Dobbies, the UK’s leading garden centre, is spreading Christmas joy to local schools and nursery groups in Edinburgh with real tree donations as part of its Not Your Average Community campaign, in partnership with sustainable real tree grower, Needlefresh.
Set to twinkle corridors and delight children with yuletide cheer, Dobbies’ Edinburgh store and Stockbridge little dobbies will be donating Nordmann Fir Christmas trees to local schools and nurseries to create a centrepiece for celebrations and is now welcoming nominations.
All of Dobbies’ Christmas trees are sustainably grown in environmentally managed fields across Scotland where the growing team do everything from planting, pruning and harvesting by hand to reduce the impact on surrounding environment, wildlife and plants.
Dobbies’ CSR and Community Communications Executive, Chloë Bell, has been delivering Dobbies’ Not Your Average Community campaign for two years and is excited announce this year’s focus.
She said: “Community is at the core of Christmas at Dobbies and we love sharing the festive joy with those around us.
“We want to help create Christmas magic in local schools and nurseries in Edinburgh and hope that through the tree donations with Needlefresh, kids can come together, decorate the tree and make memories.”
Needlefresh Managing Director, George Hood, added: “Our sustainable Nordmann Fir Christmas trees make a wonderful centrepiece to festive celebrations as they are bushy and full, and good needle retention.
“We are excited to see how local schools and nurseries bring this classic tree to life through their decorations and we are delighted to be partnering with Dobbies on delivering a magical moment for children in Edinburgh.”
Nominations are now open. Entries close on Wednesday 25 October and successful applicants will be contacted in November to arrange a date to collect a Nordmann Fir tree from their local store.
‘Historic’ New Town development taking shape ahead of 2024 launch
THE HISTORIC site of one of Edinburgh’s original tram depots is set to become the city’s latest high-profile housing development, with a sales launch on track for early next year.
Construction is well underway at Square & Crescent’s Henderson Place development, which is set to bring 42 contemporary homes to the previous Silvermills Tram Depot site in the New Town.
Bordering Edinburgh’s World Heritage Site, the development located between Stockbridge and Canonmills will comprise of a mix of homes – from studio flats to four-bed apartments.
Multi-level biodiverse roofs will add greenery and contrast to the use of traditional red brick and building techniques. Striking ironmongery helps reflect the character of the surrounding area, which includes the neighbouring former Royal London office building on Henderson Row, the last remaining portion of the former depot.
Euan Marshall is Co-Founder and Joint Managing Director at Square & Crescent, which is renowned for taking on challenging projects to create some of Edinburgh’s prime residences. He said: “There is a real responsibility in bringing forward a new build development in such a prominent and historically significant location.
“We’ve worked with our architecture partners to create something that we believe will be a fitting next chapter – and nods to the past use of the site while bringing in highly contemporary touches.
“The green roof spaces should add a further point of interest and they reflect the low carbon building techniques and sustainability at the core of this project.”
Fittingly, the development is in a prime location offering extensive connectivity. Situated just half a mile from Princes Street, residents will have swift access to Dundas Street, Stockbridge, the new tram network and Waverley Station.
In the late 80s, the original depot building was demolished and transformed into office blocks, which will now be replaced with the thoughtfully redesigned residential apartments. The former Royal London offices on Henderson Row preserved the last remaining portion of the original depot.
Reaching a five-storey high point, the dynamic development will feature private terraces and balconies, as well as private patios on some of the ground floor properties.
Simon Cook, Co-Founder and Joint Managing Director said: “The site certainly has a rich history and that has been at the forefront of our minds throughout. The use of materials like traditional red brick with a precast stringer aims to preserve as much of that history as possible while adding a visually impressive building to the area.
“As we continue work on the project, we’re looking forward to bringing a broad mix of high-quality homes to the market, in a fantastic area.”
This is the latest project underway for Square & Crescent, which recently started construction works on its landmark Royal Meadows development, which will see the careful transform of the old Royal Hospital for Sick Children building into luxury apartments and townhouses.
Founded in 2013, Square & Crescent has since gone on to build a strong track record and trusted reputation in providing some of the best residential conversion projects over the past 10 years, making a move in recent years into developing unique new build homes, providing exceptional and sustainable modern living in a variety of different locations within Edinburgh.
It is now a widely regarded residential developer with a primary focus on the acquisition, development, and refurbishment of high-quality homes.
For more information on Henderson Place, or to register interest, please visit:
COLLECTION DAY: SATURDAY 25 NOVEMBER from 10am – 4pm
Their Finest Hour is a digital preservation project run by the University of Oxford, and supported by volunteers around the country, which aims to collate as many World War Two stories and artefacts as possible from across the UK.
The project is running a series of Digital Collection Days across the UK, where members of the public can bring war-related memories, photographs, diaries, and any other remnants of the War to be recorded and uploaded to a free-to-access online archive.
As these stories are fast fading from living memory, it is vital that they – and the wartime objects that often accompany them – are preserved for future generations.
The Collection Day will be taking place Saturday 25th November between 10:00-16:00, at Rainy Hall, New College, University of Edinburgh if you are interested in attending.
Sign-ups for the event are not compulsory, but would be appreciated (so that we can gauge numbers) via the following link: https://edin.ac/451MiRy.
Crimestoppers and Fearless event celebrates work of community groups
On Friday (6th October 2023), independent charity Crimestoppers and their youth service Fearless celebrated the vital work that community groups across Scotland undertake at a special event in Maryhill, Glasgow.
Supported by Network Rail Scotland, the charity awarded six youth-focused groups and six adult-focused groups £500 to spend on creating a special day during the summer that provided an opportunity to learn about the charity’s 100% anonymous reporting service.
Whilst Crimestoppers is not normally a grant giver, this project was an exceptional effort to show support for the very local groups who play an invaluable role in making communities stronger.
Guests at the celebration included The Minister for Victims and Community Safety Siobhian Brown MSP and representatives from community partners, safety projects and other charities.
Over 120 invited guests heard from the award winners about the fantastic work they undertake in communities and the difference the funding provided by Crimestoppers and Network Rail Scotland made to their summer:
Man On! are a mental health charity operating in Inverclyde. With support from Fearless (the youth service of Crimestoppers), they organised a football wellbeing cup for 200 young people during the summer holidays to encourage them to come together to learn more about mental health issues, community safety and Fearless.
The players had a great time – keeping fit, working together and learning how to stay safe and healthy.
Milan Senior Welfare in Edinburgh supports older South Asian communities and unpaid carers. They used the funding to host a series of community events. Over 90 people attended, many experiencing language barriers, so they heard about how Crimestoppers’ language line can offer 147 different languages to those choosing to report crime anonymously.
Lyndsay McDade, National Youth Projects Coordinator at the charity Crimestoppers, said:“Both I and the Crimestoppers Scotland National Manager have worked in the charity sector for the duration of our professional careers. We have seen firsthand the difference youth workers, community workers and local charities make to so many lives – every single day.
“Shining a light on the tremendous work carried out by local charities and supporting them to empower their group members with key information about crime and awareness of our charity, has been truly inspiring. We’re so glad that, together with Network Rail Scotland, we could bring both knowledge and joy this summer.
“Today’s celebration was an important reminder that everyone has a right to feel safe wherever they live and that through Crimestoppers and our youth service Fearless, we help communities to achieve that.”
Minister for Victims and Community Safety, Siobhian Brown said: “Crimestoppers is unique in its role, giving people the opportunity to make their communities safer by anonymously reporting information about crime.
“I was pleased to be able to join the event today and learn more about the positive impact of Crimestoppers and their dedicated youth service Fearless.
“I want to say a personal thank you to community groups for the difference they continue to make in local communities and the contribution they make.”
Innis Keith, Health, Safety & Environment Director, Network Rail Scotland, said:“Scotland’s Railway has partnered with Crimestoppers and Fearless for many years now and the partnership has, and continues to raise awareness around the dangers of railway crime and the devastating impact it has on our communities.
“It’s so important that people know how to anonymously report unsafe or criminal behaviours and activities.
“We’re really proud to be supporting this special project to help keep passengers and communities across Scotland safe while stamping out crime on the railway.”
A Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) call handler along with SAS volunteers, members of the public and two youngsters have been rewarded for their bravery at this year’s Brave@Heart awards.
The Brave@Heart Awards celebrate acts of bravery in exceptional circumstances by blue-light services, voluntary rescue organisations and members of the public.
Claire Morrow Taylor, Claire Weller, Alison Mckay, Jackie King, Alister Brown, Richie Batho, Craig Scott, Ben Kilner, Stephen Kilner, Jacob Bothwell and Jayden Fox all collected Brave@Heart certificates on Tuesday (October 3) at an award ceremony in Edinburgh Castle attended by Stephen Massetti, SAS’s Director of National Operations, and presented by First Minister Humza Yousaf.
Claire Morrow Taylor, an Ambulance Control Centre (ACC) call handler based at SAS’s West ACC, helped save a life of a member of the public who was lying on a road in Glasgow.
Her award submission said: “She immediately took control of the situation, instructing her husband to direct traffic around the incident whilst she called 999 to request an ambulance and attended to the patient. Claire, a non-clinical member of staff, demonstrated that she lives and breathes the SAS and NHS’s core values – we are proud of her actions and feel lucky to have Claire as part of the SAS Team.”
Claire Weller, a SAS Wildcat Cardiac Responder, along with Alison Mckay and Jackie King, all members of the Findhorn Coastal Rowing Club, came to the aid of their crewmate MacLean MacLeod when he suddenly collapsed in April 2022.
Their award submission said: “They immediately recognised what had occurred and could see that MacLean wasn’t breathing and had no pulse; Claire quickly began CPR chest compressions, along with Alison, and instructed the other crew members to dial 999 and access the nearest defibrillator for deployment at the scene. Jackie, who was out walking at the time, delivered two of the AED shocks.”
MacLean was transferred by ambulance to Dr Gray’s hospital and has since made a full recovery. At the time, he said: “I would not be here today were it not for Captain Claire and the crew.”
Alister Brown, a community First Responder at Largs was meeting his friend Jim Stevenson at Largs Golf Club in March 2022. However, Jim arrived breathless and then collapsed shortly thereafter.
His award submission said: “On examination, he realised Jim wasn’t breathing and his training kicked in. He began CPR whilst also calling for assistance to deploy the defibrillator which was located on the golf club premises. On one shock, things started moving and signs of survival were visible.”
At the time, Jim said: “I wouldn’t be here today. It’s simple – this is life-saving work.”
Richie Batho, Craig Scott, Ben Kilner and Stephen Kilner attended to a man who took unwell in the grounds of The Unit Gym and Fitness centre in Banchory.
Their submission said: “The group realised the patient was unconscious and in cardiac arrest. They immediately commenced CPR taking turns and were able to give four shocks with the Automated External Defibrillator which was on the premises.”
Young Jayden Fox, 14 of Kirkcaldy, was on holiday in Banchory with his grandfather Bill Fox suffered a cardiac arrest.
His award submission said: “Jayden sprang into action and commenced performing CPR on his grandfather even before emergency crews arrived on the scene. He remained calm and collected throughout and continued performing CPR until paramedics arrived on the scene which led to a positive outcome for Bill.”
Jacob Bothwell, 11 of Montrose, was at home when his mother became unwell in February 2022.
The award submission said: “Young Jacob smartly dialled 999 from his mother’s mobile to ask for assistance from police and ambulance services. Jacob managed to call for assistance and contact his father who was out of the house on work on the day as well. In addition to this, he looked after younger siblings simultaneously to ensure they were not panicking as well.”
SAS Chief Executive Michael Dickson said: “The actions of all the Brave@Heart recipients are truly commendable and they have each showed extraordinary bravery.
“All our staff and volunteers do amazing, lifesaving work each day. They are all wonderful ambassadors for the Scottish Ambulance Service and their communities and are fully deserving of their awards.
“I’d like also to commend the actions of the members of the public, including the two youngsters who did amazing jobs to help relatives.”
Tea, coffee and refreshments provided, with an opportunity to donate to the work of Tearfund.
Tearfund is a Christian charity which partners with churches in more than 50 of the world’s poorest countries – tackling poverty and injustice through sustainable development, by responding to disasters and challenging injustice.
The Scottish Government is teaming up with MND Scotland to fund research to investigate potential causes of and therapies for motor neurone disease (MND).
Each partner is contributing £125,000 to provide the opportunity for a clinical professional to undertake a PhD to both enhance MND research and MND clinical capacity in NHS Scotland. The three-year Clinical Academic Fellowship will start in 2024.
According to MND Scotland, in the UK, there is a 1 in 300 lifetime risk of getting MND and there is currently no cure or effective disease modifying treatment available. Average life expectancy following diagnosis is just 18 months.
Deputy First Minister Shona Robison announced the funding in Paris where she welcomed charity cyclists who had travelled from Edinburgh to raise funds for the MND charity My Name’5 Doddie Foundation.
Ms Robison said: “MND is a devastating condition, and we are committed to ensuring that all people living with MND in Scotland are able to access the best possible care and support.
“MND is incredibly distressing for the person with the condition and their family. The research funding in collaboration with MND Scotland will allow vital work to study the progression of the condition and help inform the development of future treatments.”
Dr Jane Haley, Director of Research at MND Scotland, said: “We are proud of our ongoing partnership with the Scottish Government. This is our third joint funded fellowship and will further build MND research capacity within the NHS in Scotland.
“MND is a brutal disease that affects too many lives. With this joint funding, we are taking a further step towards understanding the causes of MND and the search for effective treatments.
“We look forward to future collaborations with the Scottish Government, including ensuring that Scotland is equipped to roll out any emerging treatments for MND which may arise from the clinical trials currently underway.”
Edinburgh has been selected to host a next-gen supercomputer fuelling economic growth, building on the success of a Bristol-based AI supercomputer, creating high-skilled jobs
Edinburgh nominated to host next-generation compute system, 50 times more powerful than our current top-end system
national facility – one of the world’s most powerful – will help unlock major advances in AI, medical research, climate science and clean energy innovation, boosting economic growth
new exascale system follows AI supercomputer in Bristol in transforming the future of UK science and tech and providing high-skilled jobs
Edinburgh is poised to host a next-generation compute system amongst the fastest in the world, with the potential to revolutionise breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, medicine, and clean low-carbon energy.
The capital has been named as the preferred choice to host the new national exascale facility, as the UK government continues to invest in the country’s world-leading computing capacity – crucial to the running of modern economies and cutting-edge scientific research.
Exascale is the next frontier in computing power, where systems are built to carry out extremely complex functions with increased speed and precision. This in turn enables researchers to accelerate their work into some of the most pressing challenges we face, including the development of new drugs, and advances in nuclear fusion to produce potentially limitless clean low-carbon energy.
The exascale system hosted at the University of Edinburgh will be able to carry out these complicated workloads while also supporting critical research into AI safety and development, as the UK seeks to safely harness its potential to improve lives across the country.
Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan said: “If we want the UK to remain a global leader in scientific discovery and technological innovation, we need to power up the systems that make those breakthroughs possible.
“This new UK government funded exascale computer in Edinburgh will provide British researchers with an ultra-fast, versatile resource to support pioneering work into AI safety, life-saving drugs, and clean low-carbon energy.
“It is part of our £900 million investment in uplifting the UK’s computing capacity, helping us forge a stronger Union, drive economic growth, create the high-skilled jobs of the future and unlock bold new discoveries that improve people’s lives.”
Computing power is measured in ‘flops’ – floating point operations – which means the number of arithmetic calculations that a computer can perform every second. An exascale system will be 50 times more powerful than our current top-end system, ARCHER2, which is also housed in Edinburgh.
The investment will mean new high-skilled jobs for Edinburgh, while the new national facility would vastly upgrade the UK’s research, technology and innovation capabilities, helping to boost economic growth, productivity and prosperity across the country in support of the Prime Minister’s priorities.
UK Research and Innovation Chief Executive Professor Dame Ottoline Leyser said: “State-of-the-art compute infrastructure is critical to unlock advances in research and innovation, with diverse applications from drug design through to energy security and extreme weather modelling, benefiting communities across the UK.
“This next phase of investment, located at Edinburgh, will help to keep the UK at the forefront of emerging technologies and facilitate the collaborations needed to explore and develop game-changing insights across disciplines.”
Secretary of State for Scotland, Alister Jack, said: “We have already seen the vital work being carried out by ARCHER2 in Edinburgh and this new exascale system, backed by the UK government, will keep Scotland at the forefront of science and innovation.
“As well as supporting researchers in their critical work on AI safety this will bring highly skilled jobs to Edinburgh and support economic growth for the region.”
The announcement follows the news earlier this month that Bristol will play host to a new AI supercomputer, named Isambard-AI, which will be one of the most powerful for AI in Europe.
The cluster will act as part of the national AI Research Resource (AIRR) to maximise the potential of AI and support critical work around the safe development and use of the technology.
Plans for both the exascale compute and the AIRR were first announced in March, as part of a £900 million investment to upgrade the UK’s next-generation compute capacity, and will deliver on two of the recommendations set out in the independent review into the Future of Compute.
Both announcements come as the UK prepares to host the world’s first AI Safety Summit on 1 and 2 November.
The summit will bring together leading countries, technology organisations, academics and civil society to ensure we have global consensus on the risks emerging from the most immediate and rapid advances in AI and how they are managed, while also maximising the benefits of the safe use of the technology to improve lives.
Detectives in Edinburgh are appealing for information following two robberies and an attempted robbery in the Colinton area on Saturday.
Around 7.40pm on Saturday, 7 October, a man entered shop premises on Bridge Road, threatened a male member of staff with a knife, and demanded money. The suspect then left the premises with a three-figure sum of cash before making off in the direction of Colinton Village.
The suspect is described as a being aged between 30 – 40, 6’2”, athletic build with a local Scottish accent. He was wearing a distinctive light grey Adidas hooded top with a neon green trim, white face covering, light-coloured gloves, dark trousers, and dark trainers.
Around 7.50am on Sunday, 8 October, a man entered shop premises on Colinton Road, threatened a female member of staff with a knife and demanded she hand over money and cigarettes. He left empty-handed.
Shortly after, around 8.30am, the same described man entered shop premises in Ashley Terrace, in possession of a knife, threatened the staff, and again demanded money. He left the premises with a three-figure sum of cash.
He was wearing a black and white coloured face covering with a skull and cross-bone design, a black hooded top with an orange t-shirt underneath. He also wore camouflaged coloured jogging bottoms, and black and red/pink shoes, and was carrying a white string bag secured on both shoulders.
Detective Inspector Mhairi Cooper from Edinburgh Division CID said: “The members of staff in all three incidents have been left badly shaken and it is vital that we trace the person involved.
“Due to the physical description of the suspect involved and the proximity of the premises it is believed the incidents are linked.
“We are appealing for anyone who may have seen the suspect in the surrounding areas before or after the incidents to please get in touch.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Police Scotland via 101, quoting incident number 3529 of the 7 October, 2023.
A spectacular outlook is guaranteed for home buyers following the completion of three striking new three-bed homes at Rowanbank Gardens, Edinburgh.
The apartments, each of which are now ‘move-in ready,’ offer between 86 and 94 square metres of light and airy space and are located on the first, third and fourth floor of the recently completed ‘Appleberry’ phase of the award-winning new homes development.
All the apartments have a fully fitted kitchen opening on to a substantial balcony area and come complete with natural oak flooring and stylish bathrooms. Prices for the three-bed apartments range from £422,500 for the first-floor property to £440,000 for the fourth-floor location.
Located in the heart of the bustling Edinburgh suburb of Corstorphine, Rowanbank Gardens is now welcoming residents to the first of its 93 apartments for private sale set around a large garden space filled with fruit trees and communal planting beds. The development is proving to be a popular destination for first-time buyers and downsizers wanting to live in well-connected, vibrant community just minutes from the city centre.
Nearly half of all apartments have already been snapped up by savvy buyers, impressed by the combination of high-quality living, immaculate environmental credentials and central location, with just four apartments remaining of the completed Appleberry phase. Rowanbank Gardens is being delivered by Artisan Real Estate which scooped the first ever ‘Excellence in Sustainability’ gong at this year’s Scottish Homes Awards, and the spectacular three-bed apartments are amongst the first homes to be completed at the development.
“With the completion of this first homes phase, it’s great to be able to give home buyers first-hand experience of the size and scale of each apartment which is especially evident with the launch of the three-bed apartments,” says Artisan’s New Homes Sales Advisor Izzy Bastiani. “Our buyers are wowed by the light and airy living spaces, as well as the quality of the natural oak flooring and the fittings in the kitchen and bathroom, all of which come as standard.”
The new occupants of Rowanbank Gardens are also benefitting from the developer’s commitment to achieving zero carbon low-cost living. Izzy adds: “Rowanbank Gardens is one of the first large developments in Scotland to employ individual air source heat pumps in all apartments, providing both heating and domestic hot water. So, as well as experiencing an extremely high quality of life homeowners can also save money as well as the environment.”
Prices for a one-bedroom apartment at Rowanbank Gardens start from £245,000, with a two-bedroom from £328,000 and a three-bedroom from £422,500.
To book an appointment at the Rowanbank Gardens show home, visit the development website at www.rowanbankgardens.com or call 0131 516 3302.
