A statement from the Scottish Football Association:
Now that the window for Scotland Supporters Club members to purchase UEFA EURO 2020 tickets has closed, all supporters are asked not to travel to London for our EURO 2020 Group D match against England on Friday, 18 June unless they have a ticket for the match.
Trafalgar Square, the traditional gathering point for Scotland supporters, is being used as a socially-distanced, ticketed Fan Zone for key workers, while pubs and bars in London are expected to limit the number of football fans allowed in due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
With Covid restrictions still in place prohibiting large gatherings, Scotland supporters are asked to help limit the spread of the virus by remaining in Scotland. Please stay safe and enjoy the match locally.
Drum Property Group’s vision for the long-awaited redevelopment of a key development site on Leith Walk is to become a reality following the granting of planning consent.
Drum’s ambitious proposals for Stead’s Place, near the foot of Leith Walk, were approved by the City of Edinburgh Council today, heralding a major regeneration of the 2.9-acre site and bringing much-needed investment and interest to this important part of the city centre.
The Stead’s Place site has been earmarked for development by the Council since 2008 and consists largely of an aged industrial estate and office space, together with a two-storey sandstone building facing directly on to Leith Walk.
Drum will now replace the existing industrial units with 148 high-quality apartments, including 38 affordable homes, as part of an attractive landscaped residential scheme linking to Pilrig Park and beyond.
The sandstone building will be retained and refurbished and made available for commercial occupation, providing a vibrant local retail and business frontage onto Leith Walk.
The planning consent is the culmination of four years of research, planning and local community engagement by Drum since the company first purchased the site in 2017.
The current proposal follows a comprehensive six-month consultation programme with the local residential and business community, with almost three-quarters of those consulted either supportive or neutral about the revised plans.
Welcoming the planning approval, Graeme Bone, Group Managing Director of Drum said: “Drum has worked hard to ensure our current proposals are aligned with the objectives and plans of local community groups.
“We listened carefully to their views, enabling us to draw on the positive characteristics of the surrounding area to create a real sense of place that features a mix of private and affordable housing with a refurbished, vibrant and dynamic retail frontage facing Leith Walk.
“Our proposals will replace old and tired industrial, office and retail space with new, more flexible, higher quality accommodation for people to live, work, shop, eat, drink and to be entertained in – as well as opening up a safe and landscaped thoroughfare connecting Leith Walk to Pilrig Park.
“We believe we have responded directly to the objectives and vision the community has for the site. Our proposals now offer the optimum solution for all parties, providing a refurbished retail and office parade combined with a new community of housing to the rear, set in landscaped grounds, enhancing the area’s distinctive cultural feel and identity.”
Drum is now committed to ensuring the shop frontages on to Leith Walk retain the current individual style and size, reflecting and supporting the current local small trader units at the site whilst refurbishing the office suites for rent on the first floor in a revamped business centre offering.
Mr Bone added: “By retaining and refurbishing the red sandstone buildings facing on to Leith Walk, we are also contributing to the wider regeneration of the local area, providing investment to create an attractive and distinctive destination and focal point which is needed now, more than ever, as the local area recovers from lockdown and the new tram works are progressed.
“Drum are now looking forward to building on the positive and productive relationships established over recent years to deliver a new development that continues the rich tradition of diversity, independence and interest which makes Leith Walk such an exciting destination in which to live, work and visit.”
The planning consent follows a previous application submitted by Drum to the City of Edinburgh in 2018.
Stead’s Place Development Timeline:
2008
The 2.9-acre Stead’s Place site is first earmarked for development by the City of Edinburgh Council and becomes one of the city’s most prominent gap sites.
Spring 2017
Drum Property Group purchases the site.
Spring 2018
Drum launches a comprehensive consultation programme – including five days of public exhibitions and setting up a community liaison group
August 2018
Drum submits a planning application to the City of Edinburgh Council for a £50 million mixed-use development plan comprising homes, student accommodation and a hotel – plus a row of retail and restaurant/café outlets overlooking Leith Walk replacing the original sandstone building.
Nov 2018
Revised proposals are submitted reducing the Leith Walk elevation by one storey to keep the building in line with surrounding tenements. The revised proposals also include a more defined and distinct row for the sandstone retail units as well as increased provision for cyclists and pedestrians. The proposals receive more than 700 letters of public support.
Jan 23 2019
The City of Edinburgh Council planning officers recommend approval for Drum’s revised planning application.
Jan 30 2019
Despite the council planning officers recommending approval, Drum’s planning application is refused by the City of Edinburgh Council’s planning committee.
May 2019
Drum lodges an appeal with the Scottish Government challenging the council’s decision not to grant planning approval for the revised planning application.
Dec 2019
The Scottish Government Reporter decides not to uphold Drum’s appeal challenging the City of Edinburgh Council’s decision to refuse planning approval for the Stead’s Place development.
April 2020
Drum launches a Proposal of Application Notice (PAN) which retains the original sandstone building overlooking Leith Walk, which will be refurbished and made available for a range of commercial uses. The existing industrial units located behind Leith Walk are to be demolished and replaced with a new residential-led landscaped development linking to Pilrig Park and beyond.
July 2020
Drum launches an online consultation programme in line with Scottish Government advice following the restrictions in public movement imposed by the coronavirus pandemic.
Nov 2020
Following extensive feedback from the first online event, Drum launches a second online consultation event in advance of a planning application being submitted.
Dec 14 2020
Drum submits a revised planning application to the City of Edinburgh Council following consultation feedback showing more than 80% of consultees wanted to see the site developed
June 2021
The City of Edinburgh Council grants planning consent for Drum’s revised proposals.
Our bathing waters start 2021 season with 94% achieving strict environmental standards
94% of Scotland’s designated bathing waters have been rated sufficient or better by SEPA for the 2021 season.
More bathing waters (34%) have been rated as ‘excellent’ since tighter standards first came into force in 2015.
Half as many bathing waters rated as ‘poor’ than in 2019.
Partnership projects are currently underway to maintain progress and further improve bathing waters including the 5 rated as ‘poor.’
Scotland’s bathing water season officially began yesterday (1 June) in what is shaping up to be a busy year for the country’s beautiful beaches.
With 2021 the year of the staycation more people will be visiting our shorelines, and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is encouraging everyone to know where they can find information on their favourite bathing location – and what they can do to help protect our water environment while they are there.
This season Scotland has more bathing waters rated as excellent, good or sufficient than at any point since tighter standards first came into force in 2015 – with 94% achieving one of the three grades. There are also half as many bathing waters rated poor as there were in 2019 – down to five from the 10 two years ago.
Scotland currently has 85 designated bathing waters, where SEPA monitors water quality during the season, which runs until 15 September. Sampling results are published online, and SEPA also has daily water quality predictions for 28 beaches which are available on its website by 10am daily. This enables visitors to decide whether their activities will include bathing, or if they will just enjoy on-shore activities.
One of the biggest impacts on the water quality at bathing waters is the weather, especially heavy rain. Because of this swimming is not advised at any bathing water during, or one to two days after, heavy rainfall as there is always a risk that water pollution may occur. This can be as a result of urban and agricultural run-off and sewerage sources.
Due to SEPA’s ongoing recovery from a complex and sophisticated cyber-attack in December 2020, the agency’s network of 29 electronic beach signs will not be fully operational for the start of season. Work is ongoing to re-introduce these over the next few weeks, and the same information is currently available on SEPA’s website.
Samples taken across the season are also used to calculate the general water quality classification for display at the start of the following season. Classifications are excellent, good, sufficient and poor, and are based on four years of monitoring data.
Due to a shortened bathing water season in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic, it was not possible to collect the required number of samples to provide a classification. As a result each bathing water will retain the classification set at the end of 2019 – 29 Excellent; 31 good; 20 sufficient; 5 poor.
Terry A’Hearn, SEPA Chief Executive, said: “Protecting and improving our bathing waters is crucial for our environment, local economies and communities.
“We hope Scotland’s weather will enable both residents and visitors to enjoy our seaside resorts and beaches over the summer months, and with 94% of our beaches already meeting strict environmental standards, it’s great to see that there has been a continued general improvement in Scotland’s classifications over the last few years.
“While this is good progress, we understand that some local communities will be disappointed, as we are, that there are five bathing waters which have been rated as poor. Although it is important to remember that a ‘poor’ classification does not mean that water quality is poor every day – and these are still fantastic beaches to visit – SEPA is committed to the challenge of building on the progress Scotland has made and bringing all of our bathing waters up to ‘sufficient’ or better. We encourage you to look at our daily bathing water predictions.
“We continue to work with Scottish Government and our key partner organisations to help all of Scotland’s bathing waters improve in future years. Work is progressing through further investment and infrastructure improvements, along with managing pressures from rural and diffuse pollution and by engaging with communities.”
Improving water quality
All across Scotland, SEPA seeks to protect watercourses through licensing, inspection and regulation of discharges, advice and guidance to the public, industry, developers and local authorities, and pollution incident response.
SEPA officers have undertaken a series of pre-season inspections at key assets and locations across the country and will continue to monitor key locations throughout the season.
Unfortunately wet weather can have a negative impact on bathing waters. This is due to combined sewer overflows (CSOs) – which are designed to discharge diluted but minimally treated sewage to watercourses and coastal waters to prevent flooding – and run off from rural and urban environments (known as diffuse pollution). As a result SEPA advises against bathing for up to two days after heavy rain due to the risk of poor water quality.
SEPA continues to work closely with Scottish Government and Scottish Water to ensure that planned capital investment programmes aimed at upgrading sewerage infrastructure throughout the country are prioritised to maximise environmental benefits.
In addition, partnership with NFUS and Farming and Water Scotland allows us to work closely with farmers and land managers to provide advice and guidance so they can continue to minimise the impact land run-off can have on the rivers that flow into our bathing waters.
Help improve our beaches and coastlines
Visitors to Scotland’s beaches can also help to protect our water environment. SEPA supports Keep Scotland Beautiful’s (KSB) My Beach, Your Beach campaign.
Waste from animals or litter isn’t just unsightly but can have a negative impact on the water quality so we encourage the public to follow KSB’s advice to take litter home, to clean up after their dogs and to avoid feeding the gulls, ensuring a good beach experience for everyone who visits.
It’s also important that people understand the impacts what they flush away can have on the environment. Blockages can be caused by inappropriate items being flushed down toilets and poured down sinks – including fats, oils, greases and wipes. Whether you’re at home or on holiday, Scottish Water provides advice on how to protect the internal sewer network and Scotland’s water environment at www.scottishwater.co.uk/cycle.
More work underway
While there has been a positive upwards trend in Scotland’s bathing water quality due to focussed improvement plans and strong partnership working, there are a small number of beaches where poor water quality has been an issue for several years.
We have seen before how improvement projects have had a positive impact at beaches with historically poor classifications being rated as excellent, good or sufficient for the first time since 2015:
2019: Heads of Ayr (2021 excellent), Sandyhills (2021 good), Kinghorn (Harbour) (2021 sufficient) and Cruden Bay (2021 good)
As in 2020, Fisherrow Sands is not a designated bathing water this season. Despite making progress in the area to improve bathing water quality, Fisherrow Sands ended the 2019 bathing water season with a fifth ‘poor’ water quality classification.
Whilst this does not mean the beach is closed, it does mean general advice against bathing still applies at this location. Beach users may continue to make their own decisions as to whether they wish to swim.
SEPA will continue to engage with local community representatives about our monitoring work and all other actions focussing on improving the water quality in this location so that the advice against bathing may be withdrawn in future.
Ayr (South Beach)
Ayr (South Beach) currently has four poor classifications. If a poor classification is given after the 2021 season it would not be listed as a designated Bathing Water in 2022 and would have general advice against bathing displayed at the beach.
Work is currently ongoing to improve water quality and all partners are making every effort to ensure that Ayr (South Beach) meets the standard in 2021.
Since 2019, SEPA has had a targeted priority improvement plan in place at Ayr (South Beach), working with partners and regulated operators to focus efforts to protect and improve the bathing water status. Our combined resources and actions with key partners are designed to tackle all the issues which contribute to poor bathing water quality and ensure that the identified improvements are delivered and de-designation is not required.
Poorer water quality is mainly driven by rainfall and so water quality is often good – particularly during dry sunny periods. Although Ayr (South Beach) was classified ‘Poor’ overall in 2019, over 60% of the sample days showed acceptable levels.
Edinburgh Napier student Christy Orr develops tool in memory of her Gran
A sensory box that aims to comfort those affected by dementia through helping recall memories has been created by an Edinburgh Napier student.
Forget Me Not Box has been created by final year graphic design student Christy Orr.
The box contains a set of tools that help trigger the five senses – sight, smell, touch, taste and sound – helping those with dementia recall memories and retain identity. It gives the user the opportunity to completely personalise its items and is split into four main sections.
The lid can be used to showcase photographs. The inclusion of scent bottles provide opportunities for the user to include certain smells such as their favourite perfume. A built-in sound module can provide favourite music or even voice notes from loved ones with another compartment available to store treasured items such as marbles, medals and more.
The box also includes taste cards that can be used as a reminiscence tool. They feature photos and descriptions of food and drink that may trigger memories.
The aim of the box is to allow those affected by dementia to undertake reminiscence therapy sessions with a loved one or carer, with the playful items acting as conversation starters.
Christy, 22, has designed the box as part of her final year graphic design project at Edinburgh Napier, and will this week exhibit her work at the annual Edinburgh Napier Degree Show which takes place online from 2 June.
The toolkit has already been user-tested by individuals at various stages of their dementia diagnosis through a link-up with Yorkshire-based charity Dementia Forward. Christy has also received support from CogniHealth with the project.
Christy, who is from Cumbernauld originally, has created the toolkit in memory of her late-Gran after seeing first-hand her own experiences with Alzheimer’s.
She said: “I was quite young when I lost my Gran to Alzheimer’s but I remember finding it quite difficult to find things to initially talk to her about when I visited her. That’s really where the idea for Forget Me Not Box stemmed from. I wanted to create something that helped start those conversations.
“As I looked more into this area, and learnt more about reminiscence therapy and how it can help, it was important that my box had the ability to be completely personalised to an individual person.
“Everyone has different triggers that invoke memories – whether it be a certain smell, a sound, a photograph, the thought of eating fish and chips or the sight of something like a souvenir from a past holiday. It was essential that the toolkit could help include as many of these things as possible.
“Working with CogniHealth and Dementia Forward has been fantastic, and it’s great to have seen the box out there and being used by people who it was designed for. I’m still awaiting feedback from the user-testing but early indications show that it has been warmly received by those who have used it.
“Although this has been designed as part of my final year project at Edinburgh Napier, I’m very keen to continue with the idea as my time at the University comes to an end. I’m really looking forward to developing the box further in the coming months and if it can help some more people find comfort through a dementia diagnosis, then it’ll have been completely worthwhile.”
The Edinburgh Napier Degree Show runs from today – 2 June. More information and to view this year’s work, visit here.
Funded by Action on Asbestos, Lynne Hunter joins national charity, Mesothelioma UK and will be based at the Western General Hospital
Lynne Hunter has been appointed as a Mesothelioma UK Clinical Nurse Specialist and will be based at the Western General Hospital. Lynne will provide nursing care and support for mesothelioma (asbestos-related cancer) patients in South East Scotland.
The post has been made possible thanks to funding from Scotland’s asbestos, industrial disease and injury charity, Action on Asbestos.
Lynne will work with Mesothelioma UK Team Leader for Scotland, Carolyn MacRae, and will link with colleagues across the region to promote equitable access to mesothelioma-specific support and treatment throughout the region.
Mesothelioma is a cancer related to exposure to asbestos and predominantly affects the lining of the lungs. The UK has the highest incidence of the disease in the world with around 2,700 people diagnosed each year. Between 50 and 60 cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed each year in the South East Scotland region.
In her new role, Lynne will focus on caring for patients with mesothelioma at every part of their treatment journey, helping to make their journey as smooth as possible. She will provide specialist support and advice to patients, families, healthcare professionals, and link in with local patient support groups.
Most recently, Lynne has worked as a pleural nurse at St John’s Hospital in Livingston. Prior to this, she worked in general respiratory in St John’s Hospital.
Lynne qualified as Registered Nurse in 2012 and has also completed her clinical decision-making course at Napier University.
Commenting on her new role, Lynne said: “I am really excited to be taking on this new role and bringing my previous experience in respiratory nursing practice.
“I have always had a strong interest in this area of nursing and have described the role as my dream job and it’s finally great to get started.”
Lorraine Creech, Head of Nursing for Mesothelioma UK, added: “Mesothelioma UK is extremely grateful to Action on Asbestos who have provided the funding for this post and are now working closely with Mesothelioma UK to support and complement the work of the Scottish National Mesothelioma Network.
“Lynne is a very valuable addition to the Mesothelioma Nursing Service for South East Scotland and the Scottish Mesothelioma Network as a whole.
“Lynne’s appointment sees Mesothelioma UK reach 33 Clinical Nurse Specialists and seven within Scotland, providing dedicated care, support and treatment for mesothelioma patients throughout the UK.”
A CHARITABLE hotel and events business tied to the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) is rebounding, with strong occupancy at its hotel and forward projections well above expectations.
Surgeons Quarter, which operates the city’s largest independent hotel, Ten Hill Place, will host more than 2000 guests in May, including a range of surgical students sitting vital in-person exams.
It meant that throughout the month, occupancy exceeded 40%, which was 10% above the base level for the city according to data from Smith Travel Research [STR], the world leaders in data intelligence for the sector.
Data from STR also highlights that upcoming bookings at the 129-room Old Town hotel is more than 7% above the average of its 10 closest competitors, as it looks to recapture market share as the sector emerges from lockdown.
surgeons quarter headshot photography
Scott Mitchell, Managing Director at Surgeons Quarter, said: “We’re confident that we can emerge from the past 15 months in a very strong position. The number of bookings is very heartening and a good 25% above what we were anticipating given all the uncertainty.
“We’re already expecting close to 50% occupancy for June. While we’d expect more than 75% in a normal year, we appreciate that everything has changed – and we’re delighted to be operating at this level. It’s a credit to our team.
“Guests are responding very positively to the expertise of our team, many of whom served NHS workers throughout much of the first lockdown gaining extensive experience of operating in the current climate.”
At the outset of the pandemic Surgeons Quarter hosted more than 500 clinical and frontline workers, providing 2137 free room nights to staff working at nearby hospitals.
As well as the award-winning hotel, Surgeons Quarter typically operates one of the city’s busiest events and conference programmes, making use of the RCSEd’s impressive collection of buildings while they are not in medical use.
It is now advancing “blended” technologies, hosting the UK hub of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons annual scientific conference – featuring a mix of in-person and live streamed features and Q&As with Professor Jason Leitch and RCSEd President, Professor Michael Griffin.
It also opened a new outdoor venue, Drinks and Dining Al Fresco, with a vast clear roofed marquee enabling guests to enjoy food and drinks in a safe and socially distanced environment.
All profits support the charitable aims of the College which are education, assessment and advancement in surgical standards worldwide.
A family-run Scottish farm village is set to open a new adventure farm park and café in June, thanks to a £500,000 funding package from Bank of Scotland.
Craigie’s Farm in Queensferry is home to a deli café, shop and farm park, and is run by John Sinclair and his family, who took over the operation from his parents in 1995.
The new Little Farmers adventure farm park will house a timber play park for children and a new café seating 150 people.
The 1200m² development doubles the current size of the park, and now features a newly revamped animal shed with six pens of animals for visitors to meet.
To support the development, the business approached Bank of Scotland and received a £500,000 funding package and a £65,000 Clean Growth Funding Initiative (CGFI) loan to acquire a 120kW ground source heat pump and a 50kW solar installation which will help reduce the business’ carbon footprint.
The Clean Growth Funding Initiative offers discounted lending for green purposes to help businesses reduce their environmental impact.
The new attraction is now set to open on 8th June and the business will be looking to hire 10 new members of staff after all current staff have been brought back from furlough.
John Sinclair, founder of Craigie’s Farm, said: “Craigie’s Farm normally welcomes more than a quarter of a million visitors a year with people travelling from Edinburgh, Glasgow and Fife to visit our café and farm shop.
“The pandemic has been challenging for the business, but it also gave us an opportunity to develop Little Farmers. Thanks to the support from Bank of Scotland we’ve been able to complete the new development that will provide more activities for visitors and boost employment in the local area.
“As restrictions continue to ease, we are looking forward to getting back to some form of normality and hope the opening of Little Farmers will give us a real boost this summer.”
Julie McLaren, relationship manager at Bank of Scotland, said:“Craigie’s Farm is a long-standing customer of Bank of Scotland and we were more than happy to support the business’ Little Farmers expansion with a development funding package and CGFI loan to set the project in motion.
”When the pandemic forced the construction of the new development to grind to a halt, we also assisted the business with a six-figure Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan (CBIL) to enable it to manage the disruption and quickly re-start the project once restrictions allowed.
“At Bank of Scotland, we will continue to stand by businesses through these unpredictable times and support them every step of the way to achieve their growth goals and sustainable ambitions.”
An Edinburgh student has raised over £3,900 to help Worldwide Cancer Research start cancer cures, in memory of her beloved mother who passed away three years ago following a breast cancer diagnosis.
Alex Burns, 21, joined by best friend Tara Haworth, 22, completed a 100km walking challenge along the Union Canal at the beginning of May, inspired by her mum Anne’s desire to raise money for life-saving research, and to bring together those who loved her to do something positive.
Anne Burns, who passed away in 2018, was initially diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008. The mum of two went into remission but was told the cancer had returned in 2014.
Speaking about coping with losing her mum, Alex, originally from Helensburgh, said: “Four years after her second diagnosis in 2014, my mum passed away on 25th March 2018, which was also her birthday. It’s been really difficult since then, and I’ve not really talked about it much.
“Although cancer is a part of her story, she is better remembered for the love and laughter she brought to everyone in her life. People didn’t really know what to say to me and my sister when mum passed away, but being able to celebrate her memory three years on has brought together all the people that loved her and helped us do something positive to remember her.”
Since it was established in 1979, Edinburgh-based UK charity Worldwide Cancer Research has funded over £200million of research in over 30 countries to start new cancer cures.
This year, 16 institutes, in 15 cities across eight countries have now received £3.2m of funding – three of which are UK-based – to fund research into 11 different cancer types, as well as fundamental research.
Alex added: “Supporting a local charity like Worldwide Cancer Research, and particularly supporting the funding of research into new cancer cures, was something that my mum would have loved.
“When my mum was at the end of her journey, she wanted to make sure there were new avenues to explore and bring hope to others who might find themselves in the same position as her.
“There’s nothing you can say to make losing your mum easier, but doing something like this walk to, not only bring together everyone who loved my mum, but to also raise funds so that this doesn’t happen to others in the future.
“My mum loved raising money for cancer research, and I wanted to honour that by doing something I think she’d be proud of.”
Alex completed the walk with best friend Tara Haworth.
“We’ve been friends since our first year at the University of Edinburgh, where we were in rooms next door to each other in halls. Tara is my only friend from Edinburgh who actually met my mum as she passed away early in my first year.
“I wasn’t really ready to be massively social during this time, but Tara has just been so empathetic and understanding throughout this whole journey. She’s been by my side every step of the way, and now quite literally as we take on this 100km walk!
“We started walking at 4am and finished around midnight, walking from the Edinburgh Quay to the Falkirk Wheel and back, with five breaks to meet friends and family en route and celebrate my mum’s memory.
“We’ve already raised almost £4,000 which is just amazing, and we’re so thankful to everyone who has sponsored us and hopefully this money helps bring hope to more people in the future.”
Dr Helen Rippon, Chief Executive at Worldwide Cancer Research said: “Breast cancer affects a huge number of people right across the world. By funding more discovery research, we can continue to start cancer cures and save more lives in the future.
“We are so grateful to Alex and Tara for their amazing fundraising efforts and for helping us continue to make our ground-breaking research possible. Together, with the help of Curestarters like them, we can end cancer.”
For more information about Worldwide Cancer Research or to find out how you can help us start new cancer cures, please visit:
A regional equality council covering Edinburgh and the Lothians has been given a £1,000 boost by one of the country’s leading housebuilders.
Edinburgh & Lothians Regional Equality Council (ELREC), based on Forth Street, is a charity that aims to support local communities and eliminate discrimination in all its forms through a range of projects.
ELREC, set up in 1971, applied to Persimmon Homes East Scotland to help to fund weekly sports sessions for disadvantaged children aged five-16 years of age. The free sessions would be available for the youngsters in parks across Edinburgh.
The charity is among the first to receive funds as part of the housebuilder’s Building Futures campaign for 2021, which runs until August and will donate more than £1m to good causes this year.
Parveen Ishaq, of Edinburgh & Lothians Regional Equality Council, said: “We are really excited to receive this support from Persimmon Homes.
“Our team work hard to promote equality and diversity across our region through a wide range of projects and in particular we are targeting young people in our communities living in poverty.
“The money will help us provide free outdoor sports sessions for children in and around Edinburgh and the Lothians. The sessions will not only get young people moving they will also help to support young people’s mental health and social interaction, which are so important after the lockdown restrictions.”
Building Futures aims to support community groups working with under-18s across three categories – education & arts, health and sport.
A total of 128 grants of £1,000 will be awarded across Persimmon’s 32 regional businesses to improve local facilities and the delivery of vital community projects.
Three initiatives will go on to win £100,000 each through a national online public vote. The winners will be named at a gala dinner for finalists in November.
In each sector – education & arts, health and sport – as well as the £100,000 first prize, there will be a £50,000 second prize and a £20,000 third prize, while a further 87 shortlisted projects will each receive £5,000.
Laura Still, sales director at Persimmon Homes East Scotland, said: “We’re delighted to help Edinburgh & Lothians Regional Equality Council and the truly inclusive work it is doing with young people in Edinburgh.
“The pandemic has had a huge impact on mental health across the board, not least amongst young people. It is important that charities like this are supported in the good work they are doing.
“Building Futures is all about helping young people and youth groups in our area. We’re accepting entries until mid-August so we’d urge more people to apply by visiting www.persimmonhomes.com/charity”
Persimmon is currently selling stunning new-build homes at sites across Edinburgh and the Lothians at developments including Lang Loan, The Willows, Kings Cove, Burgh Gate and Kings Meadow.
Founded in 1972, Persimmon Homes is one of the UK’s leading housebuilders. With headquarters in York, the Group operates from 31 regional offices throughout the UK, trading under the brand names of Persimmon Homes, Charles Church and Westbury Partnerships, building quality homes across England, Wales and Scotland. The company directly employs more than 5,000 people and supports around 86,000 jobs in the construction sector.
