Sadly, despite the best efforts of all involved, Blackhall Playgroup had to close its doors for good on the 25th June 2026.
Blackhall Playgroup has made a significant contribution to the children and families of Blackhall & surrounding areas for over 40 years and the committee would like to thank all the employees, volunteers and committee members past and present for their commitment and dedication over the years.
As a result of this closure, we are holding a closing down sale. There will be a wide range of high quality equipment, toys, puzzles, games and books for early years and beyond.
CLOSING DOWN SALE
Blackhall St. Columba’s Church, Upstairs hall
Friday 14th August 12-4pm
AND
Saturday 15th August 10am-2pm
Cash only
If bringing a car then free parking available on the surrounding side streets (not on Queensferry Road) but please be considerate of our neighbours’ driveways
LAST ORDERS AT POPULAR COMELY BANK INDIAN RESTAURANT
After so many wonderful years serving you at Ronaq Restaurant Comely Bank, we are writing with heartfelt gratitude, and a touch of nostalgia, to let you know we’ll be closing our doors.
Your support has meant the world to us. Though we’ll miss hosting you, we’re excited for the future.
A new restaurant will soon open in this location, and we encourage you to welcome them warmly.
Great Value Homewares, Furniture, DIY and Art Supplies alongside a fully stocked Garden Centre by Homebase – Your One-Stop Shop for Home and Leisure
A year on from its rapid reopening, The Range Superstore has stepped up once again, completing a full enhancement of the store to deliver an even bigger and better shopping experience.
With expanded departments, refreshed layouts and hundreds of new products added, customers can now enjoy even more choice across the great-value home and leisure ranges the retailer is known for.
Following last year’s swift relaunch, The Range superstore has undergone further investment over the past 12 months, strengthening its position as a true one-stop destination for home décor, creativity and outdoor living.
Shoppers will now discover broader ranges, improved in-store navigation and even more inspiration across every department.
From statement home décor and soft furnishings to lighting, mirrors, wall art and on-trend seasonal collections, the store now offers even greater choice for customers looking to refresh their space. Craft enthusiasts can explore an extensive arts and crafts department, one of The Range’s signature strengths, stocked with canvases, paints, hobby supplies and creative kits for all ages. Shoppers will also find expanded ranges across furniture, storage, kitchenware, outdoor living and family leisure, all designed to deliver style and practicality at accessible prices.
Garden lovers will also benefit from a dedicated Garden Centre by Homebase, bringing plants, compost, tools and outdoor project inspiration back to the local community. Whether updating a balcony, transforming a patio or creating a family-friendly outdoor space, customers can now browse everything they need under one roof.
The enhanced store reinforces The Range’s position as a true destination for home décor, creativity and outdoor living, offering shoppers thousands of products across multiple departments, all at great value prices.
A spokesperson for The Range Superstore said: “We’re proud to welcome shoppers back to a fully updated superstore.
“The Range is known for its breadth of choice and unbeatable value, and this refreshed store truly showcases the very best of what we offer, from home décor and arts and crafts to garden living. We’re excited for customers to come in, explore and rediscover their local store.”
The updated Craigleith Range Home & Leisure (Unit 3 Craigleith Retail Park, South Groathill Avenue, Edinburgh, EH4 2LN)is open now, with customers encouraged to visit and see what’s new.
Gas network company SGN is upgrading the gas network in Telford Road to ensure local homes and businesses continue to receive a safe and reliable gas supply.
The project involves replacing old metal mains, reaching the end of their useful lives, with new plastic pipe. This will help ensure local homes and businesses continue to receive a safe and reliable gas supply long into the future.
Following close consultation with the City of Edinburgh Council, works will start on Monday 26 January and last for approximately six weeks. The project will begin in Telford Road at its junction with Groathill Road North, operating under temporary traffic lights for approximately two weeks.
The work will then progress eastbound along Telford Road under a lane closure. before progressing east under a lane closure. Please note that delays are expected during peak travel periods.
Localised road closures in Groathill Road South and Telford Drive will be required at various stages to allow traffic to flow on Telford Road. Clearly signed diversions will be in place to assist road users.
SGN spokesperson Katie Lobban said: “We’ve worked closely with the local authorities in planning this work and we will be doing everything we can to limit disruption during our essential project.
“This section of our gas main has required a number of emergency repairs in recent years, so we’ve made the decision to fully replace the pipe to reduce any further disruption to the local community and commuters.
“We appreciate that roadworks can be frustrating and would like to thank everyone affected for your patience, understanding and support as we work to improve the energy infrastructure in Edinburgh.”
NEN PUBLISHED OUR FIRST BLOG POST ON THIS DAY IN 2011
The very first NEN blog post was published on this day in 2011. The post read:
Hello, and welcome to the brand new NEN blog.
For those of you not already familiar with the newspaper, we are a local community paper serving the North Edinburgh community. We’ve been here for over thirty years.
This blog, along with our new Facebook page and Twitter stream, represents our first foray into the world of social media. We really want to encourage more participation, more questions and ideas from the North Edinburgh community – both online and offline – and hope that these new tools will help us to do that.
We already have a good website, where you can always find the latest edition of the printed newspaper. The blog won’t be replacing that, but will instead be there to show people the latest news about the area, and also to help us cover the current funding crisis we are facing as an organisation.
Above all, we want to include your input on the blog – be it ideas for stories, comments, pictures and events. So get in touch!
The NEN’s website was sadly deleted when funding ceased but our social media presence continues on both Twitter and Facebook and the blog is still going strong with 10 – 12 posts daily.
2025 was the NEN blog’s busiest ever year with 36,000 visitors. As I write this we’ve published more than 38,000 posts – all of these remain accessible online – and we’re currently on a run of publishing on 2749 consecutive days.
When the NEN office in Crewe Road North closed much of the NEN archive material was lost, but thankfully some of our picture library was salvaged and can now be found at granton:hub (Madelvic House), where the volunteer archive team has also collated all remaining hard copies of the North Edinburgh News newspaper.
Hopefully, between the physical archive and the NEN blog, you can find all you need to know about our community’s rich history – and we’re adding to that history every day!
Ronaq, one of Edinburgh’s leading Indian restaurants, is serving up a new year treat for customers with 50 per cent off its entire menu for the month of January.
Having introduced the offer last year, bosses have been inundated with enquiries from diners keen to know if there were plans to run something similar to kick off 2026.
The good news is that the big discount will once again be running from New Year’s Day at the Comely Bank eatery, which is also a BYOB.
Whether it’s fragrant biryanis, signature karahi dishes or Ronaq specials, customers can now enjoy it all at a fraction of the price.
“The name Ronaq means brightness and joy and we hope to bring lots of that to our customers in January with this offer,” said owner Mohammed Shoaib, who has been serving the finest Indian and Pakistani cuisine since opening in 2014.
“It was really popular last January and I lost count in recent weeks of the number of people asking if we were going to do the same this time.
“We want to give back to our loyal customers and what better way than by providing them with a memorable Ronaq dining experience at a memorable price?”
Opening times from 1 January are noon-2pm and 5pm-10pm, seven days a week
THE partners at Specsavers opticians and audiologists within Blackhall Sainsbury’s have made a five-figure cash commitment to the local area as they continue to invest in the store and colleagues.
Led by directors Stuart Miller and Adam Gordon, the store has recently undergone a £30,000 refit, which included the shop floor and consulting rooms being freshly painted and installing a variety of new lit frame displays for children’s glasses, sunglasses, and designer brands such as Vivienne Westwood and Hugo Boss.
Located within Craigleith Retail Park, Specsavers is the only dedicated opticians in the park, with the store currently having two optometrists qualified as independent prescribers with an additional two optometrists currently training to achieve this level of qualification, with an aim of easing pressure on the NHS.
Specsavers Blackhall’s recent overhaul is another positive piece of news for the retail park, which has already seen an exciting start to 2025, with the addition of beloved retail giant ‘The Range’ joining the lineup of businesses.
Stuart, retail director at Specsavers Blackhall, said: ‘Our store refit has been warmly welcomed, not only by our customers, but also the team as its equally important that they have a nice environment to work in – they were thrilled when they saw the design plans.
‘As a team, we aim to offer the best possible customer experience to all who visit the store, however, as directors, Adam and I are also committed to helping our staff members progress in their careers. So, we are delighted that we not only have two members of the team on their way to becoming independent prescribing optometrists, but we will also have a fully qualified dispensing optician by the summer.
‘We’re looking forward to customers, current and new coming to visit the store and seeing what’s new.’
Craigleith has a vast array of businesses that call it home, including Lidl, Starbucks, Superdrug, and PureGym. It’s the closest retail park to the city centre and is easily accessible by bus as well as having plenty of parking available.
To book an appointment or speak to a member of the team at the Specsavers Blackhall store within Sainsbury’s, visit:
Ronaq, one of Edinburgh’s most popular Indian restaurants, is spicing things up with the launch of a lunchtime tapas menu.
Available from this weekend (Saturday, 1 February), the new menu at the Comely Bank BYOB will feature four sections – starter, mains, accompaniments and afters.
The usual traditional classics such as pakora, chicken biryani, lamb jalfrazi and vegetable korma will all be featured alongside an array of other mouth-watering meals, while fans of fish curry won’t be disappointed by the Machli Balti, haddock cooked with green peppers, coriander, cumin, cardamoms, pimento and cinnamon.
Diners can choose one dish from each section for £9.95.
There is also a children’s menu offering chicken tikka, chicken curry, chicken korma and fish fingers from £6.95.
The tapas will be served from 12-2pm Monday-Friday, and from 2pm-5pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
“We’re excited to introduce this new lunchtime offering for our customers,” said owner Mohammed Shoaib.
“Tapas are a fun way to enjoy a number of different dishes and there is something for everybody on the menu. It’s an ideal way to taste a variety of the flavours which we are renowned for.
“They can also be served quite quickly, ideal for people who may be on their lunch break from work and a little short of time.”
TWO-way temporary traffic lights at the top of Groathill Avenue from 7am on Tuesday 24 September for ongoing power cable renewal works – expected until 11 October.
Closures on Groathill Avenue and Groathill Road South remain in place for a few more weeks.
CLOSING DOWN SALE 
Blackhall St. Columba’s Church, Upstairs hall
Friday 14th August 12-4pm
Cash only
If bringing a car then free parking available on the surrounding side streets (not on Queensferry Road) but please be considerate of our neighbours’ driveways 
