Everyone is welcome to join us on this fun family day!
Gala Queen, Rosie Cruikshank, and Fisher King, Thom Pryde, with their entourage, will arrive by boat in Newhaven Harbour around 11:00 am and make their way up to The Heart of Newhaven where they will be crowned by Newhaven Heritage’s Dougie Ratcliffe.
Victoria Primary P1 and P7 children will be at the harbour to meet our Gala Queen and Fisher King wearing traditional costumes.
Our theme for the Gala this year will be pirates and everyone is welcome to dress up and join the procession from Newhaven Harbour to The Heart of Newhaven (dressing up is optional).
After the coronation, there will be games and stalls, hot food and ice cream, as well as tea and coffee.
Coorie-In again on Thursday 23rd February when the doors will open at 6.45 and events run from 7pm until 8.30. Come along and see what our partners have to offer you: everything from food tasting to pottery making, book binding, screen printing and learning about education and life in Victorian times.
There will be tea and coffee too! Come along and meet our partners and Trustees, not to mention other members of the community.
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We are delighted to announce that we are one of five organisations that have been awarded funding to develop Meeting Centres for people affected by dementia in Scotland.
The £10,000 award will go towards opening a social space and community support for people living with dementia, their families and unpaid carers.
Funds have been allocated through the Meeting Centres’ Seedcorn Fund, part of the partnership between the Scottish Government and Age Scotland’s About Dementia project.
Support is designed around attendees’ individual needs and activities are selected by members themselves based upon their interests, in order to help people affected by dementia adjust to the changes that often follow diagnosis and contribute to positive outcomes in the longer-term.
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Many of you already know that Heart of Newhaven is also a partner in Restoration Forth, a community-led project to restore seagrass meadows and native oysters in the Firth of Forth.
Led by WWF and sponsored by funders Aviva, Scottish Power Foundation, MoonDance Foundation and NatureScot, Heart of Newhaven is one of six project ‘hubs’ helping local people in Newhaven and nearby areas to get involved in the project. If you live locally and would like to know more about Restoration Forth please contact us on admin@heartofnewhaven.co.uk.
Edinburgh Community Climate Acton Network is uniting community groups across the city and inviting everyone to take part in the development of a Community Climate Hub.
The Network and Hub will be co-created by the people doing the work in their communities. This could involve, for example, knowledge-sharing and collaboration with other community groups, access to supporting organisations such as funders, policymakers and industry experts, support for administration and management, and collective lobbying.
On 16th February the Network will be holding the Winter Gathering in the Grassmarket, (86 Candlemaker Row) where new connections and partnerships will be forged, creating a map for a living city, and planning how a community network will support communities to make that future happen.
Everyone is welcome to attend the event, either as an individual, or from a community group.
Here is the link to the ECAN website, and the upcoming 16th February event
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A reminder – Warm & Welcomingbegan on Wednesday 1st February and the room will be open to all-comers every Wednesday and Saturday morning from now on, from 9am till 12 noon.
The first session saw a small but appreciative number of visitors who enjoyed their tea and coffee and reminiscing over some old photographs of Newhaven. Ace IT were on hand to help with computer and phone problems and there were toys, books and games available for all ages.
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We have a new user settling into the Heart.
Kissy is offering Maths and English tuition to school pupils of all ages and will be running after-school sessions in the Anchor building, Monday to Friday, 4-6pm.
If you’re interested, you can contact her on 07873682133.
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Finally, a couple of pleas. We’re still looking for any potential volunteers out there who have community fund-raising or event-organising experience.
Your help is needed to plan future events at the Heart. Please get in touch with admin@heartofnewhaven.co.uk or through the volunteering page on the website. Alternatively, contact any of the trustees.
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We’re also on the lookout for new trustees who would like to make a difference in their community. If you have legal, HR, marketing, fund-raising or secretarial experience, and live within our Area of Benefit, the Board would like to hear from you. Please get in touch.
Finally, we have been the recipients of some generous donations of old fishwives’ costumes and would love to be able to display them to their best advantage.
Does anyone have any old dressmakers’ dummies they no longer use, or perhaps a local business has some old shop window mannequins that are due for the scrapheap. Please consider donating them to us so that we can display our fine costumes. Contact christine.mcderment@heartofnewhaven.co.uk
Welcome to your December Newsletter and Season’s Greetings from the Heart
It’s been a memorable year, has it not, and just look where we are now: the community is finally installed in the Heart, which is going from strength to strength; members of the community have been welcomed in to the first events as work progresses towards opening the whole site; several community groups are holding regular sessions at the Heart, while tenants and partners continue to prepare their various premises.
Coorie-In for winter
We held our Coorie-In event on Saturday 26th November, attended by around 300 people keen to see what was happening. Various partners and users took the opportunity to let people see what to expect as we move forward and the afternoon was voted a great success.
Asked what they had enjoyed about the event, a common answer was “Everything!” Particularly noted was the warm welcome, the variety of workshops and people, the Ukranian crafts, the Victorian Schoolroom and the heritage displays. One special reply was this: Seeing the school “come alive” with voices of all ages. On the negative side, several people felt there should have been more signage, so we’ll work on that for next time.
And talking about the next time, watch out for our next such event, already in the diary for Thursday 23rd February, to be held in the evening this time, from 7- 8.30pm.
Reminiscence
Trained Heart reminiscence volunteers were among the groups taking part in the Coorie-In and were kept busy all afternoon.
They hope to organise regular reminiscence events once the building is up and running and the stories and memories shared at these events will eventually be shared with the whole community.
In the meantime, they are happy to go out into the community and gather memories that way.
Before the Coorie-In, those who had signed up to volunteer had been invited to an introductory event on Saturday November 19th. It was the Heart’s first volunteer information session and had a tremendous turn out.
Prospective volunteers were given a tour around the building and a presentation on upcoming volunteer opportunities. It was a great opportunity for like-minded people to come together and there was a lot of friendly chat over a bowl of hot soup.
We hope to run these sessions regularly, so please register your interest by completing the volunteer form on the website
Bookings at the Heart have been increasing but if you have a one-off event you’re planning, or if you plan to hold regular meetings, then come along and see what we have to offer. If you’re interested in renting a space, whether by the hour or regularly, do fill in the form on the website. In particular we can offer evening spaces in the comfortable, modern Anchor Building or for larger events, perhaps the old school assembly hall might suit you. You only have to ask.
1) Do you know of anyone who would appreciate receiving our newsletters? Spread the word and let us know.
2) Is there anyone with an electric keyboard/piano who would donate it for the Anchor building?
3) We’re still on the hunt for someone with some HR experience who might be able to help us. If you would like to get involved, then get in touch via the admin@ address or contact our Chair, Judy Crabb at judy.crabb@heartofnewhaven.co.uk
Finally, in other news, the Heart is proud to report that It’s Your Neighbourhood, part of the Keep Scotland Beautiful charity has marked us up to Level 3, Advancing, so thank you to everyone who has helped plant bulbs and other plants both around the Heart itself and elsewhere in the neighbourhood.
Stop Press
Save Our Ponds You may be interested in this petition. The aim is to save wildlife habitat on unused building plots near Western Harbour, which are currently up for sale for further development. More information on the Community Council Website: https://lhncc.org.uk
Work continues to bring the Heart up to the state where it can open fully to the public, but in the meantime, those of you who missed our Enliven event recently, need not worry. We’re holding another taster event on Saturday 26th November, from 2 to 4pm.
This is a Coorie-In as winter approaches, where you’ll be able to take part in all sorts of craft activities and visit different parts of the site – the Anchor Building, The Creel Building and the Victoria Building. Different activities will be taking place in each.
Some of our recently trained volunteers will be ready to welcome you to a reminiscence session in the Atrium; The History of Education Centre will invite you to visit the transformed classroom on the first floor which will be the new home of the Victorian Schoolroom; The Men of Leith’s Shed will welcome you to their workshop in the Creel Building and tell you about their new Repair Shop, while the Anchor Building and the old gym hall will host numerous physical activities and craft sessions.
Do come along and see what’s on offer. There will even be food tastings!
Don’t miss it.
Can you help?
If you’ve visited the blog page on the website, you will have seen that there are various questions being posed of you. If you haven’t visited, check it out.
We’re searching for the families of two men who taught at VPS during the First World War. Please do have a look and see if you can help.
The latest blog also features an intriguing find in the Victoria Building. Do you recognise it? It is burned into the floor on the first floor.
Those of you who have volunteered to help out at the Heart are being invited to a chat with our Volunteer Coordinator, Bryan, a tour of the site with our Manager, Roger, and maybe even a sandwich or a coffee and cake, on Saturday 19th November, from 11 till 2.
Please register to volunteer via the volunteering page on the website and let us now what activities you would be interested in helping with.
We would like to know by Tuesday 22nd if you will attend the event so that we can get the catering right.
Finally, we are pleased to welcome the Edinburgh-based youth theatre group Lyra to present our very first public performance in the Heart.
This will be Snowstorm, a charming winter’s tale for children aged 5-8. It will take place on Monday 21st November at 6pm.
Tickets are free but are strictly limited and must be booked in advance.
Email admin@heartofnewhavencommunity.co.uk with Snowstorm in the title, to enquire about availability, and pass the word along to those who might not otherwise have heard about it.
And apologies if it seems a long one: it’s just an indicator of how much is happening!
Well, we’re open for business! All right, perhaps not fully open, but we have held our first public events in the Anchor Building and they’ve been great successes. We will build on them as we approach opening in the old Victoria Building.
Enliven was a taster event supported by the Edinburgh Wellbeing PACT, held on Saturday 24th September to allow members of the community to see what HONC and some of their partners will be offering once the whole of the Heart is open. Over 100 visitors of all ages came through the Heart’s gate to investigate.
Some of our Partners demonstrated their wares, including Ink on Mesh with screen printing and the Victorian Schoolroom with Victorian crafts and toys inside and gird and cleek races in the playground, while Men’s Shed showed off their new workshop in the Creel Building. The Newhaven Community Choir and Men’s Shed members contributed to some musical offerings.
Hannah Watt, the Learning Community teacher for the Trinity Academy cluster was also on hand to help youngsters make their own keyrings while the planters in the playground were refreshed as volunteers leant a hand with new planting.
“The weather was very kind, the biscuits all eaten and all of the partners and volunteers felt that the day had been a success and worthwhile,” reports Community Projects Coordinator and Trustee Norma Johnston.
Calling all volunteers, registered or not
Have you already volunteered to help out in some way? Please note that we have revamped our call for volunteers on the website where there is now an updated form. If you have already volunteered you will be contacted by our Volunteer Coordinator Bryan with a link to the new form. After all, you may have moved away or found other things to do with your time since you first contacted us. If so, please let us know so that we can take you off the list.
If you would like to volunteer now, then please go to the website and follow the links. We are currently looking in particular for volunteers to help with DIY skills such as painting & decorating, pulling up carpets, cleaning windows, upholstery, as well as minute takers for sub-group meetings. Please go to:
We are also planning a volunteer meeting some time in November so that you can meet each other. If you’re registered, you will be contacted with the details. Hope you can make it!
If you can’t volunteer your time, you may be able to contribute in kind. Are there any local businesses out there who feel they could sponsor us in any way or contribute practical necessities?
Bring neighbours, friends and family together at this welcoming event at The Heart of Newhaven this Saturday afternoon.
There will be something for everyone to enjoy and I’ll have a brilliant screen printing activity running that’s easy, fun, experimental and colourful so pop in and have a taster of what Ink on Mesh and other businesses at the HEaRT have for you all.
The Heart of Newhaven Community has finally been given the keys to the front door.Current Chair Judy Crabb received the keys from the City of Edinburgh Council on Friday (12/8) so the school site finally belongs to you, the community.
It’s taken a long time. As a reminder, the original Steering Group was set up after public consultation and eventually converted into a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO), registered with OSCR the charity overseer in 2020.
They won the right to purchase the site under the Community Asset Transfer scheme in July 2020 and secured funding for the purchase from the Scottish Land Fund in June 2021.
The school pupils and teachers moved out in December, 2021, but delays originally caused by Covid 19 and then last minute legal hurdles meant that the final transfer could not take place until last week.
Now, it’s all systems go, with volunteers tidying and cleaning and potential users and tenants queuing up to move in and get started.
The History of Education Centre has already moved all its equipment and furniture in and hopes to have the Victorian Schoolroom fully operational by 1st October. Others are keen to follow suit.
First though, there are some necessary health and safety measures to install, IT equipment and communications must be set up and the most urgent repairs to the structure need to be completed.
Once open to the public, the community hub will be offering spaces for intergenerational activities including space for such as theatre groups, choirs and performances of all kinds, rooms for rent for meetings or parties, artists’ studios and small business rooms for rent, a Heritage Suite, much needed early years’ provision in the modern Anchor Building, rooms for the Men’s Shed to carry on their activities and of course a community cafe.
HoNC Chair, Judy Crabb has been involved since even before the first public consultations and is now celebrating with the rest of the Board. “It’s a well known phrase ‘ If it is worth having, it is worth waiting for’ and how true that is as of today,” she says.
“Finally, we are thrilled to announce that HoNC now owns the former Victoria Primary School that from now on will be known as ‘The Heart’.
“A huge thank you to everybody who has helped over the years to bring about this day, volunteers, supporters, members of the community, our funders, Trustees and consultants. Every contribution, big and small, has made a difference.
“Over the next few months we will begin to open up the buildings to all the services and activities that support our themes of culture and heritage, learning and enterprise and improvement in well being.”
The Heart of Newhaven Community (HoNC) has finally received the keys to the front door!
The charity, formed four years ago to purchase Newhaven’s old Victoria Primary School for use as a community hub, has faced a long battle to get all the legal documentation with the City of Edinburgh Council signed, sealed and delivered but has finally been given legal possession of the site.
The original Steering Group was set up after public consultation and eventually converted into a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO), registered with OSCR the charity overseer in 2020.
They won the right to purchase the site under the Community Asset Transfer scheme in July 2020 and secured funding for the purchase from the Scottish Land Fund in June 2021.
The school pupils and teachers moved out of what was then the oldest working primary school in the city in December 2021, but delays originally caused by Covid 19 and last minute legal hurdles meant that the final transfer could not take place until this week.
Current HoNC Chair Judy Crabb and former, and very first Chair, Rodney Matthews led the way in and now it’s all systems go, with volunteers tidying and cleaning and potential users and tenants queuing up to move in and get started.
First though, there are some necessary health and safety measures to install, IT equipment and communications must be set up and the most urgent repairs to the structure need to be completed.
Once open to the public, the community hub will be offering spaces for intergenerational activities of all kinds, including space for such as theatre groups, choirs and performances, rooms for rent for meetings or parties, artists’ studios and small business rooms for rent, a Heritage Suite including the Victorian Schoolroom run by the History of Education Centre, much needed early years’ provision in the modern Anchor Building, rooms for the Men’s Shed to carry on their activities in the Creel Building and of course a community cafe.
Current Chair, Judy Crabb has been involved since even before the first public consultations and is now celebrating with the rest of the Board.
“It’s a well known phrase ‘ If it is worth having, it is worth waiting for’ and how true that is as of today,” she says. “Finally, we are thrilled to announce that HoNC now owns the former Victoria Primary School that from now on will be known as ‘The Heart’.
“A huge thank you to everybody who has helped over the years to bring about this day, volunteers, supporters, members of the community, our funders, trustees and consultants. Every contribution, big and small, has made a difference.
“Over the next few months we will begin to open up the buildings to all the services and activities that support our themes of culture and heritage, learning and enterprise and improvement in well being.
“Watch this space as we offer opportunities for people of all ages, from all walks of life and interests, to come together in an accessible and welcoming environment and The Heart comes to life.”
Cara Gillespie, Chair of the Scottish Land Fund, said: “The Scottish Land Fund is committed to helping urban and rural communities across the country to unlock assets on their doorstep and to put them to work for local people, so we are delighted that Heart of Newhaven Community has now taken ownership of Victoria Primary School.
“We wish them every success with their plans to turn the school into a thriving community hub.”
£792,000 for Victoria Primary School community project
A primary school in Newhaven, which was about to fall empty, is set for a new role at the centre of the community following an award £792,000 from the Scottish Land Fund.
On hearing news of its successful application, Rodney Matthews, Chair, Heart of Newhaven Community, said: “This grant will cover the purchase price of the property and help with initial development costs.
“While the date when the children will move into their new school in Western Harbour is not yet known, we are now able to move forward confidently with our plans for what is a much-loved icon of Newhaven.”
In the project’s latest newletter, released this morning, The Chair told Heart of Newhaven supporters: “The site of Victoria Primary School IS going to be the Heart of Newhaven Community!
“This time last year the City of Edinburgh Council approved our request to take over the school and reduced the valuation price by £85,000 because of what we’ve promised to do, especially for the very young, the elderly, isolated and most vulnerable. Provided we could pay them£700,000, they would sell the site to the community.
“The Scottish Land Fund (SLF) has just given us that whole amount – and more!
“This SLF was set up by the Scottish Governmentto help charities just like ours working to improve local communities in the ways we have set out for the site, in order for it to become a vibrant hub of activity of people of all generations working and playing together; as we have often said, ‘the beating Heart of Newhaven’.
“All approved. We are now poised to sign two contracts: one with the SLFand the other with the Councilfor vacant possession of the site on a date yet to be announced, dependent on the completion of building works across the road. When we do get the keys, there will be much work to be done to get the building safe and ready for use, so bear with us. We will go as fast as we safely can.
“There will be plenty of exciting things to share to take us on through the challenge of the months ahead right through the inevitably unknown autumn and winter to come and into the spring of 2022 – when you will really begin to see things happen.”
The Heart of Newhaven funding announcement – and welcome news for three further community projects – was made yesterday (29 July) by Environment and Land Reform Minister, Mairi McAllan (below), while visiting EATS Rosyth.
Last November EATS Rosyth received £284,500 from the Scottish Land Fund in order to purchase a disused Clydesdale Bank Building in order to relocate and expand its community activities around cooking and food.
Ms McAllan said: “Communities across Scotland are achieving great things with support from the Scottish Land Fund. These awards will be a boost to the four communities who’ve worked so hard to keep their projects going through all the challenges of the last year.
“Visiting the Rosyth Community Garden and Orchard has shown the value of placing ownership and decision-making in the hands of local communities.
“By relocating the community hub to the new premises acquired through the Scottish Land Fund, EATS Rosyth aim to expand their existing services and offer a suite of new activities aimed at growing and sharing food, reducing waste, helping the environment, and improving food education.
“These projects will make a big contribution to their communities, to local resilience and recovery.”
Stephen Lynas, Chairman of EATS Rosythsaid:“We’re grateful to the Scottish Land Fund for their assistance in helping us purchase the building. Following a successful round of fundraising and getting in place the various consents required, we will be starting the renovation works for our new hub premises in the very near future.
“We’re looking forward to providing a brand-new community facility that will give us with a fantastic platform to grow our services and support our local community in Rosyth and Southwest Fife.”
Other projects benefiting during the current round of funding include Forgan Art Centre, which has been given £292,800 to buy the Leng Home, a disused care home in Newport on Tay and turn it into a space for social and economic activities and to increase social interaction.
Forgan Art Centre Chairperson, Gillian Burch, said: “The management team at Forgan are really delighted that we have secured the funding to buy the Leng Home and take the Forgan Arts Centre forwards onto the next phase of its journey.
“The continued support from our local community, who want to see the Leng Home kept for community use, has encouraged us to keep going and we now look forward to expanding the Forgan Arts Centre in its new home.”
Carluke Development Trust has been awarded £112,000 to buy a two-storey house adjacent to Carluke High Mill, which the Trust already owns. This will allow it to continue its project to reduce dereliction and promote regeneration in the town.
Bill Anderson, Carluke Development Trust, said: “We are delighted to receive support from the Scottish Land Fund for the acquisition of the former Millers House that sits within the Carluke High Mill and ONECarluke Community Growing & Learning Garden site.
“The acquisition of the house will complete the community ownership of the whole site and allow the project to create a larger Community HUB and move into an even more exciting period of delivery and further development.”
And Edinbane Community Company on Skye has been given £135,000 with which to buy three serviced building plots on which it plans to erect six affordable homes that will be rented to the community.
Alistair Danter, Chair, Edinbane Community Company,said: “This is great news for the community who have been working for over three years to tackle the lack of affordable housing in Edinbane.
“We are immensely grateful to the Scottish Land Fund for its support of our community initiative, and we look forward to working with the private developer SLL to deliver six new affordable homes in 2023.”
The new Chair of the Scottish Land Fund, Cara Gillespie, said: “We are delighted to make these awards, the first for our new Committee.
“It is a privilege to support communities with their efforts to improve where they live. These awards will make a positive difference, strengthening communities and empowering local people.”
The Scottish Land Fund is funded by the Scottish Government and delivered in partnership by The National Lottery Community Fund and Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE).
Sandra Holmes, Head of Community Assets at HIE, said: “It’s great to see more dynamic communities taking control of resources for the long-term benefit of their local areas and people.
Having greater control over such assets will help ensure their long-term future. I am delighted we have been able to provide Scottish Land Fund support and wish all the groups the very best in their new ventures.”
