Tag: Leith area

Leith Local History Society, Tuesday 18th March , Leith Community Centre, New Kirkgate

Do come along to the next meeting of the Leith Local History Society, on TUESDAY 18th March AT 7pm in Leith Community Education Centre, to hear this fascinating presentation:

The Royal Navy and Leith between 1780 and 1805

Brian Pinkstone will share his research into Royal Navy ships, some with Leith crew or ‘pressed men’ who escorted valuable cargo during a time when shipping could be attacked by privateers

All welcome, £2 or free to members

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Leith Local History Society, Tuesday 18th February , Leith Community Centre

Do come along to the next meeting of the Leith Local History Society, on TUESDAY 18th February AT 7pm in Leith Community Education Centre, to hear this fascinating presentation:

Archaeology of Leith Fort and the Leith Gas works on Constitution Street

Steven Watt from AOC Archaeology will explain some of the finds found during excavations on both sites.

All welcome, £2 or free to members

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Keeping in touch

Leith Links Community Council does not meet officially in December, but we are all still here, and happy to hear from any member of the local community who wishes to get in touch, to ask a question or report an issue. We will always try to help if we can.

You can contact us on contact@leithlinkscc.org.uk

If you have an urgent problem, you may be better to contact the City of Edinburg Council directly, via @edinhelp if you are on ‘X’

Or via the website  https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/report

Or contact your elected City of Edinburgh Councillor, we have 3 for our area:

adam.nols-mcvey@edinburgh.gov.uk

chas.booth@edinburgh.gov.uk

cllr.katrina.faccenda@edinburgh.gov.uk

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For anyone struggling to afford food –

Foodbank information can be found here

Useful info about other sources of free or cheap food, community meals etc. can be found here

See also:
Morrisons: Ask for Henry
A free jacket potato topped with Heinz Cheesy Beanz. This initiative was brought back in 2024 after successful campaigns in 2022 and 2023.
Kids Eat Free
A free kids meal with any adult meal over £5. This includes a choice of main, side, and veg, plus a drink.
Kellogg’s Breakfast Club
A free breakfast in Morrisons cafes during the summer holidays. This initiative was run in partnership with Kellogg’s to support families when school breakfast clubs are unavailable.
Ask for Ellen
A free pair of Warburtons crumpets with jam and butter. This offer is available at the till point in Morrisons cafes.

Asda:
£1 meals for over 60’s at all Asda Cafe’s are back as part of their Winter Warmer campaign.

 Soup + roll + unlimited tea or coffee for only £1 

 For over 60’s

️ From 1st November 2024 until end of February 2025

 All-day availability at all 205 Asda Cafés (check before going – as some are unaware)

‍‍ Kids eat for £1, too (a £1 kids cold pick and mix selection that includes a sandwich, drink and piece of fruit)

From 1st November until the end of February, Asda are offering people aged 60 and over the chance to enjoy soup, a roll and unlimited tea and coffees for just £1 in any of Asda’s 205 cafes.
Fuel
You can get a £49 Fuel Bank voucher in Scotland through a number of organizations, including:
Fuel Bank Foundation: Offers £49 vouchers to prepayment meter customers who are experiencing a fuel crisis. You can be referred to the Fuel Bank Foundation by Community Advice Services or Advice and Support Hub staff. 
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Major roadworks incoming…

The next phase of the Leith Connections work is about to start, so be prepared for significant disruption to pedestrians, traffic, cyclists and bus services…..

Work starts next week on Great Junction Street, and will work its way gradually down Henderson Street throughout winter, spring and summer 2025, to Sandport Bridge. At the same time, works will be taking place up from Commercial Street, Sandport Place etc.

Download a leaflet here that outlines the work.

Buses may go down Cables Wynd instead of Henderson Street.

It’s not going to be fun for road users or for pavement users, so you might want to start rethinking journey times and/or figuring out alternative routes….?

If you have concerns / problems, please email leithconnections@edinburgh.gov.uk
and copy to your Councillors:
chas.booth@edinburgh.gov.uk, adam.nols-mcvey@edinburgh.gov.uk, Cllr.katrina.faccenda@edinburgh.gov.uk

 

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Leith’s Got Talent! Apply now!

Are you ready to showcase your skills? Leith Festival is excited to announce ‘Leith’s Got Talent,’ an exhilarating event series designed for both adults (18+) and young people (14-17 yrs)!
This is your chance to shine and share your unique talents with the community.
Whether you sing, dance, perform magic or have a hidden talent we want to see what you’ve got!
(family appropriate of course)
* Applications are invited from individuals and groups
* Applications close: midnight 13-10-2024
* Applicants are required to share a video as part of the audition process
A longlist for each category will be selected to perform in heats (w/c 18th November 2024), with the top acts invited to perform again at our grand final event (w/c 25th November 2024).
THE MAIN PRIZE IS A PERFORMANCE SPOT AT GALA DAY 2025
– your performance must be suitable for the main stage space – contained to 6x4m stage space & outdoor conditions
Please complete this application form and email a 1-min video showcasing your act to office@leithfestival.com
There may also be a couple of volunteer opportunities available for people who want to get involved in another way –  particularly if they are interested in event or stage management.
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More big developments in the docks – have your say 6th August, Ocean Terminal

There is another new application going in to Planning, to develop land within Leith docks. This proposal is to build a manufacuring facility for offshore wind turbine blades, a laydown area, and all associated and ancillary development on land to the east of of Imperial Dock.

Click here to download flier

Further details here

The developers are obliged to consult with the local community, and are holding a drop-in public event on Tuesday 6th August between 3pm and 7pm, at the Ocean Terminal (ground floor, beside Costa Coffee).

Do please go along to find out what is planned, and make your views known!

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Leith Local History Society April talk BRUCE KEITH Scotland Beneath the Surface

Bruce Keith joins us again for his talk, Scotland Beneath the Surface

Everything underground! Souterrains, manmade tunnels from castles and for roads and railways, pumped storage schemes, mines for coal and shale, quarries and more…

The talk is at Leith Community Education Centre, New Kirkgate, Leith (up the stair from the shops) on Tuesday 19 March 2024, at 7.00 pm. Admission is £2∙00, or free for members 

llhs_flyer_for_apr_2024

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Student Accommodation in Manderston Street Bingo Hall?

This is not technically in the Leith Links Community Council area, but it sits right on the boundary.

Developers are proposing to redevelop the old Bingo Hall in Manderston Street into purpose built student accommodation. (The current Bingo operators Club 3000, will move to new premises in Ocean Terminal, summer 2024.)

The building is not a historical listed building, but it is part of the Leith Conservation Area, and is an iconic building and local public institution.

Is student accommodation what we need in this location? If not, what does the Leith community need / want to see there?

Please go along to the public exhibition this Wednesday 17th January, between 4pm and 7:30pm to hear and see what the developers are proposing. And please make your views known to them, at this early stage, before they actually put in a formal planning application. This is what they have to say:

Former Leith bingo hall to be redeveloped – Public Consultation Event – Wednesday 17th January, at McDonald Road Library

Developer Longstone Limited has unveiled plans to conserve and redevelop the existing bingo hall on Manderston Steet into new student homes. This is in response to a local desire to preserve the building, located in the Leith Conservation Area, and address a chronic undersupply of student accommodation in the capital.  

The existing building is in poor condition and is extremely energy inefficient. 

The conservation and retention of the property does restrict its uses and following the building’s inclusion in the Leith Conservation Area, the potential to use the site for housing was explored.

However, the building is not well-suited to a residential conversion and a viable scheme would fail to comply with many of the Council’s planning policies for new housing (for example, dual aspect dwellings and minimum open space requirements). If housing were to be delivered, it would require the demolition of the building.

The proposed use as student homes allows for the creation of a high-quality development that complies with the Council’s student housing policies, while also retaining and enhancing the elements of the building that contribute to the surrounding Conservation Area.

The use of the space for student homes, will also serve to free up residential properties that otherwise would have been used by students, whose numbers in Edinburgh’s universities have grown by over 25% between 2016/17 and 2021/22 (Cushman & Wakefield Student Needs Assessment, July 2023).

While a public consultation event is not a statutory requirement, a newsletter promoting this has been circulated locally and can be accessed here. This consultation event will take place on Wednesday 17th January 2024 between 4:00pm and 7:30pm in McDonald Road Library, 2-8 McDonald Road, Edinburgh EH7 4LU. 

Exhibition boards detailing the project will be available at the event, as well as from the project website (www.manderston-street.co.uk) on the day of the event. 

Orbit Communications

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Some previews of their plans are available elsewhere:

https://www.urbanrealm.com/news/10814/Historic_Leith_bingo_hall_to_declare_a_full_house_.html

https://www.scottishconstructionnow.com/articles/student-accommodation-planned-at-former-leith-bingo-

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