Category: Muirhouse

Contract confirmed for Muirhouse Community Hub

A £15 million contract for a new community hub at Macmillan Square, in partnership with North Edinburgh Arts, was approved by the Finance and Resources Committee yesterday.

As part of the City of Edinburgh Council’s ongoing multi-million pound regeneration programme in North Edinburgh, Councillors agreed the project will now enter the construction phase which will be carried out by Robertson Construction Group (Robertson), following its successful completion of the demolition of Muirhouse Library.

The first of its kind in the city, designed by Richard Murphy Architects, The Hub will be a place to learn, work, meet people, hone new skills and have fun. The state-of-the-art shared building will accommodate an early year’s centre for 185 children, a new library and will provide additional space for North Edinburgh Arts and will ensure that it continues to be at the centre of a creative, connected and inspired community.

The community hub is the focal point of one of the most significant urban regeneration projects in Scotland, tackling poverty and inequality in the area. It will be the flagship building at Macmillan Square which is currently being developed to provide a new square, 154 affordable homes and 13 retail units.

Over £200 million of public and private sector investment has been committed to revitalising the area for the wider community and this investment has already delivered Craigroyston High School, Pennywell All Care Centre and over half of the expected 1,000 new homes.

The North Edinburgh Regeneration project is recognised as a model of good practice in urban regeneration having won national awards for design, place making and community engagement. The new hub benefits from £2 million Scottish Government Regeneration Capital Grants funding.

Complementing the Council’s new library, early years centre and affordable housing, the new hub will see arts and learning brought together under one roof in a striking new building offering the community in North Edinburgh an extensive range of services. This will include new enterprise, workshop, learning and creative studio space, alongside an expanded café, youth area and shared atrium.

Work to demolish the former Muirhouse Library started in October 2021 and following today’s decision construction on the new hub will start in April this year. The project will also include a comprehensive package of additional community benefits shaped by the local community and delivered by Robertson.

City of Edinburgh Council Leader, Adam McVey, said: “The new building is an important part of the £200 million regeneration of Pennywell and Muirhouse that’s already seen significant investment by the Council and its partners, including Scottish Government, to build new Council houses and affordable homes and a community with strong local facilities in line with our aspirations for 20-minute neighbourhoods.

“Jointly led by the Council and North Edinburgh Arts, this is a good example of community empowerment showing how great value can be added to an area while supporting our landmark priorities as a Council to end poverty in Edinburgh by 2030, as well as enhancing wellbeing and equality for our residents.

“Key aspects include the new local library which we hope will act as a community living room, open and accessible to everyone. The new building also creates the opportunity to work closely with the new nursery to have as much interaction with the children, parents and staff as possible – providing tailored events and sessions especially for those using and working in the nursery.”

Council Depute Leader, Cammy Day, said: ““The North Edinburgh Regeneration project is a major success story for the area, for the city and for Scotland and it’s so exciting to see this final element hitting a major milestone.

“This joint project with North Edinburgh Arts will create a unique facility at the heart of the community.  The new Early Learning and Childcare Centre will provide quality and accessible early years spaces for local children. 

“This will allow us to meet our commitments to making early years provision more flexible, to fit family needs, and deliver 1,140 hours a year of free early learning and childcare for all three- and four-year olds and eligible two-year olds.

“As part of the wider regeneration of this area we’re delivering 1,000 affordable homes as part of our pledge to deliver 20,000 affordable new homes in the city by 2027, which will make a substantial difference for people seeking a safe and permanent place to call home in Scotland’s Capital.”

Chair of NEA, Lesley Hinds, said: “This new capital project will allow the organisation to flourish, alongside Council provision, and bring a first-class facility to Macmillan Square.

“NEA is a special place for the community of North Edinburgh and has been a trusted community anchor providing emergency food and support throughout the pandemic. Thanks also to the Councillors, MSPS and MP who have continued to support NEA both in the Council and in the community and it is this enthusiasm shown by our community which has kept us going through some difficult times. We’re looking forward to building on this support to bring a truly inspirational place to the heart of Muirhouse.”

Regional Managing Director, Robertson Construction – Central East, David Cairns, added: “Having worked closely with City of Edinburgh Council over the last 24 months to assist bringing Macmillan Square forward, we are delighted to be to the contractor of choice to make this innovative vision by the Council a reality.

“The building will undoubtedly be a fantastic facility for the community when complete and our planned programme of community benefits during the construction phase will bring further benefits to the area socially, economically and environmentally long after the building is completed.”

The new library will give an opportunity to create joint activities with the other services – providing summer activities, expanding bookbug and storytime sessions, to creating more adult learning opportunities. In addition, the local library will be a trusted and welcoming community space, a place people feel comfortable using as individuals or as a connected group: a place of connection.

The community hub will offer young people a place to develop skills, confidence and self-esteem, a safe and inspiring place for local families and children, and a place where older people will feel part of a connected and supportive community.

This accessible, welcoming and much needed community space uses environment-friendly build and innovative design techniques. The re-developed and extended venue reflects current community aspirations, whilst being flexible enough to respond to future changes in demand.

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic NEA offered over 35 hours of creative workshops each week, most with a family focus, alongside a wide range of other events from singing groups to circus skills workshops, exhibitions, community theatre, film clubs, and festival events.

The venue is also home to Muirhouse Link Up, the Pennywell Pantry, North Edinburgh Drug and Alcohol Centre, and the Tinderbox Orchestra, all working to serve the most disadvantaged children, families and individuals in the North Edinburgh area. The extended NEA will also provide extra office space and facilities for community organisations.

Whilst the hub is under construction the library will operate from nearby Edinburgh College in Granton.

Certain events will continue to be provided in the Muirhouse area. For further details about opening hours and what’s on visit the City of Edinburgh Council’s Muirhouse Library page here.  

Community groups join forces to guarantee the future of local pantry

Pennywell Pantry seeks volunteers

The rising cost of living has been making the headlines again and again and many low-income families are facing the serious threat of food poverty.

Whilst political action and long-term solutions are required to tackle the issue, one method of support which aims to mitigate these rising living costs is local pantries. These provide local shops where residents and families can sign up to buy food and necessities for a small weekly membership fee.

The local Pennywell Pantry covering Muirhouse and West Pilton managed to avoid losing its permanent premises late last year thanks to the efforts of local charities and volunteers.

The Pantry, which is operated under the Your Local Pantry franchise, was delivered by local charity North Edinburgh Arts, in Muirhouse shopping centre. It became very popular with full subscription from many residents and families in the area and was particularly valued as a new service delivered through lockdowns.

However, redevelopment of the Muirhouse area meant the pantry was to lose its regular premises, so North Edinburgh Arts reached out to a neighbouring charity to ensure the Pantry would be able to continue serving local residents. 

Julie Crawford from NEA’s Link-up Muirhouse team explained: “We knew first-hand how important the pantry had become and the devastating effect its closure would have on the local community.

“We were committed to finding a new partner to work with to ensure it would continue running without a gap in service for the community. We explored several options and found Community Renewal: Pennywell, who are as passionate as us about keeping the pantry going.

“Alongside the team of dedicated volunteers, they are now running the pantry from their premises and we have been supporting them every step of the way as they learn the ropes.”

Sheila Thomson. Community Renewal’s Regional Director for the East adds: “We have been building up a community hub on Pennywell Road where we provide a wide range of support to residents in the area, along with several other organisations in the building.

“We were aware of how popular the pantry was, thanks to the hard work of all the volunteers and team at NEA and we were honoured to work with them to settle the Pantry into its new home. 

“Thanks to a group of committed volunteers and staff from the Community Renewal team, the pantry is now up and running.”

Local resident and Pantry member Kevin is delighted that the pantry has kept going: “As most people know, basic household bills are really high now. The cost of essential things like energy and food is going up and up, but income has hardly changed.

“Not everyone feels comfortable going to a food bank and the Pantry gives members the ability to pay an affordable price for items they want instead of putting more pressure on Foodbanks and other services that are needed elsewhere.

“The volunteers have worked overtime to make sure the Pantry is a place where members feel welcomed and want to visit!”

Local councillor, Kevin Lang joined the team at today’s official launch and was full of praise for the efforts of everyone involved: “With a growing cost-of-living crisis and life hard for so many, we need to do all we can to help those struggling. 

“I am proud and so very grateful to all these charities and volunteers for coming together to support families and residents in Muirhouse and West Pilton in this way. They have my full support.”

Your Local Pantry’s Scottish Development Worker, Rachel Brown added: “Pennywell Pantry has been an incredible success story since it opened and has been an inspiration to many other communities across Edinburgh and beyond.

“The Pantry helps to strengthen the neighbourhood, nurtures new friendships and opportunities, and enables hundreds of local people to save on their groceries, freeing up money for other essentials. 

“We’re delighted that its future is now secured and wish everyone at the Pantry well in the new home.”

With support from the Community Renewal staff, a team of local volunteers has created a welcoming and safe space for local residents to come shop, have a chat, and inquire about other services and supports when needed.

The pantry is currently fully subscribed though anyone is welcome to sign up to the waiting list for the next opening and Community Renewal: Pennywell are issuing a call-out for volunteers.

Sheila explained: “The pantry runs every week Wednesday to Saturday. It is extremely busy, and we are always on the lookout for people to help us run it.

“It is a great way to meet other people, learn new skills and do something positive for the community.”

Anyone who is interested can email pennywellpantry@communityrenewal.org.uk or call 0131 332 8773

Scottish Youth Parliament: Edinburgh elections results

The Scottish Youth Parliament election results 2021 were announced on Monday 22 November. Eleven new Members of the SYP will now represent young people in Edinburgh.

Ten of those elected are from state schools in the city, seven are young women and three are from a Black and Minority Ethnic background.

One remaining seat, in Northern and Leith, will be contested in the new year.

Edinburgh registered the highest number of expressions of interest in Scotland from potential candidates and fielded the most candidates (26) of any local authority.

We also achieved the highest voter turnout in Edinburgh since 2015, despite many of the usual campaigning activities being curtailed because of the pandemic.

Councillor Ellie Bird, Young People’s Champion, said: “I want to commend the astonishing achievements and contributions of all 26 candidates that stood across Edinburgh in the Scottish Youth Parliament election, and warmly welcome the eleven new MSYPs into our city’s elected member family.

“The success of this year’s election is a testament to the commitment and passion of everyone involved in prioritising the voice of young people, at a time when it’s never been more important.

“Due to the restricted access to schools, youth clubs and community centres, candidates have had to rely on their own ingenuity, creativity and sheer dogged persistence to get their message, and their vote, out.

“The determination that these young people have demonstrated in standing up for what they believe in by putting themselves forward for election and to be accountable to their electorate, especially during such a challenging period for young people, is nothing short of inspirational.

“I know they all have a lot to offer their communities and the causes they care about most, and I can’t wait to see what they do next and look forward to working with Edinburgh’s newest group of elected representatives to place young people at the heart of policy and decision making.”

For more information about the election and the successful candidates, please see @edinburghMSYPs

£97,000 Lottery LIFT for Muirhouse Millennium Centre

Muirhouse Millennium Centre is among twenty-seven community groups across Edinburgh are sharing in a £717,108 cash boost from The National Lottery Community Fund today.  

The Millennium Centre receives £97,000 to ‘provide a range of community activities within Muirhouse Millennium Centre engaging approximately 150 local community members and four volunteers.’

Muirhouse Millennium Centre is also the base of LIFT (Low Income Families Together), who run a range of services from the Millennium Centre.

Thanks to an award of £53,463, Leith-based Fast Forward (Positive Lifestyles) Ltd will be able to continue their ‘Ask Dad’ project – a health education and training programme for dads and male carers across Edinburgh and the Lothians -for another three years.

Mark Hunter, Project Officer, Ask Dad, said: “Thanks to this support from The National Lottery Community Fund our ‘Ask Dad’ programme will be able to continue to support dads whose families are going through a period of difficulty. 

“We’re looking forward to developing our work to date, including our Good Conversations programme, supporting parents to have what they perceive as awkward, difficult, or embarrassing conversations with their children.

“We are looking forward to working on our new programme, ‘Dad: The Invisible Parent’ which will support better awareness and understanding by practitioners of the challenges faced by dads, to improve their engagement and communication with dads, towards better outcomes for their children. 

“In addition, by working with parents who feel ignored or unwelcome by service providers, we aim to improve their ability to communicate with services and to understand a service provider’s role and their limitations.” 

Better informed, more confident dads improve the wellbeing of the whole family. They also improve their children’s educational attainment. These impacts are even more profound in the communities affected by poverty and inequality.

An award of £114,344 means that Craigmillar Literacy Trust will continue to provide their support to local families with babies and children up to nine years of age for the next three years.

They will also be able to run their new ‘Express Yourself’ programme for older children and young people aged up to the age of sixteen using digital media and performance to support them to connect with literacy in a way that is more relevant to them.

Kara Whelan, Project Manager, Craigmillar Literacy Trust, said: “This grant will support our work with babies, children, young people, and families in Craigmillar though our early literacy, family literacy and young people’s projects. 

“Our work is relationship based and embedded in our community. We are looking forward to building on the strengths we have and to developing new and innovating approaches to supporting literacy in our community.”

Edinburgh Tool Library receives £9,500 to help with the costs of a Volunteer Co-ordinator who will deliver a bespoke training programme for volunteers as well as making links with other third sector organisations in Edinburgh and will help the group engage with new communities and neighbourhoods across the city.

Chris Hellawell, Founder and Director, Edinburgh Tool Library, said: “This support will allow us to reach communities that we haven’t yet spoken to before, help us enhance the support we give to our community and to produce materials to share with other organisations like ours across Scotland so we can amplify the impart of all the hard work or our volunteers in Edinburgh.  Thank you so much.”

More Edinburgh projects celebrating today include Ama-zing Harmonies, Big Hearts Community Trust, Leith Community Centre, LifeCare and St Columba’s Hospice.

Across Scotland 179 projects are sharing in £5,752,948 today. Announcing the funding, The National Lottery Community Fund’s Scotland Chair, Kate Still, said: “Local community groups bring people together to support one another through difficult times.

“Sometimes this is as simple as providing a listening ear and other times it can be a real lifeline connecting people who might otherwise be lonely and isolated. Each of the projects receiving funding today in Edinburgh remind us of the power of social connections and the difference that community projects can make to people’s lives.

 “National Lottery players can be proud to know that the money they raise is helping to support this vital work.” 

 The National Lottery Community Fund distributes money raised by National Lottery players for good causes and more than £30 million a week is raised for good causes across the UK.

Thanks to National Lottery players, last year we awarded over half a billion pounds (£588.2 million) of life-changing funding to communities across the UK. Over eight in ten (83%) of our grants are for under £10,000 – going to grassroots groups and charities across the UK that are bringing to life amazing ideas that matter to their communities. 

Fireworks: local Dispersal Zones to tackle antisocial behaviour

This year two Dispersal Zones are being set up in North West Edinburgh to combat antisocial behaviour and disorder over the bonfire period. The zones will be in operation between 2pm and midnight from Thursday 4th to Saturday 6th November.

Under the Antisocial Behaviour (Scotland) Act 2004, police have a Power of Dispersal within the designated zones authorised by Superintendent David Robertson.

This means that Police can instruct any people in groups of two or more who are congregating and behaving in an antisocial manner to disperse, and if they do not live there to leave the zones, and then not to return for up to 24 hours.

If they do return, they can be arrested.

Nine dispersal zones will be set up across the city in known ‘hot spots’. As well as West Pilton and Muirhouse, zones will be established in Portobello, Loganlea, Gilmerton, Moredun, Southhouse, Gorgie and Saughton.

News of the establishment of Dispersal Zones will come as no surprise to local residents – the real surprise is that these dispersal zones will be in place over one weekend only.

Create Community Wealth project is recruiting two workers

Create Community Wealth is looking for two (2) Lead Creative people to join the project!

Create Community Wealth is an exciting long-term collaborative project that aims to develop micro-enterprises across the communities in Wester Hailes and Muirhouse.

Inspired by the grassroots movement of the Granby Four Streets in Liverpool and other Community Wealth Building initiatives around the world, this project aims to tackle social exclusion and improve wellbeing and local economic prospects through creativity.

Create Community Wealth is part of a wider national Culture Collective programme and is a partnership between WHALE Arts, North Edinburgh Arts , SCOREscotland and Passion4Fusion.
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Deadline for applications is Monday 11 October