Tag: Leith

New Community Hub launches at former Debenhams in Ocean Terminal

The former Debenhams store at Ocean Terminal has temporarily re-opened its doors to welcome community groups across Leith and the capital, as a new social enterprise delivered under the umbrella of the Living Memory Association.

The Wee Hub brings life to the empty unit while its future is decided.

For the next few months, The Wee Hub will occupy the ground and first floor of the old department store. As well as bringing in a variety of arts, drama and sports organisations to make use of the space, the Living Memory Association has constructed areas dedicated to dance and theatre, children’s play, crafts, a library and a ‘wee sit and knit’ (amongst many others) to bring people of all ages together.

It will also be the base for several community projects including the Wee Crowd of Folk, where anyone can dress or decorate one of the many available mannequins, the Wee Reekie, which invites people to paint where they live and the Wee Heritage Centre.

Whilst the wider shopping centre at Ocean Terminal is going through planning consents to revitalise the centre and introduce a mixed use offering in the longer term, this empty space of over 90,000 sq ft has been made available by the centre owners for community groups to use and enjoy free of charge.

Some of the community groups to take advantage of the new Hub space include:

  • Sikh Sanjog – local charity will host a mural project offering insight into the Sikh Community and a powerful response to the global pandemic along-with a celebration event
  • Salle Holyrood Fencing Club – intend to introduce schools and other groups to the sport and have three Team GB members in the team that will deliver group and individual lessons
  • Citadel Youth Centre – offers a wide range of social, recreational, and educational activities for children and young people in Leith and plans to use space as a separate breakout area to its main location on Commercial Street
  • Thistle Model Makers – a group of railway modellers based in Edinburgh will use part of the ground floor to display some of their exhibition layouts set in Britain, Europe and the US
  • Street Soccer – already located within OT its facilities will extend to use the hub to continue its mission to inspire and empower young people through football starting with an Easter event bringing their Hexagol to the centre, a fully-inclusive mobile sports arena, allowing players of all ages to practice and play in a safe environment
  • Think Circus – their talented team of performers and creators will hold a variety of engaging and entertaining workshops and performances to bring people together
  • Tinderbox – will use the space to continue to support young people to gain new skills, confidence and a sense of possibility through music and arts.
  • Edinburgh Festival Carnival – will display the vibrant carnival costumes for 2022 as well as use the hub as a making space for artists and community participants
  • Giraffes About Town – The Wee Hub provides studio space for artists painting their giraffe sculptures for Edinburgh Zoo’s sculpture trail due to hit the streets of Edinburgh this summer.

Miles Tubb, project co-ordinator of The Living Memory Association said: “Our new community hub provides a much-needed lifeline to groups on the back of Covid that require additional and flexible space to support their needs.

“Whilst this is a temporary facility for us to use and enjoy, it is fantastic that Ocean Terminal has had the drive and determination to repurpose the unit for the community, rather than leaving it to stand empty.”

Michelle Macleod, Centre Manager at Ocean Terminal, added: “As a team we are excited to welcome this incredibly varied mix of sports and arts community groups to the centre.

“As our community opens up again post COVID, these organisations will bring new energy to the centre and create more reasons beyond our current retail and leisure offering for new and existing audiences to come to OT.”

A dedicated website for The Wee Hub will be launched shortly detailing the activity schedule for the groups, as well as upcoming special performances.

The Hub is keen to hear from organisations across the city who may want to use the space for one-off events and would welcome contact to comhist@googlemail.com

New programme at Leith’s Dr Bell’s Family Centre

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Our new programme is live

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Starting Monday 25th April. If you live in Leith, have at least one child under the age of 5 you can sign up to some of our fantastic groups. If you would like to know more information or sign up, please drop us an email at info@dbfc.org.uk

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Dr Bell’s Family Centre@drbellsfamily

Our new programme is live Starting Monday 25th April. If you live in Leith, have at least one child under the age of 5 you can sign up to some of our fantastic groups.

If you would like to know more information or sign up, please drop us an email at info@dbfc.org.uk

Cruden Homes reveals proposals for new Leith apartments

Edinburgh-based housebuilder Cruden Homes has revealed exciting proposals to deliver much-needed housing in Leith.

Located on the site of the former Edinburgh Carpet and Flooring Warehouse, on the corner of Salamander Street and Salamander Yards, the proposed development will aim to comprise 96 apartments.

Including a range of different sized apartments, the development will range from four to six storeys, with the added bonus of ground floor retail fronting onto Salamander Street. 

A proposal of application notice (PAN) has now been submitted with City of Edinburgh Council, noting the intent to submit a planning application following a minimum 12-week consultation period.

A web-based community consultation events, in line with Scottish Government Covid-guidelines, will allow the community to provide feedback on and shape the proposals.

The event will take place on 27th April from 3.30pm-7.30pm.

Commenting on these proposals, Rory Stephens from Cruden Homes said: “This exciting and ambitious scheme will serve to regenerate the current brownfield site, delivering much-needed sustainable housing, including affordable homes, as well as providing a retail offering on the ground floor.

“We’re very much looking forward to consulting widely with the local community and key stakeholders over the coming months, which will include a digital consultation event, and are keen to hear their views in shaping proposals for this site.”

Giles Street incident: Police release CCTV image

Police Scotland has released an image of a male they believe may hold information which might assist in relation to an incident that occurred at Giles Street at around 4.30am on Saturday, 9 October, 2021.

The male is described as being in his late 30s, of average build with short dark hair.

Detective Constable Greg Manley said: “I would urge the male, or anyone who has information relating to him, depicted in the image to make contact with the Police.

“Members of the public can contact Police Scotland via the 101 non-emergency telephone number quoting incident number 0758 of Saturday, 9 October, 2021.

“Alternatively, calls can be made anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”

Crosslane Developments propose new residential serviced living development for Ocean Terminal

Crosslane Residential Developments (Crosslane), part of the Crosslane Property Group, is pleased to announce proposals to deliver a new form of residential living to Edinburgh.

Plans aim to introduce a new, innovative, renting concept to local residents, referred to as residential serviced living.

Residential serviced living is a new type of fully furnished accommodation, with shared social spaces focused on creating a vibrant sense of community and all-inclusive rents, covering utilities and other living costs.

Proposed plans are for a new residential development located at Ocean Point 2, next to Ocean Terminal in Leith, just two miles from Edinburgh city centre. The scheme will comprise of 293 units providing a mix of studio, 1, 2 and 3-bed apartments with 74 of these offered at affordable intermediate rent levels.

The proposed high-quality, new development will be entirely different to other residential accommodation. The entire building is designed to be the living environment. The principle is that residents sleep in their room but ‘live’ in the building, by taking advantage of the wide range of shared communal space and facilities available, generating a real sense of community within the development.

With many young professionals currently priced out of an expensive and highly competitive apartment- based rental marketplace in Edinburgh, this new concept provides affordable, accessible accommodation for local residents.

In addition to high-quality, fully furnished studios and apartments, residents living in the new development can enjoy the opportunity of making new friends and feeling part of a collaborative community by taking advantage of social spaces throughout the building.

Large, fully fitted shared kitchen and dining rooms on each floor, onsite cinema, relaxing drawing room and well-equipped onsite gym, are just a few examples of the facilities residents can use alongside their own room and ultra-fast WiFi.

Outdoor areas such as a courtyard and terrace area with fantastic views across the Firth of Forth promote an environment for improved wellbeing and mental health. Proposals also include study and working areas with office space for new business start-ups, entrepreneurs, SMEs and home working, providing a more flexible home/work/life hub, something which has become more important as a result of the pandemic.

The location of the development is just two miles from Edinburgh city centre and will provide convenient accommodation for those working in the capital.

A large cycle storage facility will be provided to encourage residents to cycle to work, or take public transport, helping to discourage car ownership. The extension of the tram line between Edinburgh and Ocean Terminal will provide connectivity between the development and Edinburgh city centre within 20 minutes, making it the ideal affordable accommodation choice for young professionals.

The development is also likely to be attractive to those seeking to live and work within Leith itself, taking advantage of local shops, bars, restaurants and cafés.

A Proposal of Application Notice (PAN) has been submitted to the City of Edinburgh Council, and a public consultation event will be held on Thursday 10th February 2022 between 3pm and 7pm to present details of the new development and give the public the chance to provide views, ask questions and comment on proposals.

This will be held digitally via www.oceanpoint2.com with a second event planned for March.

Mark Hughes, Managing Director at Crosslane Residential Developments, said: “Crosslane Property Group is an experienced developer and operator having already delivered more than 7,000 units across 30 previous developments.

“With our new and unique ‘residential serviced living’ concept, we aim to be the leading provider of community living in the UK and Europe. We have already secured a future pipeline of 3,000 units across six schemes for our new concept and continue to grow this to work towards our goal of delivering 5,000 units by 2025.

“Our Ocean Point 2 development in Edinburgh is incredibly appealing for both Leith and Edinburgh as a whole. Residential serviced living represents an innovative housing solution at a time when rental accommodation prices in the capital are soaring, and there are serious demands on housing supply.

“This development represents a commitment to provide affordable housing with a full range of shared communal amenities. Our concept of residents sleeping in their rooms and living in the building, will ensure they enjoy a more rewarding, holistic way of life, with improved social, mental and physical health and wellbeing.

“We have received very positive feedback from key stakeholders to date and look forward to presenting full details of proposals to the public to obtain their comments as we continue to incorporate feedback into our final plans.

“We are committed to ensuring the long-term success and integration of this project into the neighbourhood and look forward to the opportunity of working with local businesses to encourage residents to shop and eat out locally within the area.”

National Lottery winners deliver festive cheer to Leith’s Living Memory Association

Christmas has come early for a group of elderly residents from Edinburgh after a group of big-hearted National Lottery winners donated a wealth of festive goodies to a local National Lottery-funded charity.

Six winners visited The Living Memory Association in Leith yesterday, hand delivering a Christmas tree and luxury gift hampers to be distributed among local people who rely heavily on the support the charity offers. 

Armed with Santa hats and Christmas jumpers, the winners got to work putting up and decorating the tree, as well as putting finishing touches to the hampers which included everything from individual Christmas puddings to Fortnum & Mason tea bags. 

As part of the festive surprise The National Lottery winners, who have a combined worth of more than £62 million, spent the morning with charity staff at its Wee Museum of Memory at Ocean Terminal. 

Based in Edinburgh, The Living Memory Association was established in 1986 and uses the power of memory and reminiscence to bring people together, regardless of their background or age. 

The charity has received over £1M in National Lottery funding since 2005 with much of this used to involve and empower older people throughout Edinburgh and the Lothians who have been badly affected by loneliness and isolation, particularly during the pandemic.

This includes those living with dementia and their carers. Using the evocative powers of sight, sound and smell, staff encourage visitors to recall past memories with many people spending hours browsing the museum’s displays and artefacts.  

The charitable National Lottery winner group included Fred and Lesley Higgins, originally from Laurencekirk in Aberdeenshire, who won £57,975,367 on EuroMillions in July 2018.

The couple, who have supported a number of deserving causes since their win, were also joined by fellow Dundonian Ray Storey who won £1,050,000 on EuroMillions in 2014. 

Also visiting the charity yesterday was Libby Elliott from Fife, who won £2,159,664 on Lotto in 2012, alongside East Lothian couple Alan and Claire Gray who scooped £1,000,000 on EuroMillions in 2019.

Alan Gray, who visited the charity with wife Claire, said, “We had a really lovely time visiting the Wee Museum of Memory. 

“The team at The Living Memory Association really do some amazing work and we feel proud to have played a small part in supporting its work with elderly and isolated people. We hope our donations mean local residents can still enjoy a special Christmas treat on us!”

Miles Tubb, Project Coordinator at The Living Memory Association, said, “Everyone has had a tough time over the past 18 months but for elderly and isolated people it’s been particularly difficult. We are passionate about tackling loneliness and a big part of this is getting people together and reliving memories of days gone by.

“We are so grateful to players of The National Lottery for their continued support and to our new friends who visited us. What they have donated is incredibly generous. Despite the restrictions and challenges these hampers will provide some much-needed festive cheer.

“We are lucky to have previously received funding support from The National Lottery, so we are delighted to be able to continue our great relationship.”

The Christmas season has always been a special time for National Lottery winners with many coming together during the festive season to support charities across Scotland. However, COVID-19 restrictions have meant that The National Lottery has had to think differently over the past couple of years.

With safety and wellbeing paramount, all winners and wider team members adhered to safe working practices, following current guidelines and with face masks and regular hand washing mandatory.

By playing any National Lottery game, players generate more than £30M each week for National Lottery-funded projects. This money helps support everything from the local charity making a difference where you live through to helping our nation’s athletes win Olympic and Paralympic gold medals.

To date, over £45 BILLION has been raised and distributed to National Lottery Good Causes through more than 660,000 individual grants.

Thanks to National Lottery players, over £1.2bn. is being used by charities and organisations affected by the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, which includes over £600M in funding support from the National Lottery Community Fund which is being used to help groups best placed to support people and communities through the crisis.

Forth Reflections at Ocean Terminal this Friday

Curious about plans for a new multi generational community hub (The Heart) in Newhaven?

Join The Heart of Newhaven at Ocean Terminal on Friday 22 October 2-4pm for a chat and an exhibition called ‘Forth Reflections and Expressions of Wellbeing.’

The art work, produced as part of the Edinburgh Shoreline project, is created from the passionate responses of over a hundred people to a 1km stretch of the Forth coastline that is special to them.

A storyline of memories and visions of the Forth has emerged, linking the Fife, Edinburgh and East Lothian coasts, biodiversity, people and communities.

Sweet smell of success: The Kilted Donut dishes out 10,000 doughnuts

Doughnut shop set to expand and recruit thanks to Scotmid partnership

A popular, independent doughnut shop has opened a second store in Edinburgh following the success of its partnership with a leading Scottish convenience retailer.  

Leith-based The Kilted Donut began supplying Scotmid in February. Since then, it has supplied over 10,000 delicious doughnuts to customers at Scotmid’s flagship store in Leven Street. Firm favourites have proved to be the Nutella Bomb and the Brown Butter Biscoff. 

As a result of the relationship with Scotmid, the business’s growth plans have been accelerated. Co-Founders, Mark Anderson and Lena Wollan, an ambitious husband and wife team, are now poised to extend their reach across the city with the opening of a second store in Stockbridge – and aim to expand their team by more than 50% through the recruitment of four more members of staff.    

The consistent wholesale order has also supported the business to increase their daily output through the purchase of key equipment and an upgrade to a larger kitchen. This has led to new partnerships including one at Easter Road Stadium, helping to feed hundreds of hungry football fans. 

Lena Wollan, Director and Co-Founder of The Kilted Donut (above), said : “The partnership with Scotmid means so much to us. It has been the springboard to reaching a broad customer base, which has supported our business in many ways, not least through the opportunity supercharge our expansion plans and open doors to new supplier relationships.   

“We genuinely value Scotmid’s commitment to supporting independent producers such as ourselves. We look forward to introducing new flavours into our growing repertoire over the coming months and working in our new premises.” 

Influenced by a doughnut shop visit in New Orleans, The Kilted Donut began as a small stall at Leith market before moving into its current site in Great Junction Street. 

Lena and Mark have been perfecting their own recipe over the last three years and are committed to creating the best doughnuts from natural ingredients, without the use of pre-made mixes or artificial flavours. 

Their existing menu comprises around 40 individual flavours, with six flavours chosen on rotation each week. 

Danny Scobie, Food-To-Go Operations Manager at Scotmid, said: “Kilted Donut is a fantastic example of a Scottish business that is committed to supplying the best quality local produce and we’re thrilled to be able to sell their incredible products in our Leven Street store.

“The doughnuts have been extremely popular with customers, who are excited to see the new flavours we have every week. 

“We’re delighted to see Lena and Mark’s business go from strength to strength and to have played a role in their journey of expansion and success in Edinburgh.” 

The Kilted Donut partnership forms part of Scotmid’s wider local sourcing strategy, which focuses on both provenance as well as supporting local, innovative suppliers. The retailer aims to grow the business through innovation and partnership which comes as a direct response to meeting shifting customer demands for greater choice and top quality, local products.   

Other Scotmid suppliers include well-known Scottish names such as Grahams, Tunnocks and Barrs, all the way through to emerging brands such as Confectious Fudge and Lost Orchards Cider. 

The retailer is always interested in discovering new and innovative products via Product Guru’s free specialist platform: www.productguru.co.uk/scotmid  

Scotmid’s Leven Street store is located at 5-19 Leven St, Edinburgh, EH3 9LH. 

Five spots to enjoy delicious seafood in Scotland’s capital

If you are lucky enough to live in Scotland’s capital city, then you are completely spoiled for choice when it comes to eating out. From Michelin starred fine dining and contemporary cuisine through to good old fashioned pub grub, there are many delicious restaurants just waiting to be discovered.

As Scotland’s tourism capital, Edinburgh is a bustling metropolis of different cultures and that’s reflected in its restaurants with every style of food imaginable found on the city’s menus, including a huge array of tempting fish dishes.  

As part of its mission to inspire the nation to eat more seafood, Love Seafood has rounded up some of the best Edinburgh restaurants where locals can tuck into tempting white fish which will have you coming back for more:

White Horse Oyster and Seafood Bar

https://www.whitehorseoysterbar.co.uk/

Spend the day like a tourist and soak up the history and heritage of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile and then enjoy a delicious seafood meal at the White Horse Oyster and Seafood Bar which happens to be located in the oldest inn on the Royal Mile.

The restaurant’s small plates are cooked to perfection including the monkfish satay served with sides of seaweed slaw and straw fries which makes for the ultimate combo.

The Fishmarket Newhaven

https://www.thefishmarketnewhaven.co.uk/

If fish and chips are your thing then you have to try the Fishmarket in Newhaven. With roots dating back to the 18th century, The Fishmarket offers up some of the finest fish and chips on the east coast.

No ordinary chippy, the family run business serves fish and chips with flare and is renowned for a gourmet cooked-to-order experience, using only the freshest local catch. Crispy haddock served in the takeaway’s signature batter has kept this eatery a firm favourite with locals and tourists alike.  If eating on the go isn’t your thing, give their adjoining restaurant a try.

Teuchters Landing

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In the popular shore area of Leith, Teuchters Landing is renowned for its great food, whisky hoopla and large outdoor terrace. Serving comfort food at its finest, this relaxed pub is known for its welcoming atmosphere and range of excellent seafood dishes.

Alongside standard plates are a range of dishes served in mugs, including two very Scottish options made using delicious smoked haddock – Cullen Skink (creamy smoked haddock soup) and Kedgeree (curried smoked haddock risotto). Can’t decide which to try? Why not have a small mug of each.

The Mussel Inn

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Sandwiched between Edinburgh’s two most prominent streets, Princes Street and George Street, The Mussel Inn is a true hidden gem.

An award-winning establishment, this restaurant is the perfect place to experiment with new seafood dishes. Alongside their epic selection of mussels, we’d also recommend the whitebait served with roasted red pepper and garlic dip and seabass served with a chorizo and butter bean cassoulet.

Booking in advance is recommended as this restaurant is only open Thursday – Sunday and we don’t want you to be disappointed. 

Ondine

https://www.ondinerestaurant.co.uk/

If far-away flavours are your thing then look no further than Ondine in Edinburgh’s old town. Famed for its strong sea to plate ethos, Ondine is one of the city’s most famous seafood restaurants.

Try the classic fish soup enhanced with North African flavours of pungent saffron and oranges and a Harissa based Rouille or the spiced monkfish with Bhata aubergine which will take your taste sensations to a whole new level.

So if you’re inspired by some of these delicious sounding dishes then why not treat yourself to a fish feast at one of these fabulous restaurants on your doorstep.