North Edinburgh Arts Board and Director have been working in partnership with Council officers to develop the Planning application for the MacMillan Hub submitted last week.
NEA are continuing to work on the costs and timetable for the MacMillan Hub, focusing on the extension and refurbishment of our building as an integral part of the Hub. Our Fundraiser, Roger Horam at Red Lynx, and Board continue to apply for funding and have had positive meetings with a range of statutory and third sector funders.
On 3 June 2021 the Council agreed to put forward NEA for consideration as part of the Scottish Government Regeneration Capital Grant Fund. On 10 June 2021 the Council agreed to put NEA, as a key part of the MacMillan Hub, forward for the UK Levelling Up Fund.
This fund needs support from our local MP, and we thank Christine Jardine MP for her support. We would be grateful, too, for your support of NEA’s ambitious plan, and welcome any input you may be able to make, on behalf of our community, to decision makers at both the Scottish and Westminster Governments who will be assessing our applications for funding.
If you have any questions or want more information please get in touch with us by emailing our Director Kate Wimpress at director@northedinburgharts.co.uk
I also would like to invite you to our forthcoming General Meeting on 21 July 2021 at 6.30pm, most likely to be held via Zoom, and would be pleased to speak with you then if you are able to attend.
Yours sincerely
Lesley Hinds
Chair, North Edinburgh Arts on behalf of the North Edinburgh Arts’ Board of Trustees
Richard Murphy Architects have submitted plans for the MacMillan Hub, the new civic centre for Pennywell & Muirhouse.
The development will see the creation of a Nursery & early years centre, forest kindergarten unit, library & skills hub, 6 homes for social rent, plus extension & reconfiguration of existing North Edinburgh Arts Centre, providing café/bar, box office, theatre & 14 studio spaces.
Richard Murphy Architects explain: “This project has two clients and four distinct user groups. North Edinburgh Arts, a charity operating from a purpose designed building containing cafe, studios theatre etc. and a large early learning centre for nursery school age children, a branch library and eight apartments. These last three elements have the City of Edinburgh Council as client.
“The overall project has seized on the idea of synergy between the library, early learning centre and the arts building so that users of each are encouraged to use all of the facilities with the thresholds between each section deliberately blurred. Indeed, there is a common entrance and foyer facing onto the recently created Macmillan Square.
“The arts centre is to be reorganised so that the cafe sits at the front and becomes a social hub for the entire building. A diagonal sightline connects it to the garden and all of the ground floor with new and existing studios etc. More offices are provided on the upper floor.
“The library is a single double height space with books at the lower level and a skills base above. It shares a staff room with the early learning centre and offices with the arts centre. Large double height windows facing on to the square give views to the left of the arts centre and to the right of the library. The cafe is expected to colonise the entrance area outside in summer.
“The early learning centre consists of six classrooms and a baby’s centre on two floors. The building is organised around a circular cloistered courtyard to give as much space as possible to arrivals and departures. Multipurpose spaces are available to both the early learning centre and the community in the evening.
“Eight apartments on the second and third floors mark the corner between Muirhouse Crescent and Macmillan Square and are accessed from the north elevation. Their living spaces all face south.”
Planning Application No. 17/00314/PPP relating to Phase 4 (Block 4) of the Pennywell Muirhouse Civic Centre for a mixed use development comprising a nursery (class 10), library and skills hub (class 10), arts centre (class 10), flatted dwellings (sui generis), landscaping, access, parking, drainage and other associated development.
City of Edinburgh Council Leader, Adam McVey said:“The new building is an important part of the £200million 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 build a community with strong local facilities.
“Jointly led by the Council and North Edinburgh Arts, this is a great example of community empowerment showing how great value can be added to an area. It supports 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, reaching out 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 build 20,000 affordable new homes in the city by 2027, which will make a substantial difference for people seeking safe, permanent homes 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 COVID lockdown. Completing the Community Asset Transfer is a big step on this exciting journey. The enthusiasm shown by our community has kept us going through some difficult times and we’re looking forward to building on this support to bring a truly inspirational place to the heart of Muirhouse.”
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.
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 Art Buds Collective will shortly be offering outdoor art sessions for children aged 3-5 years and 6-9 years old, living in the Muirhouse area.
The classes will focus on creative processes inspired by nature, and will be led by Art Buds artists and educators. Classes are free of charge and children attend without parents or carers.
You can visit Art Bud Collective’s website to learn more about what they do:
To help Art Buds and North Edinburgh Arts plan the sessions, we would like to ask you five quick questions. It will take 1-2 minutes to complete this survey.
All responses will be held confidentially and your personal information will be kept safely in line with the current Data Protection regulations. We will not share your information with any third parties.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. We read every response and we really appreciate your time and feedback!
As part of the ongoing regeneration programme around MacMillan Square, North Edinburgh Arts (NEA) has now been granted full community ownership in a community asset transfer from the City of Edinburgh Council, with the additional transfer of a plot of land to the north of the centre.
We are now working in partnership with the Council to create plans for an extended creative and community hub for the area, to be named the MacMillan Hub.
The objective is to create a community and neighbourhood hub promoting culture, learning, work and well-being in and around the town centre. Everyone at NEA is excited about the possibilities this will bring to our community.
The plans include:
a refurbished and redesigned North Edinburgh Arts venue promoting the highest quality culture, arts and meeting space
a new Muirhouse Library
a new Learning and Skills Hub
a new Early Years Centre
housing for rent
NEA is already a well loved destination for locals but has outgrown its building. To meet the needs for future generations we need to redevelop as part of this new Hub. To find out more about our plans view the film below.
You can download Draft Plans-October 2020 to see draft plans, building visualisations and more information about proposed plans.
The plans ensure the accessible, welcoming and much needed community space, using environment-friendly build and innovative design techniques. The community space will reflect current community aspirations, while being flexible enough to respond to unplanned future demand.
Award winning Richard Murphy Architects have been appointed by Robertson and with the Council and NEA to design the MacMillan Hub. Working together with a view to submitting a joint detailed planning permission in December 2020 to start the build in 2021 and open in the summer of 2022.
As a difficult year draws to a close, 20 community groups in Edinburgh are ending 2020 with some good news: a £328,583 cash boost from The National Lottery Community Fund!
Among the local organisations receiving early Christmas cheer are Ama-Zing Harmonies, Muirhouse Millennium Centre and North Edinburgh Arts.
Three youth arts and civil society organisations have received a total of £223,530 to help the recovery of youth arts provision across the city of Edinburgh, ensuring employment for youth arts practitioners and creative opportunities for children and young people continue despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
Minister for Children and Young People, Maree Toddsaid: “Youth music and youth arts organisations across Scotland are playing an important role in the lives of young people during these difficult times.
“This funding will widen access to high quality opportunities for young people, allowing them to participate and engage with music and other art forms. It will also provide welcome employment opportunities to more than 200 youth arts practitioners, including freelance musicians, across Scotland.”
Genevieve Kay-Gourlay, Depute to Director, North Edinburgh Artssaid: “North Edinburgh Arts (NEA) is delighted to be awarded funding from Creative Scotland to deliver a youth arts residency programme, in partnership with Independent Arts Projects (IAP), for freelance artists and creative practitioners working across a range of artforms.
“The programme will empower freelance arts practitioners to take the lead in the design and delivery of accessible creative opportunities for children and young people living in Muirhouse and North Edinburgh.
“Artists will be supported through mentoring, advice and training, and will have access to a regular peer forum; trying out ideas as part of new or longer-term piece of research and development, whilst strengthening and broadening longer-term connections with the individuals and organisations involved.”
Paul Carberry, Director for Scotland, Action for Children said: “We are very pleased to have secured funding from Creative Scotland to undertake youth arts projects within our services in Scotland.
“This money will allow our services to deliver a range of arts projects, with the young people themselves deciding the arts they want to explore.
“This fund will also enable us to work collaboratively with a range of artists across the country, allowing the children and young people we work with to benefit from a rich and diverse creative experience to support them.”
The organisations will open for individual grant applications early in the new year.
Gaynor Milne, SambaYaBambasaid: “SambaYaBamba are delighted to be involved in this exciting new way of distributing funds from Creative Scotland directly to practitioners in the street band network.
“This will open up opportunities for freelancers to create their own youth projects, with support from our organisation. We’re really excited to welcome applications from individuals in early 2021, and look forward to seeing the new projects that emerge from this process.”
Giles Agis, Carnival and Community Manager, Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festivalsaid: “Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival’s Small Grants Fund project ‘Routes to Roots’ will see a diverse range of freelance musicians, dancers, circus artists, spoken word performers, street theatre artists and carnival costume makers re-imagine Edinburgh Festival Carnival 2021 through ‘artists led’ projects.
“The selected artists will work with children and young people across Edinburgh’s diverse communities, creating new mobile performance work which will animate our annual carnival parade, or static work which will be performed in Princes Gardens after the carnival has finished.”
Lorraine McLaren, Director, Wheatley Foundationsaid: “Many people in our communities just don’t have the opportunity or the means to access the arts. We’re always keen to find new ways to support tenants and their families to take part in art, drama or music and this tranche of funding will enable us to do exactly that.
“We’re looking forward to working with Creative Scotland and artists to bring some great projects to our communities right across central and the south of Scotland.”
Iain Munro, CEO, Creative Scotlandsaid: “These vital emergency funds being delivered by Creative Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government are ensuring that creative opportunities continue to exist for young people and across Scotland at this critical time and provide important work for freelance artists whose opportunities have been so severely impacted by Covid-19.”
Action for Children has received £50,000, Edinburgh International Jazz and Blues Festival £30,000, North Edinburgh Arts £36,025, SambaYaBamba £27,505 and Wheatley Foundation £50,000.
These organisations are five of 18 across Scotland to have received a share of share in over £690K funding.
The full list of recipients is:
Organisation (Trading name)
Local Authority Area
Funding Amount
Aberdeen City Council, Creative Learning
Aberdeen
£50,000
Action for Children
Edinburgh, North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, Clackmannanshire
The Small Grants Scheme is the second strand of funding to be announced as part of the Scottish Government’s £3million funding package for Youth Arts, being delivered through Creative Scotland. At least £1.2million has already been distributed through the Youth Arts Targeted Fund and £50,000 assigned to the Nurturing Talent: New Routes Fund.
Updates on all emergency funds are being published regularly on this website and publicised through media and social media communications.
Image: Zoo Arts participants, project led by Alice Betts at North Edinburgh Arts
The efforts of 14 Edinburgh groups have been acknowledged by environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful at an online seminar yesterday.
North Edinburgh is well represented among these green-fingered groups, with awards for Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre, Fresh Start Growers, Friends of Granton Castle Walled Garden, Friends of Lauriston Castle Estate, Friends of Starbank Park and North Edinburgh Arts Gardening Group.
The other capital groups to receive awards are Balerno Village Gardeners, Craigentinny Community Gardening Project, Craigentinny Primary Parent Council, Friends of Morningside Cemetery, Friends of Saughton Park, Inch View Care Home, Inspiring Hillside and Northfield Community Growing Group.
Annually Keep Scotland Beautiful runs two community environmental improvement programmes in partnership with the Royal Horticultural Society; the competitive Beautiful Scotland campaign and the It’s Your Neighbourhood initiative.
Faced with the challenges of 2020, there has never been a more important time to recognise and celebrate the achievements of communities and individuals across Edinburgh.
Throughout lockdown and the following months, groups have worked tirelessly to improve their communities through horticulture, environmental responsibility and working in partnership for the benefit of residents, visitors and our natural environment.
Despite circumstances this year, 47 new entrants were welcomed to the network, and although judging and mentoring visits were not able to take place due to restrictions across Scotland, groups were still supported with online seminars, networking events, question and answer sessions and a weekly e-newsletter.
Barry Fisher, CEO of Keep Scotland Beautifulsaid, “We know that lockdown resulted in many people reconnecting with green and blue spaces local to them. Yet, it has also been a particularly challenging year for the communities who strive every year to protect and enhance the places they live and work in.
“I’d like to thank all the groups in Edinburgh for the efforts they have made to keep Scotland beautiful this year.”
Although many of the groups had to stop or curtail their planned activities for the year, we have been blown away by what they have managed to achieve – whether that be setting up a food bank, encouraging and supporting others to grow their own, creating virtual garden tours, connecting their members through online catch ups and keeping their neighbourhoods bright and cheerful.
North Edinburgh’s flagship arts centre in Muirhouse and land for a new community hub in Juniper Green are amongst 21 groups that are set to share in £1,667,987 from the Scottish Land Fund.
North Edinburgh Arts (NEA) has received £156,000 in order to take ownership of its current building, which it intends to extend and upgrade to create more space for additional enterprise units and a larger cafe.
And Pentlands Community Space has been given £33,000 to buy a disused public toilet in Lanark Road, Juniper Green in order to demolish it and build a community hub and flat for affordable rent.
Lesley Hinds, Chair, North Edinburgh Arts, said: “NEA has won five national awards in the last six years for place making and creative projects. 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, support, materials and online creative activities throughout the lockdown.
“Alongside our COVID activity of the last five months we have been working closely with partners to share and establish our vision of a world class creative hub for the next generation of North Edinburgh residents. This award from the Scottish Land Fund is an important and welcome next step on this exciting journey.”
NEA’s Director Kate Wimpress added: “The bright blue NEA building has been a beacon of hope for many throughout the lockdown, and an important part of the North Edinburgh landscape over the last decade.
“Today’s endorsement from the Scottish Land Fund, following on from the Council’s agreement for this much loved and used asset to come fully into community ownership, takes NEA , and our community, another step closer to our vision becoming a reality. We are looking forward to building a first class facility fit for purpose for today, and for the years to come”
Professor Cliff Beevers OBE, Chairman, Pentlands Community Space, said: “The Pentlands Community Space project is planning to demolish an abandoned public toilet block and replace it with a two-storey building providing a much-needed Community Hub downstairs with an affordable flat above.
“Rental from the flat will be used to sustain activities in the Hub. This project, several years in the making, is a genuine collaborative effort which is using the talents and time of many residents in this part of South-West Edinburgh.”
Minister, Cabinet Secretary for Land Reform, Roseanna Cunningham, said: “Communities across the country are playing a pivotal role in helping create a fairer and greener Scotland as we respond to the coronavirus pandemic.
“The latest round of Scottish Land Fund grants – provided to 21 different community groups – will go towards projects that will provide locals with better access to green space, encourage wildlife and support community business. With this funding being awarded during Climate Week, I look forward to these projects seizing the opportunity to help our green recovery.”
John Watt, Scottish Land Fund Committee Chair said: “Groups from all across Scotland are making a real impact to their communities with a wide range of ambitious projects that deliver tangible benefits to the people who live there, and the Scottish Land Fund is delighted to be able to support them.”
Sandra Holmes, Head of Community Assets at HIE, said: “These successful projects announced today are all fantastic examples of people taking control of local resources for the long-term benefit of their communities.
“Applecross Community Company for example, will be able to purchase, restock and improve the local woods to provide access to the community as well as buy land to build affordable homes.
“Ownership will give these communities greater control over important assets and will help ensure their long-term future. We wish all the successful groups the very best in their new ventures.”
Please find attached a zoom invitation to a meeting looking at Community Wealth Building.
The meeting will be hosted by Lesley Hinds, Chair of North Edinburgh Arts, with guest speaker Councillor Joe Cullinane, Leader of North Ayrshire Council. Please find attached a link to North Ayrshire’s Community Wealth Building strategy for information prior to the discussion.
I this is of interest, and that you will be able to join the discussion on the 22nd. No registration is needed, simply use the link in the attachment, however it would be useful if you can reply to me in advance if you are going to attend to give me an idea of numbers.
Yours sincerely
Kate Wimpress / Director
North Edinburgh Arts, 15a Pennywell Court, EH4 4TZ
NEA North Edinburgh Arts is inviting you to a Community Wealth Building meeting, by Zoom.
