Significant steps forward have been made to decide the future of the Gorgie City Farm site after a series of setbacks.
Dangerous buildings, frozen pipes, flooding, the barn roof being partially blown off and the collapse of a ceiling were events which all halted progress at various times. Structural damage to several of the Farm’s buildings was also discovered during a survey, and as a result the Farm site has had to remain closed to the public for safety reasons.
Despite unexpected events, a lot has been going on behind the scenes, and progress has really picked up pace.
Planning for the Farm site’s future is being supported by EVOC (Edinburgh Voluntary Organisations’ Council) alongside an advisory group.
A new Company Limited By Guarantee has been formed and the new company will apply for charitable status in the near future. The new company will lead on future development on the site, and local people will play an important role in progressing medium and long term ambitions for the Farm.
Local people have already contributed their thoughts and wishes for Gorgie Farm site’s future. An extensive community consultation exercise was led by Project partner Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership, with hundreds of people contributing ideas.
Farm Site Manager Suzanne Campbell is pleased to see ideas for the site’s future taking shape: “The Farm has a very special place in the hearts of the people of Gorgie, Dalry and the wider city, and the input of local people to what the site might look like in the future has been outstanding.
“It’s taken longer than we hoped to start to put together options for its future, but we are now in the process of preparing a report which will be presented to the Council in August.”
The report will outline four fully costed options for the future of the Gorgie Farm site will be presented to City of Edinburgh’s Culture & Communities Committee on 24 August 2024.
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