CAMPAIGN TO SAVE LEITH ST ANDREW’S
A Leith charity has just a few days left to try and keep an iconic local church building in community hands. Leith St. Andrew’s parish church is due to be sold off by the Church of Scotland and if sold to a private buyer, the local groups using the building will be forced to leave, with the wider community losing access to the building completely.
Leith St. Andrew’s Trust (LSAT) is a registered charity founded by concerned nearby residents; it is aiming to buy the building on behalf of the community so that it can continue to serve the people of Leith.
Volunteers have worked over the last two years to undertake feasibility studies, develop a viable business plan, and submit funding applications to secure the money needed to purchase the building.
The Scottish Land Fund (SLF) is currently considering whether or not to grant the funding that the trust needs to buy the church, with a final decision due at the start of October.
Despite hundreds of survey responses showing strong community support for the plans developed by LSAT, the charity has been told that the number of local residents actually signed up as members is likely too low for SLF to award the money needed.
In response, LSAT has launched a new membership drive, with door knocking, street stalls and a social media campaign, which has seen membership grow from just 47 local residents at the start of the recruitment drive to over 350 members in just 10 days.
The charity’s eligible membership area only contains around 4000 residents in order to comply with government and funding guidance on community ownership, so membership levels have now reached almost 10% of the entire eligible population.
Leith St. Andrew’s Trust has an ambitious target of recruiting another 450 members before the funding decision is made, but the deadline for updating the Scottish Land Fund on progress is 24th September so the charity has only a few days left.
Nina Ballantyne, Leith St. Andrew’s Trust board member said: “We need as many eligible residents as possible to join Leith St. Andrew’s Trust as members to help show the Scottish Land Fund that this will be a genuinely community owned and managed building.
“Membership costs just £1 for a whole year. We’ve made great progress already but want to keep pushing in the time left, as without the Scottish Land Fund grant, the journey to community ownership is a lot more difficult, if not impossible.
“For 145 years the building has been at the heart of the community, and with more members, it can be a place that brings generations of Leithers together for many years to come.”
For more information on the campaign and how to support its efforts, please visit www.leithstandrewstrust.org or search for ‘Leith St. Andrew’s Trust” on Facebook or Instagram.