Around 14,000 children living in deprived areas will have access to more outdoor play opportunities in their local communities, thanks to over half a million in funding from the Scottish Government.
More than 30 charities providing local outdoor play initiatives for children will receive a share of £550,000 to expand their projects.
Edinburgh charities receiving a share of the fund in 2023-24 are:
Bridgend Farmhouse – £15,540.00
Canongate Youth – £9,452.10
North Edinburgh Arts – £14,504.70
Smart Play Network – £14,374.50
YMCA Edinburgh SCIO – £13,778.10
Scotland Yard Adventure Centre – £5,783.21 (below)
The Venchie Children and Young People’s Project – £15,424.50
The Outdoor Community Play Fund will support children and families through the year, including during the school holidays.
Children’s Minister Natalie Don announced the funding during a visit to Renfrew YMCA – one of the 32 charities to receive funding.
Ms Don said: “Outdoor play has an incredibly positive impact on our children’s mental health, wellbeing and confidence. It can teach them how to solve problems, assess risks, boost their physical activity and provide opportunities to meet and interact with others.
“However, options for children to play safely outdoors can be limited, especially for children in deprived areas. At a time when families are struggling with the cost of living crisis, it is even more essential that we provide this vital support to ensure there are outdoor play options available, free of charge, for families across Scotland.
“I am looking forward to seeing how this fund will help grow outdoor community play projects and I am proud that this Scottish Government investment will benefit thousands of children living in our most deprived communities.”
Inspiring Scotland Director of Funds Julia Abel said: “All children have the right to play – not only is it vital for their mental health and wellbeing, but is also supports children to learn social and emotional skills while boosting their physical activity.
“We want to make outdoor play accessible for all children in Scotland. Last year, the programme expanded to include more sessions for children and families with additional support needs.
“The beauty of outdoor community play is that it’s child-led, enabling children to use their creativity and imagination to develop their own ways to have fun, overcome barriers, while teaching life-enhancing skills that will make positive effects all the way into adulthood.”
NEXT Tuesday (25th April), the City Council’s Finance and Resource Committee will consider Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society’s request for approval to progress to formal discussions for a long-term lease of the South Bridge Resource Centre as the preferred location for a new Fringe Community Hub.
The building in Infirmary Street has been identified for a variety of reasons, with its proximity to the existing footprint of the Fringe a key consideration.
Canongate Youth community group who reside there have been receptive to the idea of the Fringe Society working to improve the building and make it more accessible; by securing and maintaining the space for community and cultural use.
It is proposed that Canongate Youth remain a tenant of the building, and other small arts and cultural organisations may also be offered the opportunity to co-exist, creating a vibrant, mixed use community space for all and a hub for the Fringe Society’s services and team during August and year-round.
South Bridge Resource Centre is also a popular central location for adult education classes.
First identified within the 2017 Fringe Blueprint, the proposed development of a new, year-round space for artists and creatives across the Fringe landscape, has been made possible due to funding from the UK Government, announced during the 2023 Spring Budget.
The announcement followed many meetings with Ministers and officials from various departments, during which the Fringe Society advocated for a range of support across several key areas.
The Fringe Society continue to use their convening power to lobby for additional financial support for artists and venues, with funding for the new community hub fully ringfenced against a capital investment to meet the Levelling Up agenda.
Since the announcement, Fringe Society Chief Executive, and Chair, have asked whether some of this fund might be apportioned to other areas of the Fringe in crucial need of support; such as direct to participants via the new Keep it Fringe Fund.
To date there has been no indication that this investment can be allocated to something outwith the capital investment project.
If approved by the Council to enter into formal discussions, the Fringe Society will produce a detailed business case to present to UK Government, with full costings on development of the proposed hub.
These elements will include any structural changes required to maximise the space, a detailed breakdown of what facilities may be available, and what will be required to make the building fully accessible and sustainable for the long term.
All current services and usage of the Resource Centre will continue ‘as-is’ while this work is progressing and there will be no interruption to the Fringe 2023 operations for Greenside Venues.
In order to ensure the new hub meets the needs of its many user groups and all those within the Fringe community, consultation will be undertaken over the coming months and during this year’s festival with artists, producers, educators, community groups and industry bodies.
Shona McCarthy, Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, said: “Following the UK Budget announcement of funding for this project, there has been understandable interest and comment on where, when and how the new Fringe community hub will be created.
“Next week marks the next step in this process, with an ask to the City of Edinburgh Council that we enter into formal discussions about the space on Infirmary Street. This is very much a long-term project and one that will take a few years to establish.
“We are excited at the prospect of revitalising an important city centre space that has such an established history with the Fringe through Greenside, and a vital hub for the excellent work with young people and communities that has been the hallmark of Canongate Youth.
“The conversion of this space into a year-round Fringe community hub will allow local cultural organisation, artists and our community partners, the opportunity to utilise this space too.
“In the long-term it will allow a permanent home for our August participants hub, known as Fringe Central, for whom artists, arts industry, media and international delegates access each summer for a range of workshops, networking and industry events.
“We look forward to working with colleagues at the Council as plans for this space evolve as well as deepening existing and building new relationships with community groups in the City’.
Tara and Darren, Greenside Venue Directors, said: ‘The possibility of losing Infirmary Street has loomed over us for some time as when we started our journey, we were told that it was not a permanent option, and while its reality is undeniably bittersweet, we find solace in knowing that this beautiful, historic building will remain an integral part of the Fringe landscape for many years to come.
“Today’s announcement does not affect our operations in 2023. We have been meticulously planning for this moment, ensuring a seamless transition to ensure we can continue to provide a welcoming Fringe home for almost 200 shows every year across our venues.
“Greenside is excited about our future and we look forward to embracing the new opportunities that lie ahead. We have ambitious and exciting plans for Fringe 2024 and beyond, and we eagerly anticipate sharing more details with you in the near future’.
Clare Jamieson, Canongate Youth Manager said: “We are delighted to be involved in early-stage conversations around the future of South Bridge Resource Centre with the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society.
“The building has huge potential, and we welcome the opportunity to explore this further, and most importantly how future developments could benefit children and young people who use CY services and the wider local community”.
The Fringe Society recognise the challenging environment that currently exists for artists and venues and are continuing to lobby and advocate for greater support across a range of areas, including the recently launched Keep it Fringe fund.
The Fringe Society have asked DCMS for further support for Fringe participants and continue to lobby for this from non-capital funds.
With just weeks until the launch of the full 2023 programme, the Fringe Society’s focus remains on supporting the artists and creatives coming to Edinburgh for this year’s Fringe, and in helping audiences navigate through the array of work available.
An Edinburgh charity that supports young people in the city has received £2,000 from Amazon Development Centre Scotland in Waterloo Place.
Canongate Youth provides a safe and welcoming space where young people aged 5-25 can enjoy a wide range of activities including cooking, art, games, employability support and group work. The charity also offers young people advice to help build skills, confidence and peer relationships.
Commenting on the donation, Graeme Smith, Managing Director at Amazon Development Centre Scotland, said: “At Amazon, we are passionate about developing young skills and confidence in young people.
“The staff and volunteers at Canongate Youth provide a brilliant service in Edinburgh and we are pleased to support them with this donation.”
Clare Jamieson, Manager of Canongate Youth, added: “We would like to extend our thanks to Graeme and the team for supporting us with this donation.
“Like all charities, we’ve found the last 18 months to be incredibly challenging but it’s donations like this that help us continue to support young people across Edinburgh during a time when they need us most.”
Amazon Development Centre Scotland has been based in Edinburgh since 2004 and is responsible for devising and growing innovations that bring new levels of choice and convenience to hundreds of millions of customers around the world.
It houses teams of leading engineers, scientists, designers and product managers who work on everything from interactive user interface design to large-scale distributed systems and machine learning.
Community donations are one of a number of ways in which Amazon is supporting communities across the UK during COVID-19.
Throughout the pandemic Amazon has provided disadvantaged students with free online STEM resources and supported virtual classrooms with no-cost resources from AWS and Amazon Future Engineer.
The company has also teamed up with charity partner Magic Breakfast to deliver more than five million healthy breakfasts to children at risk of hunger in disadvantaged areas around the UK.
Two Edinburgh children’s charities have received £4,000 in donations from Amazon’s Development Centre in the city.
Amazon Development Centre Scotland donated £2,000 to Canongate Youth and £2,000 to The Yard.
The donations were made as part of the ‘Amazon in the Community’ programme, whereby the company supports the communities around its operating locations across the UK.
Canongate Youth supports children across Edinburgh and the Lothians, offering youth clubs, support services, advice and counselling. Amazon Development Centre Scotland has supported the charity since 2014.
The Yard is an organisation that creates safe play areas for disabled children and their siblings, giving them the chance to experience creative, adventurous indoor and outdoor play in a well-supported environment.
The charity plans to use the money to support more disabled children and families with online videos for early years, play ideas and relaxation, and work towards bringing more people back into the playground in line with current guidance.
Graeme Smith, Managing Director at Amazon Development Centre Scotland, said: “We are pleased to offer these donations to such brilliant charities. We hope the support will help both charities continue their important work with the children of our community.”
Amazon’s Tich Kent with Anna Robinson (left) partnership manager and Danielle Campbell play team leader.NOTE picture was pre-COVID
Jenny MacDonald, Director of Development at The Yard, added: “We are very grateful for this donation from the Amazon team and for their support of our mission to ensure every child has the right to safe and fun play. We would like to say a big thank you to Amazon for its kind support.”
Amazon’s Development Centre in Scotland is responsible for innovations used around the world by the company, including machine learning to power Amazon’s smart features like personalised recommendations and intelligent advertising.
Community donations is one of a number of ways in which Amazon is supporting communities across the UK during COVID-19.
Amazon is providing disadvantaged students with online STEM courses as well as teaming up with charity partner Magic Breakfast and delivering three quarters of a million healthy breakfasts to families around the UK.
For more information on how Amazon is supporting the UK during COVID-19, click here.
