Have you experienced loss in the past two years? Join us for gentle, creative walks, designed especially for those navigating grief.
Together, we’ll explore the local landscape through art-making, reflection and connection.
Facilitated by Caledonia Funeral Aid’s Emma Ritchie and St Columba’s Hospice’s community artist Isla Macleod, you will be warmly welcomed to share space with others who understand and find comfort in nature and community.
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!
We’d like to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who supported our 2025 Light Up a Life appeal. Thanks to the generous support of our community, the appeal raised over £110,000.
This incredible sum is already making a difference to people across Edinburgh and East Lothian, and will help us to expand our work to reach even more people in 2026. Thank you for your support!
We’re delighted to share a major step forward for The Art Works! 
The Scottish Government has committed £56 million in funding over the next three years, enabling us to move ahead with confidence on this ambitious project in North Edinburgh, part of the National Collections Hub.
With around 97% of the national art collection currently in storage, The Art Works will provide a new, free-to-visit home, ensuring more of Scotland’s art can be seen and enjoyed. It will also give greater access to art, not just for people in Edinburgh but by enabling us to lend more art across Scotland.
Not only will you be able to walk among some of greatest Scottish treasures, but you can also pop in for a coffee, use the space for work/study, watch our conservators take care of beautiful, historic art and even more.
This investment will help us make the best use of public funding while continuing to care for and share the national collection for the benefit of current and future generations.
Excited to announce our 11th annual Burns Night Community Ceilidh! Always a highlight of the Winter!
Tickets now on sale from Royston Wardieburn Community Centre reception (weekdays, cash only), and Granton Garden Bakery (Saturdays 10-1, cash or card). All tickets £4. Under 10s free.
If you’d like to volunteer to help at the event, or to offer a short performance (a turn) please contact tom@grantoncommunitygardeners.org
All volunteers and performers get a free ticket.
With Ama-zing Harmonies, musicians from Tinderbox Collective, and the Granton Primary School poets. Pilton Community Health Project, Granton Youth.
A man-made mountain of more than 2,500 tonnes of crushed demolition material has been transported across Edinburgh as part of an innovative scheme to provide a long-term solution for people facing homelessness.
The mammoth operation saw almost 100 truckloads of inert building rubble recycled from a city centre development site to form the foundations of a new Social Bite Village, located along the capital’s Granton waterfront.
Charity Social Bite teamed up with regeneration specialist Artisan Real Estate to relocate building material which remained following the demolition of the former Deutsche Bank House at 525 Ferry Road (above), making way for Artisan’s spectacular homes-led redevelopment of the site in 2026.
The recycled rubble is now being used to create level groundwork as part of the ongoing construction of the Social Bite Village which will soon become home for up to 16 people who have been affected by homelessness.
The new waterfront community will provide seven new one-bedroom ‘Nest Houses’, together with existing homes converted into single occupancy based on resident feedback. The new community will also include a communal area for residents to cook, gather and relax, together with gardens and space to grow fruit and vegetables.
“This is a superb example of how clever collaboration in the building industry can help improve the world around us,” says Artisan’s Managing Director for Scotland, David Westwater.
“As part of Artisan’s stated commitment to sustainability, we always ensure that as much material as possible can be reused or recycled following demolition. And for this commitment to allow us to help such a life-empowering movement as the creation of a new Social Bite Village means that this really is a perfect development partnership.”
The new Social Bite Village is a relocation of the existing temporary village site, less than one mile away in Granton. The charity’s Edinburgh village model has so far helped more than 100 residents who, at the end of their stay, are supported in transitioning to permanent accommodation. Many have gone on to secure employment, reconnect with family, and move into their own permanent homes.
Josh Littlejohn MBE, founder of Social Bite, adds: “It’s very exciting to see our new project taking shape on a stunning seafront location, and we are delighted to be partnering with Artisan to provide such a firm foundation for the site.
“The success of the Edinburgh Village serves as a blueprint for other projects that we are planning. Its design offers people affected by homelessness, living in unsupported temporary accommodation or other insecure housing, a safe and supportive community in which to find a fresh start.
“With many cities all over the UK declaring housing emergencies and becoming overly reliant on expensive, substandard temporary accommodation, we are proud that our village projects can demonstrate a better alternative that also makes use of innovative construction methods.”
Artisan will start construction of its Ferry Road site, known as 525 Park View (above) in early 2026, in partnership with REInvest Asset Management S.A.
The development will create a low-carbon residential-led community providing 256 sustainable homes, 25% of which will be for affordable housing.
Flexible commercial space facing on to Ferry Road will provide potential for cafes, shops and shared workspaces.
GRANTON YOUTH at ROYSTON WARDIEBURN COMMUNITY CENTRE
Our Youth Clubs return next week and we’ve adjusted the timings on Mondays EVER so slightly to allow our team more time to make sure we are delivering the best groups possible!
We’re looking forward to welcoming the 330+ young people we have worked with so far this term and of course, yourself if you are interested in joining us!
Please see our posters for details on the youth clubs you can attend!
As always, our full provision, info on our team, and up to date news are all listed at www.grantonyouth.com and you can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and X for regular updates!
(PLEASE NOTE Pitt Groups are not back until 27th January and we will announce this in a separate post)
GY x
#grantonyouth
#grantonyouthclubs2026
#grantonyouthmixtapeclub
🍎 WASSAILING at GRANTON CASTLE WALLED GARDEN
🍎 SUNDAY 18 JANUARY 1 – 3pm
Join us in the orchard for our annual Wassailing: a joyful winter gathering to sing, share, and mark the turning of the year together.
Led by Penny Stone, we’ll sing traditional and contemporary wassailing songs, spend time outdoors, and celebrate the season as a community. Apple-based food and drinks will be available by donation.
All are very welcome — whether you come to sing along, listen, or simply enjoy the atmosphere!
Wrap up warm and come celebrate winter with us 
SUPPORT LOCAL CHARITY’s WORK in 2026
On Friday, we hosted our Christmas Community Lunch – complete with Christmas ham, honey roast veg and of course some Christmas crackers 
But a community lunch is not just for Christmas! We host a community lunch for 50 local people every Friday here in Granton, encouraging people to enjoy good food together.
Next week, our team will still be cooking, packing and delivering meal packs to people in need across Edinburgh 
We know Christmas can be a difficult time of year – with greater pressure on finances and many people feeling socially isolated. Each meal pack tells a person that someone is thinking of them this Christmas.
If you’d like to support our work in 2026, please donate to our Winter Appeal
Donate: https://tinyurl.com/mssm3xtu
Our community lunch returns for 2026 on the 2nd of January.
Please note that there is no community lunch on Friday the 26th of December.
Edinburgh community groups have shared in a more than £25,000 funding boost from Co-op’s Local Community Fund.
The focus of Co-op’s Local Community Fund is on enabling communities to thrive, supporting local groups and causes to make a difference locally through their work to either: provide access to food; improve mental wellbeing; create opportunities for young people; promote community cohesion and, build more sustainable futures.
More than a dozen causes have benefitted – with celebrations events taking place in local Co-op stores in recent weeks – cause include: Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity (£3,017); 106A City of Edinburgh Rainbows and Brownies (£1,502); Branch Out Together – prev. Lothian Autistic Society (£2,657); Caledonian Thebans RFC (£1,282); Capella Charity (£1,340) ; Corstorphine Community Centre (£2,165); Empty Kitchens Full Hearts (£2,925); Hays Pantry (£2,052); Teapot Trust (£1,574); The Dove Centre (£2,442) and the 46th Edinburgh and Lothian Girls’ Brigade (£1,188).
Co-op is committed to making a difference in the communities it serves, and its members have a say how the fund is shared between local causes, simply by choosing a community group close to their hearts via Co-op’s Membership App.
Nearly 40,000 unique projects have been supported in communities across the UK since the fund began in 2016.
David Luckin, Head of Social Value & Community Engagement, Co-op, said: “Local causes make a huge difference in communities across the UK. As a co-operative, our members have a say in where and how our profits are shared, and our funding enables local groups to deliver projects that focus on the needs of local communities and, the issues affecting people’s lives.
“We know that things are increasingly challenging for local causes, and we are told that our funding makes a real difference – we are focussed on helping people and communities thrive.”
Around 9.5m people (almost one in seven of the UK population) have benefitted directly from Co-op’s Local Community Fund since the fund started in 2016, with nearly 40,000 unique projects supported UK-wide during the period.
The benefits to community groups also extend beyond the funding support, with more than nine-in-10 causes (94%) saying that they felt more connected with their community as a result of participating in Co-op’s Local Community Fund.
Co-op is one of the world’s largest consumer-owned co-operatives, with its history dating back more than 180 years.
The Co-op exists to create value for its membership and communities, and members can view current local causes and choose a community project close to their own heart via the Co-op membership app.
