July 2022

6 NEWS
Cheer-io says council
Cheerleaders training interrupted by loss of facilities
By PHYLLIS STEPHEN
AMONG THE YOUNG people at cheerleading
rehearsals at Liberton High School there could
be some future Olympians, as the sport has
now been recognised by the International
Olympic Committee.
Diamond Cheerleaders have held their
practice sessions in the gym hall where there is
a lot of excitement in the air – as well as some
of the young athletes. In addition to Olympic
status for their sport this group has been
successful in a bid to compete in Florida in
April next year at the end of season Summit.
The cheerleaders hope to travel to the States for
training and to see the “Worlds” – as long as
they can raise enough money to get them there.
But The City of Edinburgh Council who
manage the let of the premises at Liberton
High School have advised that the group has to
leave and find somewhere else to train since
they are not a “Tier One” tenant. They will
instead give the space in the gym to a dance
group who have that status. The matter remains
unresolved.
Gill Samuel who runs Black Diamonds with
her daughter Natalie said: “We are no further
forward. The council met with us but will not
let the premises to us on Mondays and
Tuesdays. We have lodged a complaint but this
will not be heard until mid July. We have more
than 1090 signatures on a petition on our
Facebook and Instagram pages. Some of our
parents set it up. We still hope that the council
will speak to us as we feel totally ignored.”
The cheerleaders were offered alternatives at
Portobello or Castlebrae but neither of these is
suitable according to Gill who explained they
need huge mats for safety reasons and there is
nowhere to store these as there is in Liberton.
The headteacher of Liberton High has offered
them the Assembly Hall, but the school would
always have priority over using that space.
Other councils - Midlothian and East Lothian
- have been in contact to see what they can do
to help by offeering training facilities.
Gill said: “Some of our young people have
autism or Asperger’s. Change is not good for
them - and anyway to get to Portobello some of
them would have to take three buses.”
COMMENTS ONLINE ARE HEARTFELT...
Caitlin McDonald said: “Unreal! my girl
attends liberton high 3 times a week for cheer.
She absolutely loves it. the coaches work so
hard with these girls and to take away there
training hall is a disgrace!!”
Shannon Doherty said: “the coaches and kids
work sooo hard and to take away this facility
from the club is shocking! the confidence this
cheer club has given my niece has been
amazing and to take it away would just be
shameful!”
New Meadowbank sports centre set to reopen
THE NEW Meadowbank Sports
Centre will open on 19 July,
following delays caused by the
Covid-19 pandemic and snagging
of the new building.
The Edinburgh Leisure team are
about to move into their new
offices at Meadowbank and the
public will now be able to use the
new facility. The £47million
project is a state-of-the-art
community sports facility built on
the site of the original
Meadowbank, which closed five
years ago. It was built for the first
Commonwealth Games held in
Edinburgh in 1970. It was also
used for the 1986 Games.
The new facilities are
accessible, and indoor facilities
are much improved with
multi-sport halls with seating,
gym with triple the number of
exercise stations and three large
fitness studios.
Council Leader Cammy Day
said: “I’m delighted that we can
now confirm when the doors for
this fantastic new venue will open
to the public. Meadowbank, I
believe is one of the country’s top
community sports centres, and
features some of the most
state-of-the-art fitness facilities in
Britain. I very much look forward
to seeing it bustling with sporting
activity through the wide range
of activities and classes.
“Participation and accessibility
is at the heart of the Centre and
the huge physical, mental and
social benefits Meadowbank will
bring to generations of local
people simply can’t be
overestimated. Bright welcoming
spaces are flooded with natural
light, providing welcoming and
versatile halls, where a real variety
of sports and activities will take
place. Meadowbank has been an
important part of Scotland’s
sporting history for many years
and I’m sure the new Centre will
build on this legacy.”
Edinburgh Leisure’s Chief
Executive, June Peebles, said: “I’m
delighted that the finishing line is
in sight, and we are finally able to
announce the opening of this
new flagship venue. It’s been a
long time coming but I promise
you it will have been worth
the wait.
“The forthcoming weeks before
we open, will see Donald
Goldsmith, the manager at
Meadowbank, and his team
getting the venue cleaned,
prepped and ready for our public
opening on 19 July.”
Venues aiming
for £22m boost
By DONALD TURVILL
Local Democracy Reporter
EDINBURGH’S THEATRES and concert
venues could get a £22 million boost as the
council prepares to submit a funding bid to
‘level up’ the capital’s cultural buildings.
A separate application will be submitted
in an effort to secure investment for a
major redevelopment of Inch Park.
The deadline for the second round of the
UK Government’s Levelling Up fund is 6
July. In a previous successful bid £16
million was awarded to the restoration of
the Granton Gas Holder. This time, the
council is turning its attention to the city’s
festival venues and will ask for £22.1
million to “renew and revitalise” cultural
infrastructure and boost artistic
opportunities in Edinburgh’s most
disadvantaged neighbourhoods.
If Westminster backs the bid, funding
would be spread across several existing
projects including the regeneration of the
King’s Theatre, Leith Theatre, the Queen’s
Hall and the Usher Hall.
It would also close the remaining
funding gap for the completion of the
Macmillan Hub, a new community arts
centre for Pennywell and Muirhouse, as
well as cover some of the costs of an
extension to the WHALE Arts building in
Wester Hailes.
The bid says: “The first Edinburgh
Festival was held in 1947 to ‘provide a
platform for the flowering of the human
spirit’ by bringing people and artists
together through culture after a period of
global turmoil. As we emerge from the
Covid pandemic, this is the moment to
revitalise this ambition.
“Adding to recent investment such
as the flagship city centre Dunard Centre
and the University of Edinburgh’s Futures
Institute, this project would broaden
cultural engagement and help revitalise
communities.”
The Council is also applying for £20
million of levelling up cash to revitalise Inch
Park. An agreed masterplan states the
project will comprise a restoration of Inch
House “to improve its current function as a
community centre”, redevelopment of the
park’s plant nursery to include retail and
café space and the construction of a new
indoor gym hall for Inch Park Community
Sports Club.
The park’s playground will be relocated
and ‘significantly upgraded’, whilst paths
and benches will be improved.