Manufacturing wind turbines in Leith Docks? Big new plans!
Drop in, learn more, ask questions & give your views.
26th September between 3pm and 7pm, Leith Community Centre, Newkirkgate
THIRTEEN projects were awarded grants totalling £52,624 at an awards ceremony for the £eith Chooses programme at Leith Community Centre last night (February 22).
In September 2023 applications were invited from community groups in Leith for the 2023/24 £eith Chooses Participatory Budgeting process. 23 applications progressed to the voting stage of the process and 13 of those successfully gained funding.
Grants of up to £5,000 from this participatory budgeting programme were awarded to these local groups. The total budget consisted of £44,624 from the City of Edinburgh Council Community Grants Fund and £8,000 from Trams to Newhaven.
Public voting took place online through the Council’s Consultation Hub from the January 22-Febuary 5 and at the in-person vote day on the 27th January. Over 3000 people took the opportunity to vote and these decided which projects would be funded. A full list of organisations which received funding is available below.
An online open forum for feedback from voters and/or applicants will be offered in early March to encourage feedback and conversation around this year’s process. For more information please contact Leithchooses@edinburgh.gov.uk
Culture and Communities Convener, Councillor Val Walker said: “It’s fantastic to see so many excellent local projects benefitting from the Leith Chooses scheme. Participatory budgeting is a key avenue for our citizens to have more control over public money and this has been carried out successfully in the north of the city for over a decade now.
“I look forward to seeing how these projects make use of the funding in the course of the year ahead.”
Sally Millar, a Member of the Leith Chooses Steering Group: “The £eith Chooses team was delighted to welcome over 40 Leithers to the ‘Results Night’ event, to hear the public announcement of which community groups and charities had been successful in winning funding through the 2023/24 £eith Chooses participatory budgeting process.
“Thirteen out of 23 applicants were awarded funding, based on the numbers of votes received online and at the recent in-person voting day. There were over 3,000 voters, with a total of over 11,000 votes cast.
“The evening was hosted by Leith Walk Councillors Susan Rae and Jack Caldwell, with brief speeches from members of the £eith Chooses Steering Group, a long-time volunteer helper, and Mr. Andrew Field, Head of Community Empowerment and Engagement, City of Edinburgh Council who was able to give reassurances that the same level of Community Grant budget has been secured for next year.
“This is the 14th year of community led decisions about how funds are spent locally, and it is inspiring to see how invested the Leith community is in the process.”
Chief Executive at Leith Community Centre, Rob Levick said: “It was great to finally have In-Person Voting back at the Community Centre after 4 years away.
“For us it’s possibly the highlight of the year, Welcoming Leithers into their Centre, to meet, to blether, and to play an active part in which local projects get support. I only wish we had more money to share out.”
About Participatory Budgeting and Leith Chooses:
Participatory Budgeting is an approach to engaging citizens in giving the decision- making power on the allocation of public funds. This approach has been used in Leith to allocate its Community Grants Fund (CGF) for the past 13 years.
£eith Chooses (previously known as Leith Decides) is the longest running PB project in Scotland, due to its strong identity and brand, as well as a strong and active local community and voluntary sector.
The community process is made possible by a commitment from a steering group of residents, community and city councillors and council workers.
Meeting every Wednesday Afternoon to plan and deliberate on the issues that matter in Leith and informed by dialogue with the community throughout the year.
Leith Chooses Funded Organisations 2023/24:
• Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain (AUGB): £5000
Connecting Cultures community event: family-friendly event, for people of all age groups that will celebrate traditional Scottish and Ukrainian music, dance, and food.
• Citadel Youth Centre: £4900
TGI Citadel: Friday evening Youth club for 16-19 year olds.
• ELREC: £4600
The Conscious Weaving project: Weaving workshops that aim to bring the Leith community together to create art with a positive impact on mental health through giving opportunities for creative work, socialising, learning and self-expression.
• Edinburgh Community Food: £4616
Fun, Fit and Fed: partnership with Leith-based Upmo, to support Eat Community Cafés at local swimming pools and provide free, nourishing, plant-based meals to families.
• Himalayan Centre: £5000
Intergenerational Gardening, Fostering Cultural Exchange and Environmental Awareness in Leith: Targeting elders and youth, especially from ethnic minorities, this initiative promotes learning about traditional and contemporary horticultural practices in a communal garden setting.
• Edinburgh Tool Library: £4920
The Edinburgh Repairmongery: start up of ‘The Leith Repairmongery’, our very own version of ‘The Repair Shop’, in Leith.
• The Men of Leith Men’s Shed: £1400
Opportunities to meet, eat and learn: the development of social and educational lunch meetings at the Shed. We provide a space for men to meet and work on construction and repair projects, both to promote their wellbeing and to serve the community.
• Edinburgh Remakery: £4950
Creative Community Club: Through our Creative Community Clubs, we will collectively create a fantastic piece of community art which will highlight the wonderful people that make our well-loved area of Leith so special.
• Dr Bells Family Centre: £4980
Family Holiday Programme: We know school holiday periods can be some of the most challenging times for families, especially for those already struggling. At Dr Bell’s we want to ensure that families with children under 5 have the resources they need to not only endure these periods, but thrive and make memories too.
• Hibernian Community Foundation (in partnership with Hibernian Football Memories, Pilmeny Development Project and Leith Timebank): £4000
Monday Matchdays & Memories: HCF, in partnership with Hibernian Football Memories (HFM), Pilmeny Development Project (PDP) and Leith Timebank (LTB), will offer weekly activities sessions at HCF, supporting social inclusion and new opportunities for the Leith community.
• Leith Athletic: £4000
Club Equipment: New equipment to enhance the accessibility and inclusion of the club. In recent years the club has welcomed a girl’s section, Leith Athletic Giants and training sessions for Ukrainian families. The new equipment will allow us to cater to more groups.
• Leith Festival: £1210
Leith’s Got Talent: Leith Festival proposes to organise a ‘Leith’s Got Talent’ event series, aimed at adults and young people, culminating in a stage performance for the finalists at next year’s Gala Day (June 2025).
• SHE Scotland: £3048
Mind, Body and Soul at Leith Academy: The ‘Mind, Body and Soul’ programme at Leith Academy will provide a resource, sounding board and safe space for young women in S2-S4.
Calling all Leithers 
Exciting news ahead – we’re currently working on a new project called “Community Meals”
Our goal? To cook up a safe, cozy haven where Leith locals like YOU can chat up fresh ideas, spruce up our area, and enjoy a sip of tea or a scrumptious meal with your awesome community. 
But here’s the twist – we’re handing you the reins! 
What sparks your interest for these gatherings? 
Fancy entertainment, thought-provoking discussions, or something entirely different? Let your imagination run wild and share your thoughts! 
Join the conversation below – your ideas could be the secret ingredient to making these events truly spectacular! 
On Friday 18 November @DeidreBrock & Ben MacPherson are hosting Cost of Living Help & Advice Events at @Leithcomcentre & @RoystonWardieCC.
As well as us & our teams, national & local organisations will be there to assist.
No appointment necessary.
Please spread the word.
This Friday, 6 May, I will be holding my regular ‘Drop-in Help & Advice Surgeries’ in Edinburgh Northern and Leith.
Do not attend if you are unwell. Please find the details below:
9:30am – 10:30am at Royston Wardieburn Community Centre (11 Pilton Drive North, Edinburgh EH5 1NF).11:00am –
12:00noon at Prentice Centre (1 Granton Mains Ave, Edinburgh EH4 4GA). 3:30pm –
4:30pm at Leith Community Centre (12A Newkirkgate, Leith, Edinburgh EH6 6AD).
If you can’t come this Friday, and you need assistance from me as your local MSP, you can also contact my office via phone on 0131 600 0134 or email me at ben.macpherson.msp@parliament.scot
Muirhouse Millennium Centre is among twenty-seven community groups across Edinburgh are sharing in a £717,108 cash boost from The National Lottery Community Fund today.
The Millennium Centre receives £97,000 to ‘provide a range of community activities within Muirhouse Millennium Centre engaging approximately 150 local community members and four volunteers.’
Muirhouse Millennium Centre is also the base of LIFT (Low Income Families Together), who run a range of services from the Millennium Centre.
Thanks to an award of £53,463, Leith-based Fast Forward (Positive Lifestyles) Ltd will be able to continue their ‘Ask Dad’ project – a health education and training programme for dads and male carers across Edinburgh and the Lothians -for another three years.
Mark Hunter, Project Officer, Ask Dad, said: “Thanks to this support from The National Lottery Community Fund our ‘Ask Dad’ programme will be able to continue to support dads whose families are going through a period of difficulty.
“We’re looking forward to developing our work to date, including our Good Conversations programme, supporting parents to have what they perceive as awkward, difficult, or embarrassing conversations with their children.
“We are looking forward to working on our new programme, ‘Dad: The Invisible Parent’ which will support better awareness and understanding by practitioners of the challenges faced by dads, to improve their engagement and communication with dads, towards better outcomes for their children.
“In addition, by working with parents who feel ignored or unwelcome by service providers, we aim to improve their ability to communicate with services and to understand a service provider’s role and their limitations.”
Better informed, more confident dads improve the wellbeing of the whole family. They also improve their children’s educational attainment. These impacts are even more profound in the communities affected by poverty and inequality.
An award of £114,344 means that Craigmillar Literacy Trust will continue to provide their support to local families with babies and children up to nine years of age for the next three years.
They will also be able to run their new ‘Express Yourself’ programme for older children and young people aged up to the age of sixteen using digital media and performance to support them to connect with literacy in a way that is more relevant to them.
Kara Whelan, Project Manager, Craigmillar Literacy Trust, said: “This grant will support our work with babies, children, young people, and families in Craigmillar though our early literacy, family literacy and young people’s projects.
“Our work is relationship based and embedded in our community. We are looking forward to building on the strengths we have and to developing new and innovating approaches to supporting literacy in our community.”
Edinburgh Tool Library receives £9,500 to help with the costs of a Volunteer Co-ordinator who will deliver a bespoke training programme for volunteers as well as making links with other third sector organisations in Edinburgh and will help the group engage with new communities and neighbourhoods across the city.
Chris Hellawell, Founder and Director, Edinburgh Tool Library, said: “This support will allow us to reach communities that we haven’t yet spoken to before, help us enhance the support we give to our community and to produce materials to share with other organisations like ours across Scotland so we can amplify the impart of all the hard work or our volunteers in Edinburgh. Thank you so much.”
More Edinburgh projects celebrating today include Ama-zing Harmonies, Big Hearts Community Trust, Leith Community Centre, LifeCare and St Columba’s Hospice.
Across Scotland 179 projects are sharing in £5,752,948 today. Announcing the funding, The National Lottery Community Fund’s Scotland Chair, Kate Still, said: “Local community groups bring people together to support one another through difficult times.
“Sometimes this is as simple as providing a listening ear and other times it can be a real lifeline connecting people who might otherwise be lonely and isolated. Each of the projects receiving funding today in Edinburgh remind us of the power of social connections and the difference that community projects can make to people’s lives.
“National Lottery players can be proud to know that the money they raise is helping to support this vital work.”
The National Lottery Community Fund distributes money raised by National Lottery players for good causes and more than £30 million a week is raised for good causes across the UK.
Thanks to National Lottery players, last year we awarded over half a billion pounds (£588.2 million) of life-changing funding to communities across the UK. Over eight in ten (83%) of our grants are for under £10,000 – going to grassroots groups and charities across the UK that are bringing to life amazing ideas that matter to their communities.
Thursday 10th October 4 – 7pm
Leith Community Centre
TUESDAY 1st OCTOBER 6.30pm
Leith Community Centre
Today: the second in a series of free monthly Sunday Sessions where local residents, community activists and specialists can informally share information about what’s happening in Leith and in communities across Scotland.
This month Robin McAlpine, Director of the Common Weal ‘think and do tank’, shares some thoughts on a proposed new system of local democracy in Scotland. Continue reading Today: Leith Creative Sunday Session at Leith Community Centre
LEITH COMMUNITY CENTRE
2 – 8pm today
ALL WELCOME
