LeithChooses

Participatory Budgeting for the Leith Neighbourhood Network

LeithChooses

Application deadline extended to November 5th.

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Local charities and constituted community groups are invited to apply for project funding of up to £5,000. As usual, projects should be new or adding new value (not continued funding of an existing service) that will be of benefit to the community in Leith. Projects should be designed to start after 31st March 2026 and run until March 2027 at the latest. The theme for this year is ‘Well-being in Leith’ and the new deadline for applications is midnight on Wednesday 5th November 2025.

We welcome your applications using our new online form at edinburgh.gov.uk/applyleithchooses. If you would like access to the application form in a different format, please contact leithchooses@edinburgh.gov.uk.

Be sure to also download and read the LeithChooses guidance notes, to check if your project is eligible, and to guide you in putting together your application.

New application deadline: Midnight on Wednesday 5th November 2025

Theme: Well-being in Leith

Application form: edinburgh.gov.uk/applyleithchooses

If you have any questions or would like any support from the steering group with your application, please get in touch as early as possible to allow time for discussions, by emailing leithchooses@edinburgh.gov.uk.

More support for applicants

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If you’re considering applying for LeithChooses funding but have any questions at all, you are very welcome to come to any of these support sessions (details updated due to factors beyond our control):

  • Saturday 4 Oct, 10am – 4pm at Utilita Leith (Kirkgate) 2:30 to 5pm at Persevere room, Leith Community Centre
  • Wednesday 15 Oct, 5.30pm at Leith Community Centre.

No need to book – just come along!

If you can’t make any of these, you are very welcome to email us at LeithChooses@edinburgh.gov.uk.

Reminders: LeithChooses applications are open, support for applicants

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Applications now open

Local charities and constituted community groups are invited to apply for project funding of up to £5,000. As usual, projects should be new or adding new value that will be of benefit to the community in Leith. Projects should start after 31st March 2026 and run until March 2027 at the latest. The theme for this year is ‘Well-being in Leith’. Continue reading →

Would you like help with your £eithChooses application?

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Are you a new applicant? Have you got an idea that needs refining? Would you like to discuss anything, before sending in your application?
Please feel free to come along to speak to us this Wednesday 17th September, at 5:30pm, in the Leith Community Centre (upstairs at the Kirkgate).
Or Saturday 4th October 2.30pm – 5pm, at Leith Community Centre at the Kirkgate, 10am-4pm
We would like to offer as much support as possible. It’s important to ask for help as early as possible in the process – please don’t leave it to the last minute!
If you would like some help with applying, please get in touch.
  • You can email leithchooses@edinburgh.gov.uk if you have questions, or to ask for someone to phone you or arrange a meeting (face to face or online), to discuss.
  • To talk to someone face to face, you can ‘drop in’ and visit a Steering Group meeting. These are held most Wednesdays at 3pm in the upstairs room at McDonald Road Library. We suggest you might email  (as above) to check a meeting is on that week, before coming along.
  • You can ‘drop in’ and visit an evening Steering Group meeting. These are held one Wednesday per month at 5:30pm in the Leith Community Centre, New Kirkgate. Upcoming dates for these are: 17th September; 15th October 2025
  • We’re also doing a pop-up support session on Saturday 4rth October, in the Utilita shop in the Kirkgate, 10am-4pm. Come in for a free coffee and a chat!

 

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Applications for LeithChooses 2025/26 are now open!

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Local charities and constituted community groups are invited to apply for project funding of up to £5,000. As usual, projects should be new or adding new value (not continued funding of an existing service) that will be of benefit to the community in Leith. Projects should be designed to start after 31st March 2026 and run until March 2027 at the latest. The theme for this year is ‘Well-being in Leith’ and the deadline for applications is midnight on Wednesday 22nd October 2025.

We welcome your applications using our new online form at edinburgh.gov.uk/applyleithchooses. If you would like access to the application form in a different format, please contact leithchooses@edinburgh.gov.uk or 07743 167 340.

Be sure to also download and read the LeithChooses guidance notes, to check if your project is eligible, and to guide you in putting together your application. You can also read additional guidance and a sample application form from Edinburgh Council.

If you have any questions or would like any support from the steering group with your application, please get in touch as early as possible to allow time for discussions, by emailing leithchooses@edinburgh.gov.uk.

You are also welcome to come along to a Steering Group meeting, to discuss your project ideas, and ask for advice on completing the Application Form. See ‘About’ page for details.

We look forward to hearing your ideas for new projects.

Theme for 2025/26 is ‘Well-being in Leith’

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The Theme for 2025-2026 LeithChooses will be:

“Well-being in Leith”

Following feedback from previous years’ evaluations and our 2023 Community Conversation session, we asked members of the Leith community for their views on what the ‘Theme’ of next year’s LeithChooses should be, giving a choice of four possible options and also inviting them to put forward any other ideas. This was circulated in  May/June via the LeithChooses website, and via NextDoor, FaceBook, ‘X’,  and by email to all past applicants and to the wider mailing list. Unfortunately only 35 responses were received overall (thank you for those!), and no single option garnered even 50% of the votes. No new suggestions were put forward. The four options provided were:

  • Healthier and Safer Leith (13 votes)
  • Nurturing Connections (8 votes)
  • Culture and Creativity (7 votes)
  • Greener and Cleaner Leith (7 votes)

Because 35 responses can hardly be considered representative of the whole Leith community, after careful consideration and discussion, the LeithChooses Steering Group decided on a different theme, which we feel encapsulates the core of the most popular theme ‘Healthier and Safer Leith’, and is also broad enough to cover project proposals from the other three suggested themes / areas of activity.

Therefore the Theme agreed upon for 2025-2026 LeithChooses is:

“Well-being in Leith”

Now – what exciting community projects will local groups come up with, in line with that theme? Can’t wait to find out!

Applications to £EITH Chooses 2025/26 will open on Wednesday 13th August 2025.

 

Choose your themes for next year!

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Leithers, we need to hear from you, please!  We are planning for LeithChooses 2026 now, but as per our ‘Community Conversation’ commitments, we would like YOU to determine which topics or themes ought to be given priority. In the past, some years we have had very ‘open’ themes, other years we have asked that all project applications for funding should be focused on particular areas/types of activity.

Here are a few suggestions. Please select the one (or those) that you like best, and/or add your own suggestions.

  1. Healthier and Safer Leith
  2. Culture and Creativity
  3. Greener, Cleaner Leith
  4. Nurturing Connections
  5. Other (your ideas)

Please email your choices and ideas directly to LeithChooses@edinburgh.gov.uk, with ‘Themes for 2026’ in the subject line)

Update, 31 March 2025

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Most of this year’s successful community groups will have received their LeithChooses funding by now, from the Council Community Grants Fund, or very soon will, and will be starting on their project. We look forward to reporting more about these activities as they develop. Keep in touch and let us know of anything interesting going on, so we can pass that on to the Leith community.

Meanwhile the LeithChooses Steering Group is analysing the feedback provided by voters and applicants on the day and via our recent online surveys, and working on plans to streamine and improve the LeithChooses process in the future. Please get in touch at any time of you have any ideas, or would like to visit (or even join) the Steering Group.

Contact: LeithChooses@edinburgh.gov.uk

LeithChooses needs you! Please help by filling in a short evaluation survey.

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Thank you to everyone who applied to and/or voted during LeithChooses in 2024/25. We would be very grateful if you would complete a short survey about your experience as applicants and/or voters. These surveys should each take no more than 10 minutes to complete, and we would really value your feedback so we can keep working on improvements the LeithChooses process for this coming financial year.

The surveys are open for feedback until Monday 31st March.

The LeithChooses results are in!

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The LeithChooses 24/25 results are in!

Following the voting period, and after totting up all the votes cast by the Leith community, the groups that have been successful in receiving funding for their community projects are now revealed  (in no particular order):

  • Building Bridges
  • Leith Runs Together
  • Leith Community Growers
  • ELREC
  • Citadel Youth Centre
  • Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain
  • Hibernian Community Foundation
  • Dr. Bells Family Centre
  • Nepal Scotland Association
  • Edinburgh Remakery
  • Broughton Primary School Parent Council (partial award)

Congratulations to all of them, and wishing them the very best of luck in getting their projects up and running.

Commiserations to all those who were not successful on this occasion. We wish you well in all your other undertakings.

Warmest thanks to ALL who took part.