Tag: PB

Utilita Energy Hub to host Leith Chooses voting due to lift closure at Newkirkgate

The Utilita Energy Hub in Leith will host part of this weekend’s Leith Chooses voting event after the lift at Newkirkgate Shopping Centre was confirmed to be out of order.

This year, the people of Leith will help decide how just over £44,000 of Edinburgh Council funding is allocated to community projects aimed at improving wellbeing across the area. Leith Chooses is a long‑running example of participatory budgeting, giving local residents a direct say in how public money is spent.

Voting Day – Saturday, 24 January 2026

Voting will take place at Leith Community Centre on Saturday, with a quiet voting hour from 11am, followed by general voting from 12pm to 3pm.

Due to the lift closure at Newkirkgate, volunteers in branded t‑shirts will be stationed throughout the area to support anyone requiring step‑free access.

Voters can either:

  • Access Leith Community Centre via the ramp in the Lidl car park, or
  • Cast their vote at the Utilita Energy Hub, located on the ground floor of Newkirkgate.

At the Utilita Energy Hub, visitors will find volunteers ready to assist, along with complimentary hot drinks, biscuits, and free energy‑saving advice.

Who can vote

Anyone aged 8 or over who lives, works, studies, or volunteers in Leith is eligible to vote. All votes will help determine which local projects receive funding to support community wellbeing.

Online voting also available

Those unable to attend in person can vote online from 27 January to 10 February at:  www.edinburgh.gov.uk/voteleithchooses.

Voters attending in person are also welcome to cast their vote online if they prefer.

Support on the day

Anyone needing additional assistance during the event can contact the team on 07718 569916.

The Utilita Leith Energy Hub, located at 41 Newkirkgate, Edinburgh, EH6 6AA, is open Monday to Saturday.

The Hub offers free community space that can be booked by emailing edinburgh@utilita.co.uk.

More information about Utilita Energy Hubs can be found at: 

https://utilita.co.uk/energy-hub.

Scottish community groups celebrate after winning public vote for National Lottery funding

SUCCESS FOR MORNINGSIDE’s OPEN DOOR CAFE MUSIC PROJECT

Nine hard-working Scottish community groups have won up to £70,000 each of National Lottery funding in this year’s The People’s Projects. The vital funding was awarded after they won the public over with their plans to make a life-changing difference in their local communities.

The groups were among 95 worthwhile projects across the UK in the running to share over £4 million in National Lottery funding as part of this year’s The People’s Projects.

The People’s Projects sees The National Lottery Community Fund, ITV, UTV and the Sunday Mail (in Scotland) working together to give the public a unique say in how National Lottery funding should be invested in their local area.  

One of the winners was The Open Door Edinburgh’s Music for Health and Wellbeing project.

The Morningside project will use the power of music – songs, sounds and rhythms – to improve the health and well-being of older people with dementia and other support needs. They will also provide a range of Daycare services that helps the elderly, and the most vulnerable in the community, to age well.

Visit www.thepeoplesprojects.org.uk to see a full list of winning projects across the UK.

Since The People’s Projects started in 2005, it has awarded around £45 million to over 1,000 good causes, delivering vital grants to the heart of UK communities.

Kate Still, Scotland Chair, The National Lottery Community Fund, said: “The People’s Projects highlights the incredible work of inspiring community groups in Scotland and throughout the UK. We are proud to have given local people throughout the country a say in where over £4 million of vital National Lottery funding will go.

“We congratulate this year’s winners and look forward to seeing them make a life-changing difference in their communities.”

The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK, distributes money raised by National Lottery players, who raise over £30 million each week across the UK for good causes.

Last year, it awarded over half a billion pounds (£579.8 million) of life-changing funding to communities across the UK, supporting over 14,500 projects. Over the last three years, its funding has reached every constituency and every local authority in the UK.

To find out more visit www.TNLCommunityFund.org.uk  

peoples-projects-june23Download

Edinburgh Community Climate Fund is now open for applications

THE Edinburgh Community Climate Fund (ECCF) has officially opened to applications from local groups across the city.

The initiative is designed to support the delivery of the Council’s climate change targets together with providing learning to inform the wider approach to participatory budgeting (PB). Participatory budgeting is a way for citizens to have a direct say on how money is spent. In Edinburgh, PB has been used as an approach to distribute funding since 2010.

The Edinburgh PB Framework was approved in 2021 which included a commitment to a number of PB initiatives including the ECCF.

The ECCF provides £100,000 of one-off funding which is available for local groups to undertake projects which align with the objectives of the Edinburgh Climate Strategy and goal of becoming a net-zero city by 2030. 

Groups can apply for up to £20,000 worth of funding, providing that the activities can be delivered within 12 months, do not replicate or replace a Council service, and are in line with at least one of the project’s aims.

Applications are open until midnight on 12 February. The final projects will then be shortlisted and put to a public vote. We hope to announce the results of the ECCF in mid-March.

To apply please visit the Your Voice webpage where you can download an application form.

Completed forms should be emailed to: communityplanning@edinburgh.gov.uk

For more information, please visit our Participatory Budgeting and the ECCF webpage.

There will be an in-person Application Support Drop-In at the City Chambers on 23 January between 10.00am-12 noon and 1.00pm-3.00pm.  

There will also be two online information sessions on 24 January between 6.30pm-7.30pm and 26 January from 10.00am -11.00am.

For further information or to book a place at these sessions please email: 

communityplanning@edinburgh.gov.uk

Council Leader Cammy Day said: “The Edinburgh Community Climate Fund is a brilliant opportunity for local groups across our fantastic capital city to make their voices heard on how this money should be spent, as we deliver on our key priorities.

“We have a bold and ambitious plan to become a net-zero city by 2030, alongside our wider Climate Strategy. Our citizens and communities should rightly be at the heart of this process. I am confident that in the ECCF projects, Edinburgh and her citizens will once again show the creativity, innovation, and care that we have so often seen over the years.

“I would also like to thank all the organisations and individuals who have contributed to the development of the ECCF.”

Criteria for the ECCF are set out below:

  • Creating opportunities for community leadership and learning on climate change.
  • Reducing greenhouse gas emissions within communities and contributing to the net-zero agenda for Edinburgh.
  • Generating sustainable projects for the benefit of local people to build resilience or adapt to climate change within communities. 
  • Building relationships between neighbourhoods of different socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds to work together on just, equitable and accessible climate and resilience activities contributing to the city’s net zero agenda, also ensuring that activities work towards reducing or removing barriers for disabled people in the transition to net-zero.

Participatory Budgeting Charter launched

PB Scotland and the Scottish Government yesterday launched the Participatory Budgeting Charter for Scotland.

The PB Charter is a set of seven key features showing what a fair and high quality PB process should look like. It aims to ensure PB is inclusive, uses good quality methods and is truly participative. Continue reading Participatory Budgeting Charter launched

Voice Your Choice: voting event in North West Edinburgh

Voice Your Choice Voting Event NW

Edinburgh’s employability themed participatory budgeting programme has moved into the voting stages and you are invited to attend the voting event in your locality where you can learn more about the employability projects on offer, and vote for those you would like to see become a reality in your locality. Continue reading Voice Your Choice: voting event in North West Edinburgh

Strollers youth section celebrate local funding boost

Youth players from Civil Service Strollers are celebrating after being awarded £1,000 by The Old Kirk and Muirhouse Parish Church. The local church organised a participatory budgeting event last weekend and Civil Youth was among six local projects to share in the £4500 ‘Your Voice, Your Choice’ fund. Continue reading Strollers youth section celebrate local funding boost