Curious about plans for a new multi generational community hub (The Heart) in Newhaven?
Join The Heart of Newhaven at Ocean Terminal on Friday 22 October 2-4pm for a chat and an exhibition called ‘Forth Reflections and Expressions of Wellbeing.’
The art work, produced as part of the Edinburgh Shoreline project, is created from the passionate responses of over a hundred people to a 1km stretch of the Forth coastline that is special to them.
A storyline of memories and visions of the Forth has emerged, linking the Fife, Edinburgh and East Lothian coasts, biodiversity, people and communities.
We’re so excited to introduce our first “Croft Coorie-in”, coming Saturday 30th October – 11am-4pm!
The Croft Coorie-in is a new exciting community day hosted by Earth In Common on Leith Community Croft.
We want to create a warm inviting space to come together and embrace our community for a better and more just future for all!
Come and warm yourselves up at our Coorie-in where you’ll find: environmental workshops, a craft corner for carving pumpkins and making placards for COP26, flea market stalls, local organisations discussing their work, and a film screening of “NOT WITHOUT US” by @takeoneaction
A 15-year-old girl has been charged in connection with a racially aggravated assault. The incident happened shortly after 9pm last Friday (8th October) on Leith Street.
A report will be submitted to the youth justice authorities.
Chief Inspector Clark Martin said: ““Racism and discrimination of any kind is unacceptable and has no place in our society and we thoroughly investigate all incidents which are reported to us.
“We also work closely with a range of partner agencies, including universities and students organisations, to ensure students and young people feel safe in our city.
“We will be carrying out additional patrols in Edinburgh city centre to reassure people and to address any concerns. These patrols will be carried out with a specific focus on youth disorder.”
Residential developer HUB and Bridges Fund Management, a sustainable and impact investor, have acquired a ‘significant’ 2.6-acre site on Leith’s Baltic Street.
The site has an existing planning permission for a student residential development, secured by vendors Sundial Properties and local architects Michael Laird Associates.
HUB intends to reconfigure the proposal to deliver a residential-led scheme, comprising of Build to Rent apartments with a variety of mixed commercial uses at ground floor level.
HUB will work with the Council and local stakeholders to build upon the existing consent, maintaining the established design narrative, whilst enhancing the proposals to deliver a residential scheme that maximises the site’s potential.
This is the ninth deal on which HUB and Bridges have partnered and builds on their successful track record of delivering well-designed, community-focused residential schemes.
The deal is HUB and Bridges’ second acquisition in Edinburgh, following their recent purchase of the 1.5-acre Beaverhall site in Canonmills, where they are currently developing plans for a mixed-use scheme incorporating build-to-rent homes and affordable, contemporary studio space for the area’s local artistic community.
The deal also continues HUB’s expansion into key cities across the UK, with schemes already underway in Leeds and Digbeth, Birmingham.
Building on HUB and Bridges’ strategy of delivering homes in well-connected locations, the site is ideally located adjacent to Edinburgh’s new Tramline extension, due to open in late 2022.
The new route will connect the port in the east, through the city and to the airport in the west, meaning that residents at HUB’s scheme will have easy access to the heart of Edinburgh and beyond, whilst enjoying the lifestyle offering of the city’s most vibrant neighbourhood.
Just five minutes’ walk from the waterfront, the site offers easy access to numerous independent shops, bars and restaurants, as well as music and arts venues.
Robert Sloss, CEO and co-founder of HUB, said: “As a resident of Edinburgh, I am particularly happy that HUB is further investing in our capital city.
“Leith is full of creativity and innovation, and exemplifies exactly what HUB is looking for in terms of ‘lifestyle’ locations. We look forward to bringing our proven experience in delivering beautifully designed, mixed-use schemes to this fantastic site, building upon the existing proposal to deliver a great new place to live.
“We are sensitive to the legacy of the historic gasworks and are excited to rejuvenate it into a modern living quarter for Leith.”
Simon Ringer, Head of Property Funds at Bridges Fund Management, said: “We are delighted to complete this second investment in Edinburgh, a city where there is strong demand for more high-quality, sustainable lower-cost homes.
“Leith is a really exciting area, and we want to create a development that complements this site’s rich heritage and benefits the local community.”
A community podcast, highlighting events in and around Leith, which will be run by the Leith Festival volunteers.
Our vibrant community was recently named the fourth coolest neighbourhood in the world by Time Out and this podcast will provide a platform for local connections, storytelling, news, reviews and so much more.
To become a volunteer & get involved with our FREE workshops, where you will learn all the skills involved in podcasting from presenting, promoting and content creation to market research and project management – click the link below:
Junior players at Leith Rugby Club received an inspirational visit from Scotland Men’s International stars Grant Gilchrist and Tim Visser on Sunday as they were crowned Royal Bank RugbyForce winners for 2021.
Alongside the visit from Grant and Tim, the club has been awarded £1000 from the annual grassroots sustainability programme which provides vital funds as the nation’s players enjoy getting back to the action on the pitch.
Beating strong competition from over 130 entries, the Edinburgh club received its prize as part of their Royal Bank RugbyForce Weekend celebration.
The weekend typically see’s rugby clubs across Scotland host a range a pre-season events, such as volunteer DIY and Community Fun Days, raising awareness of the positive impact that Scotland’s grassroots clubs have within their local areas.
Royal Bank RugbyForce is a nationwide rugby programme launched by Royal Bank of Scotland in association with Scottish Rugby. Since launch, more than half a million pounds has been distributed, directly benefiting three-quarters of amateur rugby clubs in Scotland.
With the pandemic causing unprecedented financial pressures, this year’s funding will help amateur clubs across Scotland to improve facilities, attract new members and to develop sustainable futures.
New for this year, in partnership with Scottish Rugby, the programme has appointed 10 grassroots heroes aged 18-35, known as Young Ambassadors, onto club committees as part of a fresh focus on the future by broadening the diversity of rugby club boardrooms, providing them with an additional £500 grant from Royal Bank to deliver a project of their choosing.
In a drive to get more young people into club boardrooms and to improve diversity and representation in rugby, the Young Ambassador programme see’s grassroots heroes aged 18-35 from amateur clubs across the length and breadth of Scotland put forward ideas for projects that will help their club to create stronger connections with their local communities, build a legacy and make positive societal change.
Famous faces of Scottish culture and arts including crime writer Ian Rankin to feature on The Scotch Malt Whisky Society’s new podcast series
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) has partnered with Vic Galloway for a special podcast series dedicated to great music and stunning whisky.
Since collaborating with the Society in May 2021 to match music with the 12 SMWS flavour profiles, BBC Scotland DJ and writer Vic Galloway is taking his passion for Society whisky to the next level, with his Whisky Talk: Malts & Music podcast series.
Across the series, Vic will sit down in the Tasting Room at The Vaults, the Society’s spiritual home in Leith, for a whisky-fuelled chat with well-known whisky fans from Scottish cultural life.
Along with a tasting pack of five Society single cask malt whiskies, each of Vic’s guests will explore their creative loves, their passion for whisky and most importantly, how each of the five Society drams has inspired a favourite piece of music.
Whisky Talk: Malts & Music kicks off on Thursday, 7 October with crime writer Ian Rankin, who pairs his Society drams with tunes from John Martyn, James Yorkston, Karine Polwart, The Skids and The Blue Nile.
The podcast series will continue with Norman Blake from Teenage Fanclub, writer Val McDermid, Justin Currie from Del Amitri and Stina Tweeddale of Honeyblood.
BBC Scotland DJ, writer and whisky enthusiast, Vic Galloway said: “Good whisky and good music go hand in hand. I had such a great time pairing 12 music genres with the 12 Scotch Malt Whisky Society flavour profiles earlier this year, and that gave us the idea for Whisky Talk: Malts & Music.
“Asking a whisky-loving creative person to match five malts with five pieces of music and chat to our guests about the experience was a huge amount of fun. As the whisky flows, we go off on unexpected tangents about creative work, opinions and life in general.
“I hope the Whisky Talk: Malts & Music interviews give listeners and viewers a new insight into these creative minds and some of the finest whisky on the planet. Join us for a good chinwag and spectacular drams!”
SMWS: Vic Galloway, Radio DJ photographed at The Vaults, Edinburgh.
Photograph: Mike Wilkinson…02/04/21.
Copyright: Mike Wilkinson.
07768393673
mike@mike-wilkinson.com
www.mike-wilkinson.com
Whisky Talk: Malt & Music with Vic Galloway launches on Thursday, 7 October on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iTunes, Google Podcasts and Stitcher, or simply search for ‘Whisky Talk podcast’.
You can watch the videos of the conversations on the SMWS YouTube channel at: https://cutt.ly/4ERQC4R.
For more information about The Scotch Malt Whisky Society click here.
Ocean Terminal has launched an online exhibition to provide local residents with the opportunity to learn more about the proposed redevelopment of the centre and its £100m plans to open up the Leith waterfront for the community.
Put forward by the centre’s Scottish owners, Ambassador Group, the proposal to remodel the 20-year-old centre builds on their vision to create a destination that reflects the needs and aspirations of the people who live and work in Leith and north Edinburgh, adding to the wider regeneration of the area.
With ambitions to maximise the potential of the location with a dramatic streetscape facing the Firth of Forth, Ambassador Group plans to reconfigure the building, with new mixed-used indoor and outdoor space, achieved by the demolition of the existing north multistorey car park and the former Debenhams store.
The exhibition (www.development-oceanterminal.com) is designed to illustrate Ambassador’s strategy for the transformation of the site and will be an opportunity for local people to have their say on the proposals as plans are shaped ahead of the submission of a full planning application early next year.
There will be a chance to put questions to the project team today (Thursday 23 September) between 12 noon and 8pm. The deadline for comments through the feedback form is 8th October.
A second exhibition, which will present more detailed proposals, is planned for later in the year before a full planning application is submitted to City of Edinburgh Council in early 2022.
Chris Richardson, Managing Director of Ambassador Investments, who is leading the £100m project for Ambassador Group, said: “The regeneration of Leith, with the extension of the tramline to Newhaven and new housing, has allowed us to evolve our ambitions for the centre to create a destination that sits at the heart of this new community.
“Over the pandemic, we’ve seen how local people have relied on Ocean Terminal as a place to connect and with the move towards the idea for 20-minute neighbourhoods, with services, shops, bars, restaurants and leisure facilities all on the doorstep, there is an opportunity to reimagine the entire space.
“At the same time, and as part of the broader issues that face us, we are committed to climate change mitigation and the promotion of sustainability, in line with City of Edinburgh Council and Scottish Government net zero targets, through the use of energy efficient materials and low carbon energy generation. The redevelopment allows us to embrace this going forward.
“The online exhibition is an opportunity for people to understand our approach, to ask questions and offer feedback. We want to hear what people think as we continue to develop the plans.”
Derelict brownfield land in Leith is set to be transformed into two new five-star housing developments by Barratt Homes.
The UK’s largest housebuilder has started construction of 212 homes on Baltic Street and plans for a 115 home development on South Fort Street are well underway. Named Merchant Quay and Heron Bank respectively, the new developments are expected to generate nearly 60 new jobs and create positions for at least five apprentices.
The construction of Heron Bank and Merchant Quay will also serve to boost the local economy; an economic footprint calculation predicts the developments will add more than £30m in financial output over their build period.
Both developments will also revitalise brownfield sites, with Merchant Quay previously housing a builders yard and Heron Bank home to a steel fabrication company. The regeneration these developments provide will only add to the already booming metropolitan progression of Leith.
Building in these areas will also provide a significant contribution of much needed Affordable Housing units; Merchant Quay will deliver 43 plots, a mix of one, two and three-bed apartments, in collaboration with Port of Leith Housing Association, and Heron Bank will provide 24 units, the mix of which will be determined throughout the planning process.
Barratt Homes has established itself as one of the biggest contributors to Edinburgh’s Affordable Housing Policy, with over 1,000 units constructed to date.
Alison Condie, managing director for Barratt Homes East Scotland, said: “We have a long and proud association providing housing in the east of Scotland and Barratt is a popular and trusted source of five-star quality homes for buyers.
“We’re looking forward to expanding our offering in the region with these new developments on South Fort Street and Baltic Street, and helping to regenerate these locations.”
Work on both developments is now underway and it is expected that opportunities to move into one, two and three-bedroom apartments in Leith will be available in early 2022.
Further details and updates on Merchant Quay and Heron Bank are available on the Barratt Homes website.
Edinburgh Northern and Leith MSP Ben Macpherson will be pulling pints behind the bar in Joseph Pearce’s today (Friday 17 September) to show his support for hospitality businesses in the local area and the city more widely.
One of the MSP’s first jobs was as a bartender and he worked in a number different hospitality businesses in the city throughout his twenties. While working in hospitality he has said that he developed practical, organisational and interpersonal skills which have benefitted him throughout the rest of his career, including as an MSP.
Brexit has resulted in major staff shortages within the hospitality industry, which is affecting opening hours and the capacity to serve customers.
Commenting on his support for local hospitality businesses and their recruitment drive, Ben Macpherson MSP said: “I developed many practical, organisational and interpersonal skills while working in hospitality, and I learned a lot about different aspects of society from meeting and listening to colleagues and customers alike. I also made a lot of new friends from all over the world, who I’m still in touch with to this day, and had some great times working with them.
“The sector still has some improvements to make when it comes to its fair work responsibilities – but I have seen significant and meaningful change since I worked behind the bar 10 years ago, and today there are many hospitality businesses offering fair pay, good career paths and fulfilling opportunities.
“The experience of the pandemic has reminded us that local hospitality businesses are a key part of our communities and our economy – they are where we so often come together with loved ones and friends, and provide the setting for so many joyful moments in our lives.
“Cafes, pubs, clubs and restaurants are an important part of our society and I would encourage anyone looking for work to consider what either a temporary job or a career in hospitality can offer as a chance to learn new, transferrable skills.”
Anna Christopherson, Co-Owner of Boda Bars, said: “Working in hospitality gives you people skills, integrity and sales skills that you will need in every job you ever have.
“I wish everyone would work in hospitality at least once in their lives. It is a great job that gives you freedom to work everywhere around the world.”
