13 hours ago
- Health
- The Herald Scotland
Craigmillar's rise will help transform Edinburgh's success
In the 1980s that vision looked far off. A documentary made at the time called 'Craigmillar Not Out' painted a grim picture of a community blighted by 400 empty homes, with unemployment at twice the Scottish average and there was little hope for the young people living there. Edinburgh back then was a sleepy provincial city which was famous for its gap sites that blighted the city centre and as a place where nothing much ever happened. That limited opportunities for Craigmillar.
Over the years major investment has been made in the area, and both the community and the population has been transformed. The area still faces huge challenges, and the proportion of unemployed people is too large, but the opportunities are equally significant.
Craigmillar (Image: Gordon Terris) Craigmillar's population has grown faster than Edinburgh's. The Community Alliance Trust, which has been one of the areas great successes and champions in Craigmillar logged the local population at 7,500 in 2004. That figure has risen to over 19,000.
Craigmillar's population is also younger than Edinburgh's and Scotland's which is a huge asset in a country with an aging population. Only 10% of the population are elderly. Also, more of the population are working with 63% of the local people in work. Household incomes across the greater Craigmillar area are below the city average, but at £41,000 per year are higher than the Scottish and UK averages. That figure needs to be treated with some caution as the new housing and wider community being created still masks some very high levels of deprivation.
Another sign of hope is that the local high school Castlebrae is now growing and pushing forward with bold plans to improve attainment and create stronger links to employers in the area and beyond.
More than that Craigmillar sits beside a site of major international economic significance and an area with one of the highest concentrations of scientists anywhere in Europe. The combination of both the New Royal Infirmary (itself built at Little France to help regenerate Craigmillar) and the BioQuarter have created a powerful economic and scientific hub for Craigmillar, Edinburgh and Scotland. Both the Usher Institute and NHS/Edinburgh University 'DataLoch' are groundbreaking initiatives that help position Edinburgh as a scientific hub that both complements and competes on a par with Oxford and Cambridge.
50% of Edinburgh's population is educated to degree level according to the latest census. 70% of Edinburgh's population have higher level qualifications and the city ranks second in the UK just between Oxford at 74% and Cambridge at 64%. Note that Edinburgh is more than twice the size of Oxford and Cambridge combined. The knowledge economy being developed beside Craigmillar is one of Scotland's key economic assets and provides a unique opportunity to take regeneration in the area to new heights.
That hub sits between the communities of Craigmillar and Moredun. Both can successfully bring together the people without jobs and the jobs without people to further drive economic success and growth.
However, that success needs investment. Craigmillar sits on the route of Edinburgh's proposed Second Tram Line. As we have seen from Leith, which is one of Europe's most successful regenerations, Trams deliver regeneration unlike anything else.
However, funding has not been allocated to take the business case forward for Trams, despite it being found for extending the Borders Railway (which I enthusiastically support). I do think the Borders economy should see investment to help it grow and to help spread the benefits of Edinburgh's success, but so should Craigmillar and Moredun. We need policy that recognises the need to create wealth and spread it within and across the city region.
Craigmillar (Image: Gordon Terris) We should also recognise the amazing work that's been done to create some of Scotland's finest green space in the area. The green wedge between Arthur's Seat and the city bypass stunning and contains over 350 acres of stunning parkland and sports facilities. Exciting plans have been agreed in the City Plan 2030 to create the equivalent of the Water of Leith Walkway along the Niddrie/Burdiehouse Burn from the sea to the Pentlands. That creates the opportunity for a new cycle/pathway triangle running for fifty miles from the Pentlands to Leith, along the shore and back via Joppa. It would be the walking and cycling equivalent of the North Coast 500 for Edinburgh, with Craigmillar at its heart.
Craigmillar is no longer a community discussed purely in hushed terms. The community is strong because of organisations like the inspiring Community Alliance Trust and the equally inspirational Niddrie and Craigmillar Litterbusters, with whom I was out last weekend clearing litter and improving the area.
The debate about Craigmillar's future has never been brighter. Craigmillar can make a huge contribution to helping create a more successful capital city, and city region. Its young people can fill important jobs in science, health, research and care. As with Leith there is now the very real prospect of seeing Craigmillar take its place as one of Scotland's most successful and thriving communities and one of the jewels in Edinburgh's crown.
Donald Anderson is the Director of Playfair Scotland.
