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News from Heart of Newhaven

Welcome to your May Newsletter

As usual there is a lot to report!

Digital Volunteers

First of all, another plea for volunteers willing to help and advise tech newcomers on how to get online and communicate with the outside world in this digital age. This is the current focus of the partnership between Heart of Newhaven and Pilmeny Development Project (PDP).

PDP now has sufficient equipment but is still looking for additional volunteers who are willing to be matched with individuals needing on-going digital support. We urge more volunteers to come forward who could offer such support to those older people who are feeling particularly lonely and isolated by the pandemic and lockdown restrictions.

Training is provided by PDP and the next induction dates are May 12th or May 18th.

If anyone is interested please contact volunteer@heartofnewhaven.co.uk

AGM

Of course the big news this month is the holding of our first ever AGM as a SCIO. This took place on Thursday 29th April and was attended, either online or in person, by 38 members.

The Chair, Rodney Matthews presented his personal “View from the Chair”, a summary of the charity’s journey so far accompanied by visuals prepared by fellow trustee David Scott and volunteer Sara Kliczka.

Treasurer Alan Hartley took everyone through the annual financial statement and trustees’ report which will be submitted to OSCR.

Secretary Colin MacNeill supervised the voting on three resolutions: the re-election of two of the trustees, (as the constitution states that one-third of the trustees must step down each year) These were randomly selected. Christine McDerment and David Scott (Grant Laing decided not to stand again) were re-elected.

There was also an amendment to the constitution passed, to allow digital meetings as well as physical ones, or a mixture of the two.

Business Plan

One matter that was raised at the AGM was that of how HoNC will support itself after the purchase of the site. The Business Plan which was submitted and assessed by CEC last year, is available through a link on the HoNC website.

If you would like to read it, you can find the link on the Our Journey So Far webpage.

School Delay

Unfortunately there has been a further delay to the building of the new Victoria Primary School.

The school was informed last week that Covid restrictions on the number of workers who can be on site at the same time, as well as the delay in some building supplies arriving from Europe, have meant that it will not now be possible for the school to move in over the summer holidays.

It is still hoped to get everything finished by the autumn but there is no fixed date yet. We will keep you informed.

Finally, there are always new HoNC features being posted online.

Check out our YouTube channel for recent videos of support from the Living Memory Association and one of our volunteers, along with the earlier ones from the History of Education Centre and some of our trustees.

Remember there are also monthly blogs going up on the website.

Happy viewing and reading.

Volunteer Page

Rare Birds Book Club launches newsletter for budding writers

Bi-weekly newsletter hosted by famous female authors

Home of female fiction and letterbox lockdown companion, Rare Birds Book Club, is set to launch a brand-new newsletter, aimed at budding writers.

From 22^nd March, Prompt will be dropping into inboxes every other week packed with tips, tricks and invaluable info for those who like writing – from the daily scribblers to the ‘going to write a book someday’ dreamers.

Containing a writing exercise, pointer or prompt to encourage writers (and aspiring writers) to put pen to paper and get composing, each newsletter is hosted by a published author who has been there before and wants to share some writing wisdom to help spark inspiration.

The first newsletter, hosted by Maggie O’Farrell, author of best-selling novel, Hamnet, will be followed up by further writing royalty, with editions from the likes of Jessie Burton (The Miniaturist), Elizabeth MacNeal (The Doll Factory), Laura Jane Williams (Our Stop) and Elizabeth Day (How to Fail).

Authors will provide the tips they themselves use, from ideas on how to start a project and exploring new or current scenarios, to getting out of a writing rut. There will also be exercises to try when you have the writing itch, but no idea how to scratch it and prompts to help you get to know your characters or story.

Rare Birds founder, Rachel Wood, shares why Prompt is the perfect bookmark for writers old and new: “This newsletter is all about ideas – how to get them and how to build on them and the aim is simply to prompt our readers to get writing.

“We want to spark creativity, push boundaries, and chart new territory. They say we all have a book in us, well we want to be the ones who coax it out of you. Who knows, one day we could be sending your book out to our book club!”

Free to subscribe and featuring past and present Rare Birds Book Club authors, as well as Wood’s personal favourites, the newsletter will also shine a spotlight on the author themself, as well as their current work and future projects.

To sign up to the newsletter, visit:

https://rarebirdsbookclub.us16.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=b9cc7b74a69f54f10b90003f3&id=307071a319

For more information visit:

https://rarebirdsbookclub.com/blog/prompt

Spring Air: Heart of Newhaven’s March newsletter

First of all, sincere thanks to all of you who have contributed to our first Crowdfunding campaign.

We have almost achieved our initial target which will enable us to pay legal and design fees and allow us to move forward with our ambitious community plans. If you have contributed, thank you.

If you have not, then please consider doing so. No matter how small, the donation will be appreciated.

The campaign ends on 13th March. Let’s make one final push and remember that any excess over the original target will be spent on costs pertaining to other parts of the project such as accessibility plans. It will not be wasted.

https://youtu.be/GOasoH0SrW4

Now, following the success of our digital appeal earlier in the year, which helped so many families with children at Victoria Primary School access online learning, we are preparing to launch a new digital campaign.

This time it’s to help the more elderly in the community who are feeling cut-off and isolated because they cannot keep up with the online communications necessary in these difficult times. They may have no digital access or no knowledge of how to use it if they have.

We will be working once again with the Pilmeny Development Programme (PDP) this time recruiting both older and younger members of the community and helping organise digital learning and support sessions in line with COVID-19 regulations.

Can you help us to develop a sustainable, community-based, skills-sharing network? Bringing generations together is what we’re all about! Get in touch through the volunteering page on the website.

Volunteer Page

If you haven’t already done so, please fill out our membership application form and send it in as soon as possible. Once your membership status has been verified, this will ensure you have a say at our forthcoming AGM, which must be held before 4th May. The date and details will be given out shortly.

Apply Now

Meanwhile, good news on the environmental partnership initiatives some of our volunteers have been helping with.

There’s been no public fanfare because of Covid, but the Little Birdhaven at Western Harbour, a collaboration with The Shoreline Project and a mini orchard for Victoria Park in collaboration with Friends of Victoria Park, have both received funding and support because of the hard work put in by the volunteers.

You can inspect the new information banner (illustrations courtesy of pupils from VPS) at Western Harbour (between the wilded plot and the John Lloyd Centre) and watch the currently tiny trees growing steadily.

Over in Victoria Park, funding has been secured from the Alpkit Foundation to expand the mini orchard by the beech hedge with suitable fruit trees which will be planted by pupils from Trinity Academy and Trinity primary School in the autumn. You can read more about all this on our social media pages.

Social Media

Special thanks to volunteer Lucy Metcalfe for leading the way on this.

If you would like to join in with any of our projects, sign up on the volunteering page of the website and watch out for further news of yet more greening projects coming up soon.

Finally, as always, a reminder to watch the website for news and blogs and don’t forget our social media platforms.

Check out Instagram for example, where there’s a “new” picture of “old” Newhaven posted every week.

Website Homepage

Share the Love on Valentine’s Day

FEBUARY NEWSLETTER from Heart of Newhaven

First of all, we have had a magnificent response to our digital appeal which we launched so recently on 25th January.

Thanks to all who have very kindly donated old laptops or tablets to help families in the community who needed help to access online learning. We have already dealt with around a dozen such items, some of which are being wiped and processed while others are awaiting collection and soon they will all be winging their way to Victoria Primary School. Please continue to get in touch.

DIGITAL RESOURCES APPEAL

We understand that others have been delivered directly to the school following our appeal and if you would still like to help but have no old machines you no longer need, you can also donate funds to enable the school to buy more.

An average laptop or tablet suitable for home-schooling could cost around £200 but any smaller contributions that could go towards that would be most welcome.
You can contact the school directly below:

CONTACT VICTORIA PRIMARY

This is such an encouraging example of the community helping each other, just what Heart of Newhaven proposes to expand on once we’re fully operational.

The main news for you this month however is about the launch of our CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN.

This will go live on 14th February. It’s all about the Heart of course – it seemed a very suitable date for obvious reasons.

While we have applied to the Scottish Land Fund for the purchase cost of the site, we still need immediate funds to pay our legal advisers, currently working on the contract with CEC. Then there are the essential repairs to such things as windows and the roof, as well as fire and safety features.

There is also the preparatory work we have to do in the way of design costs to enable us to move into the buildings and get them going with our “meanwhile use” plans to bring the centre “online” stage by stage.

The campaign will go live on Crowdfund Scotland and there will also be links from our website and social media channels.

Please consider donating something, no matter how small, to enable this ambitious project to go ahead – and don’t forget to spread the word among neighbours and friends!

Finally, may we remind you to visit our website regularly. There’s always something new, including several blogs being posted on the different pages, that you might enjoy.

This month for example, the Culture & Heritage page is hosting a contribution from one of our many volunteers, who talks about the Hispanic community in Newhaven and how they’ve adapted and settled in to the local community.

On our new Intergenerational page, there’s not only an explanation of what intergenerational means, but a blog from trustee Judy Crabb.

Of course our regular blog from the chairman will be along soon as well.

Keep checking.

News from Heart of Newhaven

January 2021 Newsletter

Happy New Year! – Szczesliwego Nowego Roku – Feliz Ano Novo – Un An Nou Fericit -Bonne année – Glückliches Neues Jahr – Eutychismenos o Kainourgios Chronos – Feliz año nuevo -Shuvo noboborsho – Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu – Bliadhna Mhath Ur!

We hope you brought the new Year in in style, including playing our very own version of Auld Lang Syne and by making suitable resolutions.

Saying goodbye to 2020, let’s look forward with positivity and enthusiasm for what is to come, for this is the year we do it.
This is the year we move in to Victoria Primary School and make it the hub the growing Newhaven community wants and needs. How are we going to do this and how can you help?

Things to look out for:

FEBRUARY

The launch of our Crowdfunding campaign:

Help us kickstart our Heart – Help us create a centre for you!

The first phase will identify the immediate essential work required to bring the building into use and our appointed architect will be working with the community to design age-friendly spaces to meet the needs of all users.

If you can give even a small amount to ensure our plans for the community go smoothly, then please do so and encourage all your friends and neighbours to do the same. Whether it’s contributing towards the necessary lawyers’ fees or for the installation of a lift to the first floor, everything will be put to good use. You’ll be able to read all about it in the next newsletter.

SPRING

The launch of our ‘gardening and greening project’ still to be named – watch this space project, a brand new community project run by our ever-expanding group of volunteers. Several of our volunteers who ticked “gardening” in the volunteer choices, have been busy working on this and we look forward to being able to introduce it to everyone very soon.

Then there’s our very first AGM as a SCIO. Members will be able to have a real say in what happens next. Watch out for an announcement about the date and time and method.

JUNE

The next round of the Scottish Land Fund grants. Our application will be among the many to be decided once the new Scottish Parliament to be elected in May gives the go-ahead for the fund to get going again. We’ve already had very positive vibes from the SLF so we have great hopes that our application will meet with success.

That’s just the first half of the year. Imagine what the second half has in store!

Our New Year’s Resolution was to take HoNC from strength to strength and for that, as usual, we need your help.

We want to know what you thought of the community initiatives we ran before Christmas. Did you participate in Newhaven Neighbours (still running, by the way), Newhaven Sings or Newhaven Lights Up ?

We want to know if we’re getting it right or, if not, what we could have done better.

Please can you feed back here

Let us know how we can improve.

Finally, remember to keep watching the website.

There’s always something new, including the View from the Chair, our Chairman’s blog.

New Town Quarter Community Update Bulletin: December 2020

Latest Updates From The New Town Quarter Project Team

Following the consultation for our planning application which was submitted at the end of August this year, we have been liaising with the City of Edinburgh Council planning department and have agreed to make some technical design amendments to specific areas of the development proposals, in line with advice received.

These amendments include:

•   moving the office building further away from Fettes Row
•   reducing massing on the top floor of the northern residential blocks to improve the view from Dundonald Street
•   increasing the use of natural stone in the office building facing Fettes Row and the building on Eyre Place, along with some of the hard landscape paving on the main route through to the King George V Park
•   design refinement to some areas of the elevations on Dundas Street and Eyre Place.

The drawings and supporting information will be with the Council by the end of this week. A further consultation period will run from 11 December to 12 January and will be available for review on the Council’s portal. You can access the link here:

https://citydev-portal.edinburgh.gov.uk/idoxpa-web/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=QE494UEWGJT00

We will be in contact with the relevant local community groups to advise them of the changes and we will make ourselves available to provide any additional information required if we can.

We hope you find the time to look at the updated proposals and provide comment. If you do have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact me directly.

In the meantime, I would like to thank everyone once again for their input to the proposals so far and hope you are able to enjoy the festive season. Have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Ross McNulty, Development Director at Ediston

ross.mcnulty@ediston.com
Mobile: 07651 207402

Reflecting the Very Best of Edinburgh’s New Town

Plans have been submitted to the City of Edinburgh Council for the New Town Quarter development.

Proposals include a mix of new homes, offices and public amenities on the 5.9-acre former Royal Bank of Scotland site, at the heart of Edinburgh’s New Town. We have received a huge amount of interest in our proposals – including more than 4,000 visitors to our website from Edinburgh, Scotland and across the world.

This has become one of the largest consultations ever carried out for a city centre development and we would like to thank everyone who has contributed to it by passing on their views and comments, all of which has helped shape our final application. It is hoped that the application will be discussed at committee by the City of Edinburgh Council in the New Year.

For more information on the New Town Quarter, please click HERE

Business Benefits To The City Centre

A recent survey of 32 local businesses which surround the New Town Quarter area showed overwhelming support for the development plans. The area brings together an interesting mix of mainly independent traders – including cafes, restaurants, bars, hairdressers and guest houses.

Many of them were hit hard when RBS vacated their premises in 2017 and are now suffering further following the ongoing trading restrictions imposed by the pandemic. The New Town Quarter will bring much-needed investment to the city centre – and most importantly, bring people back to the local area to create a vibrant and exciting new destination.

Click HERE to read some of the comments posted by local businesses who support our planning application.

Click HERE to find out how the New Town Quarter will help local businesses back on the road to recovery.

Feedback & Contact

For more information on New Town Quarter, please contact:

Ross McNulty, Development Director, Ediston.ross.mcnulty@ediston.com

Mobile: 07651 207 402

Latest news from Newhaven

Heart of Newhaven Community (HoNC) continues to work towards acquisition of the Victoria Primary School site and despite the impact of Covid 19, our timetable for completion remains the same: as soon as the children move to their new school, we will move in, hopefully in the autumn of next year, 2021.

To acquire the building, which we have permission from City of Edinburgh Council to purchase, we need to find £700,000. To this end, an application to the Scottish Land Fund (SLF) has already been submitted.

With the current SLF funds geared towards applications with more immediate needs, particularly those who have Covid-related issues, we have decided to pause our application until the next round of grants which will bring it more in line with our expected purchase date.

This comes on the recommendation of the SLF itself, who consider our application a very strong one but have advised us that such a pause would make our case even stronger. They are continuing to support us and helping us fund our preparation.

So fear not if you see headlines about the next community projects to have gained SLF grants later this month and no mention of HoNC. We are confident we have a strong case, made even stronger by this hiatus. Our plans for purchase and our timetable remain the same.

To help our case, we need even more members of our SCIO to show support within the community. Numbers are increasing steadily but if you haven’t already applied to be a member, please do so as soon as you can. In this case, size really does matter! Membership is free and it gives you a say in what happens.

https://heartofnewhaven.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?u=fd16ea8a13e69c80d6ed68f43&id=51195851da&e=29f8451b48

Equally, we need volunteers and not just for the long-term. At the heart of our project is the well-being of the community we serve. Covid 29 has not only put the brakes on the construction of the new school, it has affected so many in our community, in so many ways.

If you can sign up as a Newhaven Neighbour to help the isolated and vulnerable within our community, perhaps by collecting prescriptions, doing shopping, tidying a garden, delivering Christmas boxes, making an occasional phone call to check on the isolated, then we would welcome your help. Check our website for a form to fill in.

Become a Newhaven Neighbour. Get in touch. Add your name. The community will be the stronger for it.

https://heartofnewhaven.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?u=fd16ea8a13e69c80d6ed68f43&id=766b999cfe&e=29f8451b48

Remember that you can still read our Chair Rodney’s regular 20:20 vision in his View from the Chair which you can find on the website.

The View from the Chair