive care that gives all pets the chance of healthy, happy lives.”
The funding, made possible by players of People’s Postcode Lottery will be used by PDSA to help support thousands of pets nationwide through education, prevention and treatment.
The charity was joined at yesterday’s cheque presentation – which thankfully took place before the thunder and lightning! – by a number of animal-loving celebrities including members of Britain’s Olympic silver-medal winning Curling squad, skippered by David Murdoch, and People’s Postcode Lottery ambassador, singer Danyl Johnson, at Inverleith.
David Murdoch, Scottish curler and animal lover, said: “As the proud owner of a dog myself I know only too well the joy pets can bring to our lives. I think PDSA is an amazing charity and this funding from players of People’s Postcode Lottery will safeguard the lives of thousands of adored pets.”
Singer Danyl Johnson, who owns a spaniel called Darcie, said he was delighted for PDSA. He said: “I have first-hand experience of PDSA’s lifesaving work having visited one of their hospitals last year. The vets and nurses really are unsung heroes, helping all those sick and injured pets that have nowhere else to turn. I’m thrilled that this money is going to such a worthy cause.”
Hazel Johnstone, Trusts Manager at People’s Postcode Lottery added: “People’s Postcode Lottery is a charity lottery raising funds for, and increasing awareness of, charities and good causes. Pets are a huge part of people’s lives and PDSA’s work is a lifeline to hundreds of thousands of pets and their owners in the city and communities nationwide.
“We are delighted that our players are able to provide this support to PDSA, the UK’s leading veterinary charity, to help its vital work.”
North Edinburgh’s MY Adventure and Fresh Start are among eight Edinburgh-based third sector projects to receive a share of £2.1m enterprise funding, it was announced today.
Enterprising third sector organisations will benefit from a further £2.1 million in grants to help them deliver services to vulnerable people in communities across Scotland. The cash, spread between 28 organisations, will be awarded through the Enterprise Ready Fund.
Finance Secretary John Swinney and Welfare Minister Margaret Burgess visited Dalry Primary School, to see first hand the work of My Adventure (Edinburgh) Ltd, one of the projects to receive a finance boost through the fund.
Mr Swinney said: “I would like to congratulate all the 28 organisations that have been successful in securing their share of the £2.1 million made available through the latest Enterprise Ready Fund round of awards.
“Each and every one of the recipients are working in their own unique way to become more self-sufficient but more importantly for me, they are creating change at a local level.
“These organisations are excellent examples of how the sector is helping to create a fairer and more inclusive Scotland. This investment will help them deliver important services and opportunities to people across the country.
“My Adventure (Edinburgh) Ltd is a great example of an organisation providing training and employment opportunities to young people who are struggling to find work.
“We are working hard to address these employment challenges for young people through our Opportunities for All, which guarantees everyone aged between 16 and 19 is offered a place in training or education. We have also created thousands of additional Modern Apprenticeship places bringing our total target to 30,000 every year by 2020.”
The Enterprise Ready Fund gives priority to applications that mitigate the effects of welfare reform in Scotland.
Welfare Minister Margaret Burgess said: “For My Adventure (Edinburgh) Ltd this award will give them the opportunity to expand their service and increase their engagement.
“While we are already doing so much to mitigate the effects of welfare reform in Scotland, with independence, a welfare system aligned to our education system can address child poverty and educational under-achievement.
“We want to develop a society that not only provides fair support and decent opportunities for all but also protects the vulnerable in our society. The only way to guarantee that is to have possession of the powers to deliver it.”
The fund is being delivered by a consortium of third sector organisations led by Foundation Scotland in partnership with Community Enterprise in Scotland (CEiS), Developing Strathclyde Ltd (DSL) and Social Value Lab.
Foundation Scotland’s Chief Executive Giles Ruck said: “We have been impressed with the wide range and quality of applications we have received so far, which showcase the innovative ways organisations plan to use their awards to make a real difference to the people and communities they serve.
“I would like to encourage new or developing third sector organisations who are considering applying to the Enterprise Ready Fund to do so before the final closing date of 16th of June.”
Case study: My Adventure (Edinburgh) Ltd
My Adventure (Edinburgh) Ltd provides sustainable short and long term personal development, training and employment opportunities for young people disadvantaged in the labour market. This may be through a combination of factors such as poor literacy skills, a history of anti-social behaviour, limited or no qualifications, or physical or mental health issues.
The organisation works with individuals to train and recruit them to deliver My Adventure’s range of commercial activities, for example climbing, cycling, coasteering, camping and equipment hire.
My Adventure (Edinburgh) Ltd has two full-time staff, three part-time staff, five sessional workers and two volunteers. The organisation will use the Enterprise Ready Fund award of £48,716 to expand its services within the corporate market. It will enable the organisation to purchase a minibus, and recruit a new member of staff who will focus on securing new corporate contracts.
It is expected that the investment will increase engagement and participation by up to 100 young people. The experience, confidence and skills gained by them will improve their chances of gaining long term employment, and improve the sustainability of the organisation, making it less reliant on grant funding in the future.
Jonny Kinross from My Adventure (Edinburgh) Ltd said: “This ERF grant will help ensure the sustainability and growth of My Adventure. By investing in a specific Corporate Sales and Marketing Manager we will be able to forge links with new customers, deliver fantastic opportunities to our clients and most importantly, drive our social impact forward – creating more training and job opportunities for young people.
“This investment will change the lives of 12 young people, who were furthest from the labour market when they joined our team and enable them to deliver activities locally to in excess of 100 children and young people as well as become confident enough to deliver to the corporate sector.
“By investing in social enterprise the Scottish Government is not just ensuring we meet these outcomes this year but will ensure we benefit the people of Muirhouse for years to come.”
The full list of Enterprise Ready Fund awards (Orgamisation, amount and local authority area) announced today:
Almond Valley Heritage Trust £103,772 West Lothian
Atholl Baptist Centre Ltd £117,343 Perth & Kinross
Canongate Youth Project £53,122 City of Edinburgh
Carrick Centre £32,439 South Ayrshire
Community Enterprise £138,632 West Lothian
Community Food Initiatives North East £144,691 Aberdeen City
COPE Ltd £112,312 Shetland Islands
Crossroads (Fife Central) Care Attendant Scheme £64,714 Fife
Footprints Connect £47,900 Aberdeen City
Forth Sector £250,000 City of Edinburgh
Forth Valley Social Enterprises £48,966 Forth Valley
Freespace £79,782 City of Edinburgh
Fresh Start (Scotland) £65,965 City of Edinburgh
Glasgow Watersports £47,374 Glasgow
LINKnet Mentoring £37,250 City of Edinburgh
Livingston Credit Union £33,940 West Lothian
Locavore £50,000 Glasgow
Maryhill Mobile Creche £73,931 Glasgow
My Adventure (Edinburgh) Ltd £48,716 City of Edinburgh
New Caledonian Woodlands £76,110 City of Edinburgh
Promoters Art Network £50,000 Highland
Senscot Legal £54,250 City of Edinburgh
Skidaddle £50,000 Stirling
Social Enterprise in East Lothian £99,376 East Lothian
Spruce Carpets £88,550 Glasgow
Theatre Nemo £47,061 Glasgow
Twechar Community Action £32,469 East Dunbartonshire
Whiteinch Centre Ltd £88,280 Glasgow
Further information and full details of the Enterprise Ready Fund can be found at: http://www.foundationscotland.org.uk/grants-and-funding-for-organisations/what-grants-are-available/enterprise-ready-fund.aspx
Awards and nominations aplenty for Muirhouse Group …
I am happy to confirm that once again the hard work and dedication of the volunteers in TRIM (Tenants & Residents in Muirhouse) and the Community Shop have been recognised by others.
Three awards have been achieved and they will be presented by the Rt. Hon. Donald Wilson Lord Provost of Edinburgh on 4 June at the City Chambers.
The awards are –
Inspiring Volunteer Achievement Award 2014 for the TRIM Team
Inspiring Volunteer Team Award 2014 for the Community Shop volunteers managed by Robert Pearson, and
Inspiring Volunteer Individual Award 2014 for Robert Pearson
TRIM would publicly like to thank its volunteers in whatever role they have – its because of their hard work and dedication that TRIM is successful and able to make a difference in the community.
As well as the three Inspiring Volunteer Awards I can also tell you that Robert Pearson has been selected as one of the short-listed finalists for the Pride of Edinburgh Award. To be nominated for this award in itself is an honour but to be one of the three short-listed finalists is a real achievement so well done Robert and good luck!
The Pride of Edinburgh Award is for someone who may have supported an individual and/or a family, or who has made a significant contribution to the community. The award not only recognises, encourages and rewards people who make a difference within their community but inspires others to do the same.
The award will be made to an individual whose time, effort, support and aspirations have made a significant contribution within their community for the benefit of those who live there.
