Tag: Gyle Shopping Centre

New Support for Local Veterans

A new drop-in session for veterans living in the Edinburgh area is opening next week (26 November).

Emma Weir, who is the Community Builder for the local area for Help for Heroes is bringing a ‘Heroes Café’ to the Gyle Shopping Centre, as part of a programme to reach out to even more veterans across Edinburgh and the surrounding region.

Emma, who has been supporting veterans in Edinburgh for three and a half years, said: “We know that the city and surrounding area has one of the highest populations of veterans in the country. Over the years we’ve helped hundreds of people who have got in touch with us for support.

“The cafés give veterans an easy way to connect with others in the local area. People can just drop in and have a chat and a brew with others who share their life experiences. They can also find out about the different services we offer. It’s a gentle way to dip your toes back into the water and to feel like you’re part of a community again.”

Former service men and women can sometimes feel they’ve lost their support network, which can leave them feeling isolated and lonely.

Adjusting to civilian life can also bring challenges, for example a recent report showed that over a quarter (27%) of adults who have served in the UK’s armed forces have run out of food in the last 12 months, and they did not have money to buy more*.

Help for Heroes offers practical support for anyone who has served from any branch of the UK military – regulars or reserves – irrespective of length or place of service, and locally embedded civilians who worked under the command of UK Armed Forces..

Chloe McKenrick, aged 49 and from Dumferline, was in the army for 22 years and has been supported by the Hidden Wounds service, which helps veterans deal with mental health challenges and has taken part in different sports and social activities. She said: “I’ve attended a number of Help for Heroes Cafés and have always found them to be a great way to catch up with fellow veterans.

“It enables you to socialise in a civilian setting, which can be hard for some of us for a variety of reasons – and being with people who genuinely understand and support you makes you feel more relaxed and safe.”

The Help for Heroes café will be held on the fourth Tuesday of every month at Space to Be in the Gyle Shopping Centre.

You can find out more by going to Help For Heroes | Community Taster Sessions | Help For Heroes or by contacting Emma Weir emma.weir@helpforheroes.org.uk

Tree Time at Gyle Shopping Centre

Our first Free Tree Giveaway event will be taking place this week!

You can find us at Gyle Shopping Centre on Friday 3rd November and Saturday 4th November! Just drop-in at anytime between 10am – 2pm to pick your free garden tree.

Gyle Shopping Centre

The City of Edinburgh Council

The Woodland Trust Scotland

Alba Trees Ltd

Friends of the Gyle Park

#FreeTrees#

TreeGiveaway

#EdinburghTrees

#GardenTrees

#EdinburghMillionTreeCity

Road Safety event at Gyle Shopping Centre

FRIDAY 2nd JUNE 8.30am – 2pm

Road policing officers in Edinburgh are holding a Road Safety event using an interactive simulator for drivers to test their reactions and observations behind the wheel.

The technology tests a driver’s reaction time against the times in the Highway Code. It can also highlight any potential vulnerabilities that could affect driving ability.

The equipment will be set up at the Gyle Shopping centre from 8.30am until 2pm on Friday (2 June, 2023).

Officers will be on hand to give general road safety advice including information on Drink/Drug Driving. There will also be representatives from other partner agencies, including ROSPA and Road Safety Scotland.

Road Policing Officer, Police Constable Stewart Sinclair, said: “We are committed to reducing road casualties through positively influencing the behaviour of road users. This fun, but accurate, test provides a safe environment for drivers to have a go on the equipment and test their skills

“It will help people think about how they would react to hazards and other scenarios that we all face on the roads on a regular basis and assess their fitness to do so.

“Anyone can come along and take part. We hope it will give peace of mind to those who may worry about their reaction times “.

“Unfortunately crashes can be caused by poor eyesight and slow reaction times. Having a go on the equipment can give people peace of mind and advice will be available at the event.”

Record numbers vaccinated at Gyle Shopping Centre drop-in

NHS Lothian’s pop-up COVID-19 vaccination clinic scheme has seen its most successful day at Gyle Shopping Centre with 330 people attending.

The Gyle Shopping Centre pop-up clinic was launched on Tuesday (27 July) within an outlet at the centre alongside some of the biggest names in retail, allowing for those shopping or working nearby to drop-in to get their life-saving vaccine.

For the first time all three vaccines are available, allowing those in need of a second dose of Pfizer to be vaccinated. Moderna and AstraZeneca are also available at the centre.

The clinic is open to everyone over the age of 18 for their first or second dose, provided there has been an eight week gap between vaccinations.

Pat Wynne, Director of Community Nursing, NHS Lothian, said: “To see these numbers come through our clinic at Gyle is fantastic and it reinforces our decision to use pop-up clinics in order to move forward with our vaccination programme.

“We are really pleased to have teamed up with Gyle Shopping Centre and we are grateful to them for providing this space for such a prominent drop-in clinic and supporting our team with queue management. 

“Sites like Gyle Shopping Centre are great venues for us because they allow people to easily drop in when they are out shopping or taking a break from work. I would encourage anyone who is due to be vaccinated to consider coming to our Gyle clinic as soon as possible.”

The Gyle pop-up clinic will run until Saturday 14 August and is open every day between 10am to 6pm.

Mr Wynne added: “Pop-up clinics are part of the campaign to target younger people and make it as easy as possible for them to get the vaccine in the places they visit.

“We feel the clinic at Gyle will also help us target people between the ages of 18-29, who we especially need to come forward for vaccination. We remain determined to do everything we can to make sure as many people are vaccinated as possible.”

NHS Lothian’s vaccination bus, which is being run along with Lothian Buses, is continuing to visit sites across Lothian. More details on its locations can be found in the COVID vaccination hub on NHS Lothian’s website.

Pop-up Covid vaccination clinic opens at Gyle Shopping Centre

NHS Lothian has opened a pop-up vaccination clinic at Gyle Shopping Centre.

The team can administer all three vaccines – Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca – so it is open to all ages. No appointment is necessary and those needing a first or second dose are welcome, as long as you have waited eight weeks between injections.

The clinic, which is just next to M&S, will run from 10am til 6pm, seven days a week from today – Tuesday 27 July.

More information here: http://ow.ly/3IWJ50FDPel

Radical plans to transform Gyle Shopping Centre unveiled

Development managers Bankfoot APAM have announced a consultation on plans to transform The Gyle shopping centre into a new ‘town centre’. The proposals are a radical departure from previous plans to extend the centre.

The Gyle was originally opened in 1993 after an investment of £68million. It quickly became one of the most successful shopping destinations in the east of Scotland and was extended soon after.

Previous owners had brought forward plans for small extensions for new retail units and a cinema, but these were rejected last year by the City Council.

Options now include a fully refreshed and enhanced retail offer, major new housing and office space on a site that has some of the best public transport links in Scotland and in an area (west Edinburgh) where up to 18,000 new homes are already planned.

The concept is to create a new town centre where people will live, work, shop and enjoy their leisure time in one of the most sustainable communities in Scotland.

The initial ideas reflect the fact that whilst The Gyle was once at the fringe of Edinburgh, it is now at the heart of one of Scotland’s fastest growing residential and commercial districts.

The options being consulted on include:

  • A new community in which people can live, work, shop, rest and play within easy reach of the city centre and countryside
  • A renewed and revitalised retail offer with enhanced facilities for click and collect, home delivery and other services
  • New homes for families and professionals that bring people to live more closely to their jobs to encourage more public transport use, cycling, and walking
  • A new east/west ‘green link’ that provides better and safer walking and cycling facilities and new public green space
  • Improved access to the existing Tram, Bus and Rail services that run through and around The Gyle

Chris Moore, Managing Director at Bankfoot APAM, said: “When the Gyle was built it was a leading modern shopping destination. However, we are now looking at a new normal that is very different for shopping and living.

“The creation of a new urban city district will help transform the visitor experience and bring many more new residents, workers and customers to the shops and facilities.

“Increasingly people will travel by public transport and the facilities need to reflect that new normal. We have seen the changes that the new St James development in the city centre is making to people’s shopping experience and our aim is to deliver better and higher quality shopping, rather than just increasing floorspace. We have also studied the quality of the proposals for new homes and offices at the nearby Edinburgh Park.

“Edinburgh is changing, and west Edinburgh is changing faster than almost anywhere in Scotland and our plans must reflect sustainability issues and respond positively to those changes. Looking ahead we should consider how best to serve our customers and meet their growing concerns about the environment. A more balanced community is what is proving to work best.

“We will be consulting local residents and communities on our new vision in the near future, and we look forward to starting the regeneration and revitalisation of The Gyle in a way that makes it an even more special place for many more people. The Gyle can again be one of the finest shopping destinations in the country, but our ambition is to make it one of the finest places to live, work and play as well.”

The concept is to create a new town centre where people will live, work, shop and enjoy leisure time, all in one of the most sustainable communities in Scotland.

The plans also include a new east and west ‘green link’ for safer walking and cycling facilities, along with more public green space, as well as improved access to the tram, bus and rail services that run through and around The Gyle.

7000 jobs to go at M & S

Marks and Spencer announces 7000 job cuts over next three months:

We are today announcing important proposals to further streamline the business both at stores and management level.

As previously outlined Clothing & Home trading in the stores remains well below last year, with online and home delivery strong.  It is clear that there has been a material shift in trade and whilst it is too early to predict with precision where a new post Covid sales mix will settle, we must act now to reflect this change.

We have also learnt that we can work more flexibly and productively with more colleagues multi-tasking and transitioning between Food and Clothing & Home. The deployment of our leading store technology package developed in partnership with Microsoft has also enabled us to reduce layers of management and overheads in the support office.

As a result we are today embarking on a multi-level consultation programme which we anticipate will result in a reduction of c. 7,000 roles over the next 3 months. These will include departures in our central support centre, in regional management, and in our UK stores, reflecting the fact that the change has been felt throughout the business.

We expect a significant proportion will be through voluntary departures and early retirement. In line with our longstanding value of treating our people well, we will now begin an extensive programme of communication with colleagues.   

Concurrently we expect to create a number of new jobs as we invest in online fulfilment and the new ambient food warehouse and reshape our store portfolio over the course of the year. 

The cost of the programme including redundancies will be reflected in a significant adjusting item to be included in the group’s half-year results.  The streamlining programme is an important step in delivering on our cost savings programme and ensuring we emerge from the crisis with a lower cost base and a stronger more resilient business. 

Chief Executive Steve Rowe commented: “In May we outlined our plans to learn from the crisis, accelerate our transformation and deliver a stronger, more agile business in a world in which some customer habits were changed forever.

“Three months on and our Never the Same Again programme is progressing; albeit the outlook is uncertain and we remain cautious. As part of our Never The Same Again programme to embed the positive changes in ways of working through the crisis, we are today announcing proposals to further streamline store operations and management structures.

“These proposals are an important step in becoming a leaner, faster business set up to serve changing customer needs and we are committed to supporting colleagues through this time.”

Group revenue: constant currency

% change to LY19 weeks to 8 August 201
13 weeks to 8  August 201
8 weeks to 8 August 201
Clothing & Home -49.5-38.5-29.9
Food-1.12.52.5
International-31.9-24.6-19.9
Group-19.2-13.2-10.0
Clothing & Home.com32.042.239.2
 M&S.com38.946.940.7

James Macsween Addresses the Haggis at Gyle M&S

James Macsween, Managing Director at Macsween and guardian of our national dish, put on a Burns Night performance as he addressed the haggis in M&S’s store at The Gyle shopping centre.

Customers were treated to this one-of-a-kind shopping experience which saw the haggis piped into the foodhall and highland dancers put on a show. Lots of tasters of M&S’s Burns Night range were on offer for all as locals celebrated Scotland’s age-old tradition.

Macsween makes an exclusive recipe of their sensationally popular haggis especially for M&S.

With new delicious additions such as Haggis, Neeps and Tatties en Croute, as well as traditional favourites, including the signature haggis especially made by James Macsween, M&S has everything you need for a Burns Night feast to remember.

Macsween has been supplying M&S with phenomenally tasty and succulent Haggis and Vegetarian Haggis products since 2012. As the innovators behind the first ever Vegetarian Haggis 35 years ago, there is now a Haggis for everyone to devour on Burns Night with M&S Food.

M&S serves two million customers a week across Scotland and has served Scottish customers for over 100 years – the first store opened in Dundee in 1918.

M&S has a network of over 40 food suppliers based in Scotland, who work with more than 4,000 farms and supply fantastic products across the while of the UK.

Over 2,500 of their products are made from raw materials sourced from Scottish producers.

M&S first began sourcing from Scottish food producers in the 1930s and the supply base has gone from strength to strength.

DON’T FORGET there’s another opportunity to enjoy a Burns Supper this weekend at Royston Wardieburn Community Centre: