Volunteers are appealing for £40,000 to keep the embattled Muirhouse Millennium Centre open in North Edinburgh.
The community centre offers a wide range of activities, clubs, and support services to the Muirhouse community and is the base of Low-Income Families Together (LIFT).
The centre is owned by the community, but funding has been cut. The last time the centre received funding from the council was in 2019.
Instead, the centre relies on funding from hiring rooms and the partnership with LIFT.
It has struggled to raise enough in the face of rising lighting and running costs.
Danielle Leadbitter, Muirhouse local and manager of LIFT addressed the council: “If we were forced to close, people would have nowhere to go. Crime would rise, poverty would get worse, and you would find more and more people turning up at the council to get help.
“It feels like upper-class communities get what they ask for, but we are made to beg.”
Jonny Alvarez-Buylla, chair of Edinburgh Labour Students (ELS), said: “I’m afraid this crisis highlights a bigger issue – the chronic underfunding of Edinburgh’s local services by the SNP Government in Holyrood.
“Labour understands that a well-funded local government is essential for delivering services people rely on. That’s why we are committed to properly funding councils if elected in 2026 – so that vital community hubs are protected, not constantly fighting for survival.”
“Edinburgh Council building – geograph.org.uk – 1315978” by kim traynor is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.