The LeithChooses 2025/2026 results are in!

Posted on by

The results are now in for LeithChooses 2025/2026.

Following the voting day and the online 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):

  • Milan Senior Welfare Organisation
  • Dr Bell’s Family Centre
  • Living Memory Association
  • Leith Community Growers
  • Water of Leith Conservation Trust
  • Edinburgh Community Food
  • Edinburgh & Lothians Regional Equality Council
  • Pilmeny Development Project
  • Mustard Seed Edinburgh
  • Kin Collective Family Wellbeing

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.

 

Remember to vote online before 10 February!

Posted on by

Online voting for this year’s £eithChooses is LIVE NOW and waiting for you!
Here is the link: www.edinburgh.gov.uk/voteleithchooses

Even if you voted in-person at the Community Centre on 24 January, you can still vote again online. To be eligible to vote, you must live in Leith, work in Leith, or volunteer or study in Leith and be able to give the post code. The details of all the projects applying for funding are laid out for you to read and you then click to vote for three different projects, plus one (optional) ‘boost’ vote for an ethnic minority project.

Do it now! And please be sure to share this info and get all your Leith friends, family and workmates to vote too!

Online voting closes on 10 February

Vote! Vote! Vote! Online is open now!

Posted on by

Online voting for this year’s £eithChooses is now OPEN and LIVE and waiting for you! Here is the link: www.edinburgh.gov.uk/voteleithchooses

If you missed out on Saturday’s voting day, all is not lost, you can vote online. To be eligible to vote, you must live in Leith, work in Leith, or volunteer or study in Leith and be able to give the post code. The details of all the projects applying for funding are laid out for you to read and you then click to vote for three different projects, plus one (optional) ‘boost’ vote for an ethnic minority project.

AND – woo-hoo! – even if you voted in-person  at the Community Centre on Saturday, you can still vote again online – you get an extra vote for having turned out in the rain (only joking, it still works even if it is good weather).

Do it! And be sure to share this info and get all your Leith friends, family and workmates to vote too!

Online voting closes on 10 February

Leith Chooses Voting Day is here!

Posted on by

Voting Day is here!

  • Do come to the Leith Community Centre between 11 and 3 pm to cast your votes.
  • It is fun, you will learn all about great community groups, charities and projects in Leith.
  • Free Refreshments
  • Free face-painting for kids, also a smoothie bike

Please note that the lift at the Newkirkgate shopping centre is unfortunately out of order and will not be available for the LeithChooses event. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. Volunteers in branded t-shirts will be on hand to support and redirect any voters who need step free access to either access the event in Leith Community Centre via the ramp in Lidl car park, or to vote in the Utilita hub on the ground floor of the Newkirkgate (volunteers, a hot drink and information about how to vote will be available at Utilita). If additional help is required on the day, you can also call the event team on 07718569916.

 

Who will YOU vote for?

Posted on by

We are getting very excited as £eith Chooses Voting Day approaches – only one more week to go!
You can vote if you are 8 years or over, and you live in Leith, work in Leith, or volunteer or go to school or college in Leith. Please DO vote! You will be voting for funding for projects that can improve well-being within the Leith community.

The live Voting Day at the Leith Community Centre in the Kirkgate is Saturday 24 January 2026. It is always a really interesting and fun day, so please don’t miss it – be there, or be square!  The day opens at 11am for those who need some ‘quiet time’, and the main times are 12 – 3pm.

Sadly, not all of the great projects on offer will be able to win funding, as the Community Grants Fund ‘pot’ is limited to £44,707.16.  You really need to be sure to vote – and to tell all your friends and family to vote too!

If you can’t make it in person on Saturday 24rth, you can still vote online from Tuesday 27th January. Actually, you can do both! People who come along in person to support the community get an extra vote – one in-person, and one online at www.edinburgh.gov.uk/voteleithchooses. (This link is not live yet for voting though.)

It will help you to decide who to vote for if you take a wee moment here to read through the project outlines online before you come along.

 

 

 

Happy New Year from £eith Chooses!

Posted on by

Hope everybody had a great Christmas and New Year!
January is £eith Chooses month – please remember to cast your vote for your favoured projects.

Voting Day at the Community Centre is Saturday 24 January 2026 (online voting opens on 27 January). It will help you to decide who to vote for if you take a wee moment to read through the project outlines online before you come along, as otherwise the day can sometimes get a bit overwhelming.

Sadly, not all of the great projects on offer will be able to win funding, as the Community Grants Fund ‘pot’ is limited to £44,707.16.  You really need to be sure to vote – and to tell all your friends and family to vote too! You can vote in person on Saturday 24rth or you can vote online from Tuesday 27th January. Or you can do both!

Have a look at all these great projects!

Posted on by

Wow! This year’s Leith Chooses has attracted a record number of applicants! The ‘Gallery’ is now open and you can see details of all the proposed projects here, in advance of voting in January 2026.

Loads of great projects are being proposed but sadly, not all of them will be able to win funding, as the Community Grants Fund ‘pot’ is limited to £44,707.16.  You need to be sure to vote for your preferred projects – and tell all your friends and family to vote too!

Date for your diary- Voting Day at the Community Centre is Saturday 24 January 2026 (online voting opens on 27 January). It will help you to decide who to vote for if you take a wee moment to read through the project outlines online before you come along, as otherwise the day can sometimes get a bit overwhelming.

Applications are being processed

Posted on by

What’s happening just now at £eith  Chooses?

The deadline for applications has passed, so no new applications can now be accepted.

All the applications submitted by the deadline are being processed, and you will be notified very soon if there is any further information required, and whether or not your application is eligible and has been accepted.

You have until 28th November to supply any final missing details that you have been asked for, to complete your application, in order to have it accepted.

Aftert that, the proposed project outline of all the eligible applications will be published here on this website, from 5th December, so that voters can have a good long time to read the previews and start to form ideas about who they will vote for, in January.

Any queries, please contact: leithchooses@edinburgh.gov.uk

Application deadline extended to November 5th.

Posted on by

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

Posted on by

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.