TOMORROW IN MACMILLAN SQUARE
Just a reminder that Dr Bike will be back tomorrow!
Bring your bike to the NEA cabin in Macmillan Square to have it serviced.
This is a free service for local residents, and the team will be at the cabin between 12:30pm – 2:30pm.
A £15 million contract for a new community hub at Macmillan Square, in partnership with North Edinburgh Arts, was approved by the Finance and Resources Committee yesterday.
As part of the City of Edinburgh Council’s ongoing multi-million pound regeneration programme in North Edinburgh, Councillors agreed the project will now enter the construction phase which will be carried out by Robertson Construction Group (Robertson), following its successful completion of the demolition of Muirhouse Library.
The first of its kind in the city, designed by Richard Murphy Architects, The Hub will be a place to learn, work, meet people, hone new skills and have fun. The state-of-the-art shared building will accommodate an early year’s centre for 185 children, a new library and will provide additional space for North Edinburgh Arts and will ensure that it continues to be at the centre of a creative, connected and inspired community.
The community hub is the focal point of one of the most significant urban regeneration projects in Scotland, tackling poverty and inequality in the area. It will be the flagship building at Macmillan Square which is currently being developed to provide a new square, 154 affordable homes and 13 retail units.
Over £200 million of public and private sector investment has been committed to revitalising the area for the wider community and this investment has already delivered Craigroyston High School, Pennywell All Care Centre and over half of the expected 1,000 new homes.
The North Edinburgh Regeneration project is recognised as a model of good practice in urban regeneration having won national awards for design, place making and community engagement. The new hub benefits from £2 million Scottish Government Regeneration Capital Grants funding.
Complementing the Council’s new library, early years centre and affordable housing, the new hub will see arts and learning brought together under one roof in a striking new building offering the community in North Edinburgh an extensive range of services. This will include new enterprise, workshop, learning and creative studio space, alongside an expanded café, youth area and shared atrium.
Work to demolish the former Muirhouse Library started in October 2021 and following today’s decision construction on the new hub will start in April this year. The project will also include a comprehensive package of additional community benefits shaped by the local community and delivered by Robertson.
City of Edinburgh Council Leader, Adam McVey, said: “The new building is an important part of the £200 million regeneration of Pennywell and Muirhouse that’s already seen significant investment by the Council and its partners, including Scottish Government, to build new Council houses and affordable homes and a community with strong local facilities in line with our aspirations for 20-minute neighbourhoods.
“Jointly led by the Council and North Edinburgh Arts, this is a good example of community empowerment showing how great value can be added to an area while supporting our landmark priorities as a Council to end poverty in Edinburgh by 2030, as well as enhancing wellbeing and equality for our residents.
“Key aspects include the new local library which we hope will act as a community living room, open and accessible to everyone. The new building also creates the opportunity to work closely with the new nursery to have as much interaction with the children, parents and staff as possible – providing tailored events and sessions especially for those using and working in the nursery.”
Council Depute Leader, Cammy Day, said: ““The North Edinburgh Regeneration project is a major success story for the area, for the city and for Scotland and it’s so exciting to see this final element hitting a major milestone.
“This joint project with North Edinburgh Arts will create a unique facility at the heart of the community. The new Early Learning and Childcare Centre will provide quality and accessible early years spaces for local children.
“This will allow us to meet our commitments to making early years provision more flexible, to fit family needs, and deliver 1,140 hours a year of free early learning and childcare for all three- and four-year olds and eligible two-year olds.
“As part of the wider regeneration of this area we’re delivering 1,000 affordable homes as part of our pledge to deliver 20,000 affordable new homes in the city by 2027, which will make a substantial difference for people seeking a safe and permanent place to call home in Scotland’s Capital.”
Chair of NEA, Lesley Hinds, said: “This new capital project will allow the organisation to flourish, alongside Council provision, and bring a first-class facility to Macmillan Square.
“NEA is a special place for the community of North Edinburgh and has been a trusted community anchor providing emergency food and support throughout the pandemic. Thanks also to the Councillors, MSPS and MP who have continued to support NEA both in the Council and in the community and it is this enthusiasm shown by our community which has kept us going through some difficult times. We’re looking forward to building on this support to bring a truly inspirational place to the heart of Muirhouse.”
Regional Managing Director, Robertson Construction – Central East, David Cairns, added: “Having worked closely with City of Edinburgh Council over the last 24 months to assist bringing Macmillan Square forward, we are delighted to be to the contractor of choice to make this innovative vision by the Council a reality.
“The building will undoubtedly be a fantastic facility for the community when complete and our planned programme of community benefits during the construction phase will bring further benefits to the area socially, economically and environmentally long after the building is completed.”
The new library will give an opportunity to create joint activities with the other services – providing summer activities, expanding bookbug and storytime sessions, to creating more adult learning opportunities. In addition, the local library will be a trusted and welcoming community space, a place people feel comfortable using as individuals or as a connected group: a place of connection.
The community hub will offer young people a place to develop skills, confidence and self-esteem, a safe and inspiring place for local families and children, and a place where older people will feel part of a connected and supportive community.
This accessible, welcoming and much needed community space uses environment-friendly build and innovative design techniques. The re-developed and extended venue reflects current community aspirations, whilst being flexible enough to respond to future changes in demand.
Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic NEA offered over 35 hours of creative workshops each week, most with a family focus, alongside a wide range of other events from singing groups to circus skills workshops, exhibitions, community theatre, film clubs, and festival events.
The venue is also home to Muirhouse Link Up, the Pennywell Pantry, North Edinburgh Drug and Alcohol Centre, and the Tinderbox Orchestra, all working to serve the most disadvantaged children, families and individuals in the North Edinburgh area. The extended NEA will also provide extra office space and facilities for community organisations.
Whilst the hub is under construction the library will operate from nearby Edinburgh College in Granton.
Certain events will continue to be provided in the Muirhouse area. For further details about opening hours and what’s on visit the City of Edinburgh Council’s Muirhouse Library page here.
Regeneration projects in some of Scotland’s more disadvantaged and rural communities will share more than £25 million of funding.
One of these is the Macmillan Hub in Muirhouse, which has been allocated £2 million, while nearby West Shore Studios on Granton Waterfront receives £1.73 million.
The Regeneration Capital Grant Fund will support 22 locally developed place-based projects that tackle inequalities and promote sustainable and inclusive economic recovery from the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Whilst helping revitalise town centres and neighbourhoods, these projects aim to support up to 3,000 jobs, training and volunteering opportunities and reduce local carbon emissions.
Projects to benefit from a share of this fund include:
Welcoming the funding, city council leader Adam McVey said: “This funding comes as a fantastic endorsement for the work we’re doing to create equal and sustainable communities in North Edinburgh. Coming just before Christmas at a very difficult time for communities still struggling to cope with the effects of the pandemic it is very welcome news indeed.
“It will help enormously with our multi-use hub adding to our major success story in regenerating North Edinburgh. It’s so exciting to see this joint project with North Edinburgh Arts getting this recognition and endorsement. As well as a cultural hub, the funding will help provide an accessible library and quality early years care at the heart of the community.”
Depute Leader Cammy Day said: “In recent years our North Edinburgh regeneration project has brought massive positive change and a more equal and sustainable future for the communities living in the Pennywell and Muirhouse areas. It’s great to see further investment completing our regeneration at MacMillan Square.
“The pandemic is very much still with us and I’m so pleased communities in North Edinburgh have some inspiration and great news for the New Year. This further investment for our creative and community hub at Granton Waterfront enhances our £1.3bn wider Granton Waterfront project and follows on from our work with communities building new homes and facilities nearby.
“I’m pleased to see the new hub being delivered for us by Edinburgh Palette in Granton Waterfront is receiving the recognition it deserves.
Lesley Hinds, Chair of North Edinburgh Arts, said: “North Edinburgh Arts (NEA) is a multi-award winning project with strong community support and we are thrilled to be awarded funding from the Scottish Government.
“This funding means NEA can move forward with the MacMillan Hub project, in partnership with the City of Edinburgh Council, to provide much needed space and services for the local area. NEA recently finalised a Community Asset Transfer which brings the NEA building, land and garden into community ownership and allows for the expansion of our work, essential now more than ever, as we recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We now look forward to securing the additional resources needed to build on this important award. I want to give my thanks to the NEA Board, staff, officers at the City of Edinburgh Council, Richard Murphy Architects and, most importantly, the community of North Edinburgh for their continued support.”
Community Wealth Minister Tom Arthur said: “The last few years have been tough for us all but many of Scotland’s communities have been more impacted than others. The latest projects to benefit from the Regeneration Capital Grant Fund are working to tackle inequalities and create vibrant town centres and neighbourhoods.
“By securing investment from this £25 million fund, these innovative projects demonstrate the powerful role those in our communities can have in helping to transform their town centres and neighbourhoods by investing in their future. The Scottish Government will do all it can to support projects that help create the fairer, greener and more prosperous Scotland we all want to see.”
COSLA’s Environment and Economy spokesperson Councillor Steven Heddle said: “Once again, the Regeneration Capital Grant Fund has created the opportunity to deliver jobs, tackle inequalities and create better places across Scotland.
“The exciting projects announced today showcase the best of partnership between local authorities and our communities, delivering economic and social renewal as we rebuild from the devastating effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The diversity of projects supported is testament to the success of identifying local solutions to enable people to live well locally.
“In the face of the climate emergency, it is essential that the most vulnerable in society are not further disadvantage by climate change and I am especially pleased to see the additional focus on achieving a just transition to a net zero society.”
Matt Lammie, Chair of Kirkconnel & Kelloholm Development Trust, said: “This grant support for the new Kelloholm Skills and Innovation Centre is fantastic news and a great boost to the community of Kirkconnel and Kelloholm, in what has been a difficult year.
“Our whole community has worked hard to bring the Skills & Innovation Centre project forward and it will make a real difference to regenerating our area, connecting us to the wider world, and most important of all it will help our young people to get the skills that the need so that they can live, work and prosper here where they were brought up rather than having to move away.”
Jimmy Cauty’s new installation, ESTATE, has been transported to Muirhouse for a month long residency from the end of May and throughout June 2021.
ESTATE is a dystopian model village experience featuring four abandoned concrete tower blocks at 1:24 scale (approx 2 metres high) housed in a 40-foot shipping container.
The tower blocks each serve a different function in the ESTATE and contain amusing scenes of mass social, economic and environmental devastation.
Produced by L-13 Light Industrial Workshop, ESTATE is hosted in Edinburgh by new producing collective, the Society of Spectacles.
This follows the 2016 residency of Cauty’s previous work, The Aftermath Dislocation Principle, at the Grassmarket in Edinburgh.
ESTATE Edinburgh moves out of the city centre to form part of L-13’s UK-wide MdZ ESTATE Tour, which has already been seen in Hull and Stoke-on-Trent.
ESTATE will be presented in the car park off Pennywell Road, next to North Edinburgh Arts.
ESTATE is viewed either individually or in social bubbles in pre-booked 10-minute slots scheduled every 15-minutes. Viewers then walk through a 40-foot shipping container to explore the tower blocks.
WARNING: The experience includes smoke, strobe lighting, wind, loud noise, tiny TV broadcasts, and is suitable for adults and children ages 5+.
ESTATE has been designed so it can be toured and viewed in compliance with Covid-19 hygiene and social distancing measures, and is wheelchair accessible.
As lockdown eases for the time being and the full long-term effects of the Covid-19 pandemic begin to dawn, ESTATE is a glimpse into an uncertain future that looks increasingly familiar.
Advance bookings for free entry to view ESTATE are essential.
10-minute viewing slots available to book on Thursdays to Saturdays, May 28th-June 26th (Thursday & Friday 10am – 4pm, Saturday 10am – 1pm).
ESTATE will be presented off-site in the nearby car park, near North Edinburgh Arts. To learn more and book your free place, click here.
North Edinburgh Arts and Sustrans are holding a bike locking and safety checking session in MacMillan Square on Friday 28th August from 12:00 – 3:00pm.
Bring your bike along to learn how to check it is safe to ride and how to lock it securely to prevent opportunistic theft.
Numbers are limited to 3 households every 30 minutes. Last demonstration will be at 2:30.
See poster for contact details
