Our Women’s Woodworking Workshop starts next Friday & runs for 7 weeks.
Learn to make simple wee fun things and build our #LittleFreeLibrary for #Bookbughttps://forms.office.com/r/MRfW4pBRqV
Women’s Woodworking Workshop
Category: North Edinburgh News
Edinburgh drug dealer convicted
A man has been convicted for his involvement in drugs offences and serious and organised crime in Edinburgh.
Shaun McKinnon (35) pled guilty at the High Court in Glasgow yesterday when he appeared alongside his co-accused Samantha McCafferty (35) who pled guilty at an earlier date.
It follows an intelligence-led operation targeting serious and organised crime and drug supply which involved months of investigation.
In July 2020, officers, acting under warrant, searched four addresses on Moredunvale Bank. A quantity of Heroin and Cocaine were seized from the properties, with a combined street value of £50,000.
Detective Inspector Bob Campbell said: “This case had a huge impact on the people of Moredun and the South of Edinburgh. These two ruled through fear and intimidation, thinking they were above the law.
Their arrests prove they are not untouchable and we welcome today’s conviction. “We are committed to disrupting the illegal and harmful supply of drugs in our communities. We will use every tool and tactic at our disposal to remove these illegal substances from our streets.
“We hope this sends a clear message to those involved in the supply of drugs that they can expect to be targeted by law enforcement. They certainly should not be making a profit off the misery and harm that drugs cause in our communities.
“If you have any information or concerns about drug misuse or wider criminality in your area, do not hesitate to contact us on 101 or report anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 where we will investigate thoroughly.”
Mitigating ‘vindictive Tory policies’ costs Edinburgh £57.3 million this year
Funds spent protecting Scots from Tories means less money available to fight cost of living crisis, says SNP
The SNP Scottish Government had to spend £57.3 million in Edinburgh to mitigate vindictive Tory UK Government policies in Scotland this financial year, meaning there is less money available to support hard-pressed Scots families through the deepening Tory cost of living crisis.
Across Scotland as a whole, the range of Scottish Government spending commitments to counter negligent Westminster policies is now an astronomical £594 million a year. And the figures do not include almost £3.5billion of social security benefits which, while devolved, are needed to support and supplement insufficient welfare benefits paid by the Tory UK Government.
The figures also do not include the £290m announcement by Finance Secretary Kate Forbes last week to give hard-pressed households £150 each.
SNP MSP Gordon Macdonald said: “To protect the people of Edinburgh, the SNP Government is having to commit an estimated £57.3 million – a substantial amount from its restricted budget – to mitigate vindictive and immoral Tory policies inflicted on our community.
“If these Tory policies – which bring misery to the country’s most vulnerable – did not exist, then it would free up Scottish Government cash to spend the equivalent of an extra £109 for every man, woman and child in Edinburgh to deal with the spiralling cost of living.
“Devolution was meant to provide Scotland with the opportunity to do things differently but, with Westminster holding the key economic levers like borrowing, the Scottish Government is severely constrained.
“That opportunity is even further restricted if it is continually having to commit eye-watering amounts simply to right the wrongs of the Tories’ underhand austerity agenda at Westminster which is targeted at ordinary people and families.
“It says something about their priorities that, while they cut funding to help ordinary people, they pursue a tax cut for banks that will benefit them by £4bn at the expense of public spending.
“Scotland’s opposition parties are constantly demanding the Scottish Government spends its limited budget on opposition priorities without ever identifying where the money is coming from. Well, this is many millions of pounds that could be diverted to these areas if it was not being used to protect Scots from the worst elements of Westminster control.
“And it’s not just the Tories to blame. Labour and the LibDems, through their support for Westminster control, perpetuate vindictive Tory governance on the people of Scotland. In 2014 those parties promised that Westminster would be better at tackling those problems for Scotland. The sad fact is that those promises of Westminster support were empty.
“Almost £600million is a vast amount. If the Tories at Westminster would only properly fund the areas in which the SNP Scottish Government must spend to mitigate and protect people, jobs and businesses, this cash could be redirected to make transformational changes in other areas of Scottish life.
“Sadly, the direction of travel of this Westminster Government means things will only get worse. It is why the people of Scotland will have the opportunity to choose a different path with a post-pandemic independence referendum once the crisis has passed.”
Thorntons charity wills raise £46,000 for Cash for Kids
Leading Scottish law firm Thorntons has raised £46,000 for Cash for Kids thanks to its Charity Wills Campaign.
Taking place across its offices in Edinburgh, Fife, Dundee, Perth, Angus, and Glasgow, Thorntons’ Charity Wills Month supports local people and organisations within the communities in which it operates.
During the month-long campaign, the firm didn’t charge a fee for any Wills written, and instead asked clients to make an equivalent donation to Cash for Kids.
Morna Coutts – Wills, Trusts and Succession Planning Partner at Thorntons – said: “Our Charity Wills Campaign is now in its 25th year and it is great to see it continue to get support from the public as time goes on. It is fantastic to see the generosity of our clients. We are grateful to everyone who has supported this campaign.”
Donations from the Charity Wills Campaign all go to Cash for Kids in the Tay, Forth or Clyde area, whichever is closest to where the client lives, which means that children in their local area will benefit directly from the funding.
Richmond’s Hope, based in Niddrie, is a great local charity which has received help thanks to the funding from Cash for Kids. Here, they support kids aged between four and eight who have suffered bereavement and are struggling with this loss.
Thanks to Cash for Kids continued support, Richmond’s Hope are able to now fund memory boxes for children. This allows them to express their emotions in a creative way by decorating their boxes and putting items in them that will remind them of the loved ones they have lost.
Victoria Hendry, Radio Forth Cash for Kids Charity Manager said: “Yet again, we are blown away by the generosity of Thorntons and their clients. Each year their Wills Months campaign continues to support thousands of local children across Edinburgh, the Lothians and Fife.
“2021 was a particularly difficult year for a lot of families, whether they were disadvantaged through poverty because of the pandemic, or children were facing barriers because of additional support needs.
“The funds raised from Thorntons’ Charity Wills Campaign has supported these families in more ways than you can ever imagine and for that I can’t say thank you enough.
“The ongoing support from Thorntons is so important to us here at Radio Forth’s Cash for Kids and we always look forward to working with the team. Here is to 2022 and having a further positive impact in our local community.”
Fort Kinnaird announces Thistle as new charity partner
Fort Kinnaird has announced Craigmillar-based Thistle as the latest charity partner to be supported by its on-site ‘Giving Box’.
Shoppers can visit the Giving Box, which is located outside Boots and Toni Macaroni, to use contactless payment to easily donate £3, £5 or £10 to the charity while at Fort Kinnaird.
Thistle provides support to local people who live with long-term health conditions, including long covid, or challenging life situations. Through one-to-one wellbeing coaching, group-based wellbeing courses and peer-led activities, Thistle supports people to live well and take back control of their lives.
The charity, which received over 450 new requests for support in 2021, also offers accessible physical activity support and wellbeing activities such as Tai Chi, inclusive cycling and walking groups.
Throughout 2021 Fort Kinnaird’s Giving Box raised funds for two other local charities, Niddrie-based Venchie Children & Young People’s Project, and Radio Forth’s Cash for Kids Christmas Mission.
Liam Smith, centre director at Fort Kinnaird, said: “Our relationship with the local community is extremely important to us, and teaming up with Thistle will mean we’re helping to improve the lives of some of those living closest to us.
“Our visitors are always very generous, and we’d like to say a huge thank you for their continued support. Their donations will be vital in ensuring the team at Thistle can continue with their brilliant work, helping those who need it most.”
Gail Begg, community and corporate partnerships lead at Thistle, said: “We’re so pleased to be Fort Kinnaird’s latest charity partner. Many of the people we support live and shop in the local area and it’s wonderful to be working together with a local business.
“As well as supporting people in-person at Thistle’s Centre of Wellbeing in Craigmillar, we’ve been providing remote support throughout the pandemic so that people who aren’t able to travel to us can still access support. The pandemic has been particularly challenging for people living with long term health conditions and disabilities, so our support has been – and continues to be – needed now more than ever.
“We rely heavily on funding and the money raised at Fort Kinnaird will help ensure we can continue to provide essential support and stop someone’s health crisis from becoming a life crisis.”
For more information about planning a trip to Fort Kinnaird, please visit:
Edinburgh to ask for new powers to control short term lets
Councillors will be asked to approve a proposal to designate the City of Edinburgh Council area as a short term let (STL) control area at the Planning Committee next week (February 23).
The proposal follows a consultation with the public as well as industry bodies and if Committee agree it means the local authority will submit a request to the Scottish Government requesting that the new powers are implemented in the whole of the Edinburgh area.
If Government agrees with this approach, and the new legislation is implemented in the city, it would require residential property owners wholly letting a property which is not their principle home as an STL in the local authority area, to apply for a ‘change of use’ to a STL from Planning.
The majority of all respondents in the consultation were in favour of this approach (88%) supporting the principle of the designation of a STL control area and for the entire area to be included (85%).
Around a third of STLs in Scotland are in Edinburgh. At the moment, in addition to planning applications made for STLs, to establish whether or not planning permission is required for properties where this is disputed, the Council’s enforcement team looks at each case individually, which is a very lengthy and time consuming process.
The introduction of powers to make a control area follows the Council calling for new legislation to tighten up the control of STLs to help manage high concentrations of secondary letting where it affects the availability of residential housing or the character of a neighbourhood.
Also, it will help to restrict or prevent STLs in places or types of buildings where they are not appropriate as well as making sure homes are used to best effect in their areas.
Generally renting out a room/s in your house or letting your property whilst on holiday would also still be allowed if Edinburgh became a STL control area.
The Scottish Parliament has approved legislation which will introduce a new licensing scheme, which the Council also called for, which will come into effect later this year. It will address the issues of safety, anti-social behaviour and noise. These issues have all had a detrimental effect on communities as the number of STLs has greatly increased across the city in recent years.
Councillor Neil Gardiner Planning Convener said: “I’d like to thank everyone who took part in our consultation. We worked hard calling for new legislation to help us have greater controls over STLs as we know they are an issue for many of our residents across the city. So it was great to see so many people from all different neighbourhoods taking part.
“This report highlights the growing pressures of the STL commercial market, which requires a cross-city approach to regulations. With high concentrations in central areas, there are commercial STLs in every council ward in this city.
“In some areas STLs have hollowed out communities, put more pressure on the housing market causing prices to rise, and created other issues such as anti-social behaviour and noise.”
Councillor Maureen Child Planning Vice-Convener said: “I’m delighted we’ve now got to a stage of this legislation potentially being implemented.
“If approved by committee and government, these new powers for Edinburgh will greatly complement the new licensing legislation just announced, which we also called for, as you’ll need evidence you have the right planning consent in place for your property as part of the criteria when obtaining a licence.”
Scottish donations support bombed Gaza bookshop reopening
More than 150,000 books donated by the UK (including 29,000 collected in Scotland) are now on the shelves of the newly rebuilt Samir Mansour Bookshop in Gaza City, with doors set to reopen today (17 February).
29,000 books were collected from the donation hub in Glasgow which, with the help of 100+ volunteers, co-ordinated donations from across Scotland.
The epic operation of co-ordinating UK collections, processing the books and then transporting them to Gaza City was fully managed by circular economy bookseller, AwesomeBooks, who also donated 25,000 books to the appeal.
Shumyla Haseeb who managed the Scottish effort for the Books For Gaza Project said: “In Scotland we had an overwhelming, rocketing response and an amazing team of people who knuckled down through the laborious task of organising the countrywide book haul.
“It has been an exciting and memorable journey, everyone’s generosity was immeasurable and we hope to show the people of Gaza that we are always with them.”
- The Samir Mansour Bookshop was destroyed during the Gaza Conflict in May 2021
- The new bookshop – which is three times larger – opens its doors today
- Circular economy bookseller, AwesomeBooks donated 25,000 books to the appeal
- More than 150,000 UK book donations are on the shelves in an epic effort coordinated by Oxfordshire-based, AwesomeBooks
- Including 29,000 collected from the book donation hub in Glasgow which, with the help of 100+ volunteers, co-ordinated donations from across Scotland
More than 150,000 books donated by the UK are now on the shelves of the newly rebuilt Samir Mansour Bookshop, with doors set to reopen on Thursday 17 February.
The epic operation of co-ordinating collections, processing the books and then transporting them to Gaza City was fully managed by circular economy bookseller, AwesomeBooks.
Samir Mansour, Bookshop Founder, said: “I would like to thank all the people who stood by me and helped me get back on my feet. Today I am opening a better bookstore than before, thanks to their efforts.
“It was a huge shock to me when the library was destroyed, but today I feel so happy that the world stood by me and I am in a position to reopen the bookstore. It’s shown me that there’s something worth living this life for.
“I was initially afraid that the books would not arrive in time, but when the first batch arrived without any problems it gave me hope that everything would be fine.
“It was a very nice feeling when I saw the books in front of me. Today I thank everyone for their moral and material support. I salute the United Kingdom and all people around the world.“
After airstrikes destroyed the cultural hub during an 11-day conflict in May 2021, there was an outpouring of support with many offering to help the bookseller replace lost stock.
With UK businesses, charities and publishers pledging vast quantities of books, AwesomeBooks supported this unprecedented effort with an offer to organise the mammoth logistical task of the donation process.
AwesomeBooks, one of the UK’s biggest online new and used book retailers, has a unique circular business model of sustainable bookselling centred around reuse, which means that no book is ever thrown away.
The company collects books destined for landfill and repurposes high quality copies by reselling them or donating them, to improve access to books and promote literacy.
Any badly damaged books re-enter the circular economy as paper products which can be used to manufacture new books or packaging. By working more sustainably and supporting charities around the world, AwesomeBooks is committed to making an impact with every book.
Working with Mahvish Rukhsana, a human rights lawyer and one of the organisers of the appeal, over the past nine months AwesomeBooks has coordinated donation hubs set up across the UK – collecting books and bringing them back to their Wallingford warehouse to be sorted, catalogued and stored, before being shipped to Gaza City.
The final shipping containers have just arrived, and now more than 150,000 books – including 25,000 donated by AwesomeBooks – are safely on the shelves of the new bookshop in Gaza City, which is three times larger than the destroyed store and just 100m from the site of the bombed site, ready for its triumphant reopening on Thursday 17 February.
Click here to view a video of books arriving at the new Samir Mansour Bookshop
Sannah Maan, Head of Impact at AwesomeBooks said: “The destruction of Samir Mansour’s bookshop touched everyone around the world and in the UK we rallied together to show our support.
“Here at AwesomeBooks, improving literacy and access to books is central to how we operate as a business, in fact, it is the reason many of us work here. Upon hearing the news we knew we had to help.
“When I contacted the fundraising team in May 2021, it became apparent that their biggest challenge was coordinating the collection of donations, storing, organising, cataloguing and preparing the stock for shipment and delivery into Gaza.
“We are thrilled to have supported the journey of over 150,000 books from the UK. Each and every individual who took part in this effort across the UK can be proud of their actions, they have made an impact with every book sent to Gaza.”
Mahvish Rukhsana, working at 3DC in London and organiser of the Samir Mansour Bookshop appeal, said: “The success of this project is a testament to the good in humanity. In the face of incredible adversity, thousands of people — the world over — came together in support and solidarity with the people of Gaza.
“Today, we are thrilled to celebrate the reopening of this beautiful new facility. Triple the size, rebuilt with so much love.”
Shumyla Haseeb who managed the Scottish effort for the Books For Gaza Project said: “In Scotland we had an overwhelming, rocketing response and an amazing team of people who knuckled down through the laborious task of organising the countrywide book haul.
“It has been an exciting and memorable journey, everyone’s generosity was immeasurable and we hope to show the people of Gaza that we are always with them.”
CEO and co-founder of AwesomeBooks, Taskeen Ahmed said: “At Awesome Books, we are driven by our mission to make an impact with every single book. Our circular model is centred around reuse to reduce waste, lessen the environmental impact of book production and to promote literacy.
“Since our launch in 2003 we have made book donations to charities across the world and upon hearing about the loss of the Samir Mansour Bookshop, we felt compelled to help.
“With a dedicated warehouse and book collection capabilities already in place, AwesomeBooks was perfectly positioned to manage the thousands of book donations from people and businesses from all over the UK, and I’m delighted to see the bookshop is now in a position to reopen.”
AwesomeBooks is committed to making a positive impact with every book sold and has donated over 1 million books to literacy projects around the world.
Storms Update: Eunice imminent
Continued caution advised as second storm approaches
With severe weather set to continue into the weekend, the Scottish Government is urging people to continue to exercise caution and follow the latest travel advice.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney is due to chair a further meeting of the Scottish Government’s Resilience Room (SGoRR) on Thursday evening as the co-ordination of the response to Storms Dudley and Eunice continues.
All warnings for Storm Dudley have now been lifted but a yellow warning remains from the early hours of Friday when Storm Eunice may bring heavy snow and strong winds to much of the country.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: “With two storms back to back, we expect severe weather to continue into the weekend across large parts of the country.
“We would strongly urge everyone to continue to pay close attention to the latest travel advice and to exercise caution on the roads.
“Storm Eunice may bring heavy snow and strong winds to much of Scotland from the early hours of Friday, posing further risks to transport and other essential services.
“The Scottish Government’s resilience committee will continue to monitor the situation. We remain in close contact with local authorities and emergency and essential services to ensure people in the affected areas receive the latest information, advice and support where needed.”
The Met Office warning for Storm Eunice.
Follow @metoffice for any updates to the weather warnings in place.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency issues flood alerts and warnings for Scotland. View the latest updates on their website.
ScotRail services and road conditions.
Advice on preparing for severe weather can be found on the Ready Scotland website.
Police Scotland commits to national roll-out of life-saving nasal spray
Chief Constable Iain Livingstone has decided that all operational officers in Police Scotland will be trained and equipped with a life-saving nasal spray which can be given safely to people who have suffered a drug overdose.
A national roll-out of Naloxone follows a successful test of change in Dundee, Falkirk, Glasgow, Stirling and Caithness during which officers used the spray, which counters the effects of overdose from opioids such as heroin, to provide first aid on 62 occasions.
Chief Constable Livingstone said: “I know the terrible toll of drugs deaths in Scotland and policing is committed to playing our part in reducing the harm caused to individuals, families and communities.
“We have a vital role in preventing drugs from reaching our streets and bringing those engaged in serious and organised crime to justice and that will always be a key duty and priority for Police Scotland.
“Preservation of life, keeping people safe, lies right at the heart of policing. We have a purpose and remit which goes beyond law enforcement. We have a positive legal duty to improve the lives of our communities. Equipping and training officers with Naloxone will contribute to that mission.
“Policing is so often the service of first and last resort; the service first on the scene; the service which responds to crisis and criticality. Where a person is suffering an overdose, Naloxone nasal-spray can be given safely by officers with no adverse effects.
“It is absolutely essential that where Naloxone is used by an officer to help people in crisis, professional medical attention continues to be provided from ambulance service colleagues and others. In addition, it is crucial that timely and sustainable support is available to provide treatment for those suffering addiction.”
The Chief Constable added: “I’m grateful to all the officers who stepped forward during the trial to carry Naloxone and help their fellow citizens when they needed it.”
During the test of change, 808 officers were trained to use Naloxone, and 656 (81 per cent) volunteered to carry the nasal spray kits.
An independent academic review conducted between March and October 2021, during which Naloxone was used 51 times, recommended a national roll-out.
The review was co-ordinated by the Scottish Institute for Police Research (SIPR). More information about SIPR’s study can be found here.
Work is under way to secure stock of Naloxone and a national programme of training and equipping over 12,000 officers, will be undertaken in the coming months.
All officers within response, community, and other roles including dog handlers, armed police, public order and road policing up to and including the rank of Inspector will be trained and equipped. Any other officer or member of staff is free to undertake the training.
The number of drug-related deaths in Scotland has risen constantly in recent years, to a total of 1,339 in 2020.
The announcement comes on the back of the following …
Naloxone programme should be rolled out Scotland-wide, report recommends
Researchers call for compulsory training for all Police Scotland officers
Police officers across Scotland should carry naloxone, an emergency treatment for drug overdoses, a new report has recommended.
An Edinburgh Napier University-led study backed the use of the nasal spray, which counters the effects of overdose from opioids such as heroin, following an independent evaluation of a pilot carried out between March and October last year.
The researchers also called for naloxone training to be made compulsory for all Police Scotland officers and staff.
Supporters believe naloxone is an important tool in tackling Scotland’s drug-related deaths crisis, by providing immediate first aid while waiting for the ambulance service to arrive and take over emergency medical treatment.
In response to the increasing drugs death toll, and the recommendation of the country’s Drug Deaths Taskforce, Police Scotland began a pilot project to test the carriage and administration of the treatment by officers.
Last year’s trial was initially launched in Falkirk, Dundee and Glasgow East before being extended to include Caithness and Glasgow custody and Stirling community police officers.
Naloxone packs were used 51 times in the course of the pilot, and by the end 808 officers had been trained in their use, representing 87 per cent of the workforce in the pilot areas.
A team led by Dr Peter Hillen and advised by Dr Andrew McAuley of Glasgow Caledonian University assessed the attitudes and experiences of police officers, the effectiveness of their naloxone training and responses from people who use drugs and support services.
A total of 346 police officers completed questionnaires, with 41 taking part in interviews or focus groups, and further interviews were carried out with people who use drugs, family members, support workers and key stakeholders.
A majority of officers who participated in an interview or focus group were supportive of the pilot and its roll out across Scotland. Thirteen interviewees had personally administered naloxone, some on several occasions, and officers reported very positive experiences of naloxone being used effectively to save people’s lives.
While some officers considered carrying naloxone would lead to greater reliance on police by ambulance services, police overwhelmingly said that preserving life was the top priority.
Community stakeholders who were interviewed were supportive of the pilot as part of a range of initiatives to tackle the drug deaths crisis.
The study recommended that police carrying naloxone should be rolled out Scotland-wide, and that it should also be placed within police cars and custody suites to widen access.
As well as compulsory naloxone training for all police staff, the report urged consideration be given to measures to further address stigmatising attitudes towards people who use drugs.
It also recommended that officers be given ‘unambiguous information’ about their legal position if they administer the emergency treatment.
Professor Nadine Dougall, one of the team’s co-investigators, said: “Our evaluation has shown that there is significant potential benefit in training and equipping police officers with naloxone nasal spray as part of emergency first aid until ambulance support arrives.
“Many police officers told us they are often the first to attend people who have overdosed, and they greatly valued the potential to save lives in this way. People with personal experience of overdose also agreed naloxone should be carried by police officers but were keen to stress that naloxone was only a part of a solution to address drug-related deaths.”
Read full study:
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