Newhaven Community Update

The community of Newhaven is celebrating this week, after the Scottish Land Fund announced that it was awarding an exciting new community-led project the funds to purchase an old Victorian school and turn it into a vibrant new community hub. The Heart of Newhaven Community, (HoNC) a recently-formed local charity, can now go ahead with the purchase of Victoria Primary School, currently the oldest working primary school in Edin-burgh but due to move to new premises in the autumn. The charity had previously won the right to purchase the building from the City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) under the Community Asset Transfer scheme, on the back of its “robust business plan”, but plans were delayed as Covid hit the construction works at the new school. The award of £792,000 in the latest round of SLF grants will now enable the purchase to go ahead although the buildings themselves will not be available until the pupils move. The local community has been the prime mover in the whole project, ever since it was announced that the school would be relocating. Public meetings and consultations were held to find out what could be done with the site, a Newhaven landmark since 1844, and it was decided that as the area had no central focal point, the buildings could be converted into just such a hub, serving the needs of the community while also saving the iconic building from conversion into flats or even demolition. Following the first public meetings, a steering group of local volunteers was set up and this eventually converted into the board of HoNC, the Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SC049919) in February 2020. They were responsible for the application to CEC, the business plan, and all the other necessary documents and applications, including that to the SLF. HoNC Chairman, Rodney Matthews was delighted when the news of the funding was announced. “This news is even better than we hoped at the time of our original application long before the set-backs we have experienced over the past 18 months. We have been granted a total of £792,000 which will cover the purchase price agreed with CEC and help cover some initial developmental costs. This will enable us to sign a contract with the City of Edinburgh Council to give us vacant possession of the site as soon as the children have moved into their new school in Western Harbour. While that date is still unknown we are now able to move confidently forward with plans for what can now safely be called The Heart. Watch this space will now really apply to a much loved icon of Newhaven” The Gothic style listed building includes a relatively unchanged interior including original dado panelling, cast iron banisters and stone stairs and a double height hall, but the playground contains a modern, purpose-built addition in the form of the Anchor Building which opened in 2014 after the exciting discovery under the playground of the skeleton of someone who may have been a 16th century pirate. The new community hub will provide much needed pre-school childcare facilities, work spaces for local artists, a heritage suite and various rooms for the use of community groups. The threefold theme of Culture & Heritage and Learning & Enterprise uniting in contributing to Health & Wellbeing, aims to encourage various local partnership organisations and other charities to collaborate together on projects and activities which will create a safe centre for all generations to enjoy the space together. During lockdown and while awaiting the SLF decision, the charity has moved forward with various community projects. “Partnership working and collaboration with other local organisations is a critical element of our approach,” says Project Coordinator Judy Crabb. “We have already started to build important relationships with like-minded organisations through a series of small intergenerational projects

including working with Mens Shed of Leith, Pilmeny Development Project, and local artist Johnathan Elders to create Friendship Benches to go in the grounds of the Heart. Other initiatives include Pots of Newhaven kindness - pots sown with seeds to produce edible plants given by children from Victoria Primary School to local, housebound older people.” As part of their campaign, the charity held a Crowdfunding appeal earlier this year and raised their initial target of £5,000 (match-funding for architect-led community workshops to decide the use of the various spaces within the buildings on the site,) in only three weeks. “This is a brilliant project that will deliver huge community benefits. It’s well thoughtout and is being impressively wellorganised,” said one anonymous donor.