The popular Pork Butcher’s shop on Pennywell Road reopened for just a week recently – not to sell meat, but as a community drop-in resource. Muirhouse Link Up project worker Julie Crawford explains all:
“The purpose of the week was to do a few things –
Promote Link up project which started in May last year. I work with local people in Muirhouse and West Pilton to identify activities that bring different groups of people together to take part and contribute on an equal footing. The activities could be anything, from people having a cup of tea together to taking part in an activity. We’ve been working with local people to develop a monthly bingo evening, which has seen over 60 people attend the last few months, supporting the Tenants and Residents In Muirhouse Group (TRIM), an Arts and Baking group at North Edinburgh Arts, establishing community cinema and much more.
During the week we had a huge map on the shop wall and local people were invited to write on it and give us views about places that are important to them, what people do in the community and things that they would like to see. Over the course of the week 250 people came through the door, which was fantastic. The highlight was seeing local artists using the space to work with young people doing light photography and some film-making. The shop window will be used by City of Edinburgh Council to advertise 21st Century homes and community activity – I believe there is massive potential to use the space by community organisations.
Link up will continue to work with local people to set up activities which they have skills or interests in, just get in touch! Local people are already running new activities this year, including chess and archery!”
To get in touch with Julie, call 315 6405 or email Julie@mydg.org.uk
You can also check out Muirhouselinkup on Facebook or ‘tweet’ @linkup11
Pennywell Pork Butchers is reopening next week, but there won’t be any meats, pies or sausages for sale. The shop, which closed in November last year, is being pressed into service as an office/exhibition space for the local Link Up project!
Link Up Muirhouse worker Julie Crawford (pictured below) said: “We’re only open for one week, but we’re hoping to fill the whole week with a lot of things – you can find out about the Link Up project, talk to members of Tenants and Residents In Muirhouse (TRIM), hear the local Time Bank Choir , have a look at our photographs of Muirhouse and add some more of your own to our digital archive and there will be lots of seasonal arts activities too. Why not pop in for a cuppa and a chat about what’s happening in Muirhouse and how you can get involved in your community?”
The shop opens next Monday and will open:
Monday 11am – 3pm
Tuesday 9am – 2pm
Wednesday 12 – 6pm
Thursday 4 – 9pm
Friday 10am – 3pm
Saturday 10am – 4pm
Thanks to Total Craigroyston for passing on this info!
Borja Prada’s ‘Welcome to Muirhouse’ photography exhibition opens at North Edinburgh Arts Centre next week. Borja’s pictures tell a wonderful story, so see the exhibition – and quite a few ‘well-kent’ local faces – if you can …
We have previously featured Borja’s work in both the NEN’s print and blog versions, but his story’s worth telling again. Borja, who’s Spanish, was a student at Telford College and his daily bus journey to college took him through past Pennywell shops. When it came to choosing a subject for his final examination exercise, Borja decided upon Muirhouse – the buildings, the people and the sights.
The young Spaniard (pictured top) spent eight months taking photographs and getting to know individuals and families across the area, building trust and forming lasting relationships while compiling a large body of work for his portfolio.
The result was ‘Welcome to Muirhouse’, a book of photographs Borja paid to have printed – and a remarkable 98% pass mark for his examination result!
The photographs tell the story of Muirhouse as it is today, capturing personalities and places before the place changes forever through regeneration.
Borja said: “This upcoming display is organized to show the work I have been doing for the past year documenting Muirhouse and the lives of its inhabitants. It will give a chance for everyone to meet there with the local community and anyone interested
in arts is most welcome to come along”.
‘Welcome to Muirhouse’ opens at North Edinburgh Arts Centre on Tuesday (6 November) from 5.30m, and will then be on display until 30 November.
Manager Christine Mackay gives an update on the Total Craigroyston initiative:
Consultation meeting at West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre
I hope you have all had a good summer in spite of the dreary weather.
Many thanks to all of you who contributed to our consultation events. In total, 215 local residents and front line staff, from 37 different teams and organisations were involved in nine events.
We had expected to be ready to share the outcome with you earlier in August but in the end, processing all the information we received took longer than we thought. However, we now have a draft ‘Road Map’, which will set the direction for the Total Craigroyston Initiative. The information and insights that we gathered have been grouped into themes and we have identified a range of short and long term actions that we would like to achieve over the life of the initiative.
What is obvious is that there is a real strength within the community and a desire to build on the good work that is already going on. Of course, some challenges were identified and we hope that we can make progress on these in order to achieve the kinds of changes that people would like to see.
We have organised a range of meetings to present the findings of the research back to people who were involved and other stakeholders.
The meetings will take place on the following dates:
Tuesday 4 September at 2pm in West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre
Wednesday 5 September at 7pm in Craigroyston Community High School
Thursday 6 September at 10am in North Edinburgh Arts Centre.
Everyone is welcome but please book a place by contacting Julie Innes by telephone on 469 3162 or by email on julie.innes@edinburgh.gov.uk. Childcare can be arranged for those who need it. Please let Julie know when you book a place.
The draft Road Map will be available on Monday 20 August from the Total Craigroyston Blog at totalcraigroyston.wordpress.com and if you have any comments or observations please let us know.
As well as the meetings above, there will be a short presentation to the Forth Neighbourhood Partnership on Tuesday 21 Aug at 7pm, which is open to everyone.
Two Play Out days were organised by Total Craigroyston
If tickets are hard to come by in London, Craigroyston Community High School’s Early Years Olympics were even more exclusive – by invitation only!
The great event took place today and the NEN was delighted to be there. Thanks to Lorraine Grant for the invitation, the Early Years volunteers for the organisation and attention to detail, the spectators (mums, dads and carers) for creating that unique Olympic atmosphere and most of all to the brilliant wee participants – maybe there’s a wee future Hoy or Ennis in the following pictures!
A contract worth an estimated £80m to build around 800 new homes in the Pennywell/Muirhouse area of Edinburgh has been advertised by the City of Edinburgh Council. The contract is part of the project for the second phase of the Council’s 21stCentury Homes programme which aims to build up to 1,400 mixed tenure homes for sale and rent across the Capital over the next eight years.
At least half of the homes in Pennywell will be affordable with the remainder for sale and rent in the private sector. Construction on the site is due to start in 2013 with the new homes being ready to be lived in by 2014.
Mark Turley, Director of Services for Communities, said: “This is an exciting time for the people in Pennywell. The development is a housing led regeneration opportunity which will boost the local economy by providing new jobs in the construction industry as well as supporting local businesses.
“As part of the procurement process, the successful developer is also being asked to provide training opportunities and apprenticeships for young people during the course of the construction project. This will be a hugely important contribution to the regeneration of this area.
“The development provides the Council with the opportunity to unlock private investment, provide a mix of new housing and create a sustainable development for the area. ”
The successful developer will be required to comply with the existing planning permission in principle secured by the Council as well as the Pennywell/Muirhouse Design Guide, which sets the blueprint for design quality, energy-efficient new homes, roads, footways and high quality public space.
Around 25 people attended the initial meeting of the Muirhouse Centipede project in Muirhouse St Andrew’s church hall last week, and participants have come up with a number of ideas that could help to rebuild community spirit in the area.
A wide cross-section of groups and organisations from across the area attended the ‘blue sky thinking’ event – with a handful of ‘visitors’ from Drylaw and Pilton too!
Muirhouse St Andrew’s locum Minister Linda Dunbar said: “We were pleased to see so many enthusiastic people attend the event. They came up with some great ideas and at least two of these will be taken forward. Fablevision’s Liz Gardiner, who facilitated the day, is currently writing up a report and we will take it on from there. Time is a factor and our plan is to submit our project proposals to church authorities next month and then consult more widely on how we take these ideas forward. It was certainly a very productive first session and we’d like to thank everyone who participated on the day”.
City planners are appealing to Muirhouse and Pennywell residents to have their say on the area’s ongoing regeneration. A public exhibition drop-in session was held last Thursday evening in Craigroyston High School, where members of the masterplanning team were available to speak to residents about the latest plans for the area’s redevelopment.
For those who missed that opportunity, however, there’s still time to have a look at the plans and to make your opinions known – the exhibition will be on display in North Edinburgh Arts Centre in Pennywell Court until Friday 17 February.
Michelle Fraser, Senior Project Manager with the city council’s Housing and Regeneration team, said: “Towards the end of 2011 two masterplan options were prepared for the local community to see and comment on. Consultation events were held in November and December – thank-you if you have contributed to the process so far. Many of the issues raised have now been taken on board by the masterplanning team and this has resulted in key amendments to the preferred Indicative Masterplan Framework. A newsletter that went out out to the community to invite them to the events has a section that can be filled in and dropped off locally. Please make use of this or email any comments that you have to me and I will make sure that these are incorporated within the overall feedback from the consultation events.”
Comments can be emailed to michelle.fraser@edinburgh.gov.uk
One of North Edinburgh’s longest established businesses will close on Saturday after having served the community for over thirty years. The Pork Butcher on Pennywell Road closes it’s doors for the last time this weekend – and butcher Brian Burke has no doubt about the cause of the closure.
“The decision to knock down all those houses in Muirhouse and Pennywell is what’s really done for us”, said Brian, who has managed the shop for 33 years. “We’ve managed to get through downturns before, times when people have less money to spend – we survived that. But over the last four years or so – when they started by knocking down Muirhouse Crescent – we’ve seen our customer numbers really drop. You can’t knock down around 950 houses – and rebuild none – without trade being affected. Bit by bit trade has dwindled and we can’t carry on – the customers are just not here any more. Every shop will tell you the same – every one is struggling. I can well remember when we would have five or six butchers working on a Saturday and we never stopped – the place was non-stop all day. It’s hard to believe it’s the same shop”.
Nephew Charlie is a relative newcomer – he’s only worked in the Pennywell shop for 27 years!
“I’ll be finished my apprenticeship soon!” he said. “Seriously though, it really is tragic not just for us but for the whole community. We’ve seen this happening for the last few years – since they started emptying the houses. It will be three years until the first of the new homes are built and occupied – that will be too late for most businesses and I think most of the shops will be shut by then. I think everyone wants out but they are tied into contracts and it looks hopeless. I don’t see how any business can survive when there’s no prospect of customers. When the council was planning the regeneration of the area I think they should have done what they did in Niddrie – decanting and demolishing bit by bit and rebuilding and getting people back in.
If they had done that down here businesses would at least have had a fighting chance, but they didn’t”.
While Saturday will be a sad day for the Pennywell butchers, Brian and Charlie will leave with a lot of fond memories.
“We have had an awful lot of laughs over the years, a lot of fun”, said Brian. “We always liked to give the kids a slice of chopped pork when they came in, and now we’re giving a piece of chopped pork to the kids of those kids. You get to meet a lot of good people and I’d like to thank all of our customers who have supported us over the years”.
Charlie added: “Just recently I was having a drink when someone stuck a pint in front of me. ‘That’s for keeping me going on chopped pork when I was wee!’ he said! We have had some really good times and we’re bound to miss it – we’ve been doing it for
such a long time. It will be very sad when we lock these doors for the last time”.
The city council’s ‘21st Century Homes’ regeneration initiative was welcomed by most people – particularly those languishing
on waiting lists and tenants living in substandard accommodation. Around 470 new homes will be built in Muirhouse and Pennywell as part of the programme, bringing families – and customers – back to the area. Sadly, those 21st century homes will come too late to save the local butchers who served the community for well over half a century.
