Blackhall Community Trust

Blackhall Community Trust is a company limited by guarantee registered in Scotland No SC551774 and a Scottish Charity No SC047250.

Blackhall is a former village which is now part of the north-western suburbs of Edinburgh. In 2016/2017, a community consultation ran over several months to try and identify unmet community needs. The consultation was initiated by the Board of Blackhall Nursery, a community-run early years centre, which had already identified a shortfall in places for local pre-schoolers at Blackhall Nursery because of a shortage of space. The consultation led to an list of priorities – a community hub, improved recreational spaces and more early years places at Blackhall Nursery. Public meetings over the course of the year agreed that Blackhall Community Trust should be set up as a company and as a charity. The Trust was then charged with trying to address the identified community needs.

Since 2017, we (the Board of Blackhall Community Trust) have been regularly running a book group, a walking group and a coffee morning for those who feel isolated or who would like to get more involved in the community. We have also been working to identify possible locations for a community hub/an expanded nursery. This has led us to the current proposal to improve Ravelston Park Pavilion. A Scottish Land Fund grant of just over £15k has enabled us to award contracts, after competitive tenders, to a design team for preliminary designs and to a business consultant for a business plan and feasibility study.