Leith community non-profit to present case for vital funding to Edinburgh Council today 

THE Pilmeny Development Project (PDP), which provides aid to both young and old in their community, will present their petition for funding to Edinburgh’s Lord Provost today. 

The project, which runs from two sites on Buchanan Street, has been left with an uncertain future after the Edinburgh Integration Joint Board (EIJB) proposed cuts to funding. 

The cuts, set to be enforced in June this year, leave the PDP vulnerable to closure which would result in the loss of support for a large number of people who rely on the non-profit.

Though £3.5m of the council’s set budget has been allocated to community-based charities, the PDP has been left in the dark regarding how much of this they will receive. 

The PDP improves the range and provision for children’s services in Leith, enabling them to develop their capabilities through social and educational activities. 

They also help older people to improve their quality of life, ensuring that they are integrated into the community through markets, visits to housebound elderly people, and social events. 

A petition was created at the end of January this year, to “Save Pilmeny Development Project”, and now has over 450 signatures. 

This is on top of in-person signatures received at a community meeting held in February, in which preventative action against proposed cuts was discussed, taking the total to over 850. 

The group is set to present their petition to the Lord Provost and Councillor Tim Pogson today, at the Edinburgh City Chambers on the Royal Mile. 

On 20 February, the council approved £2.5m for third sector support from a Reform Reserve, on top of a further £1m of income resource. 

This came after the EIJB considered cuts of £4.5m to 64 Edinburgh-based charities and nonprofits. 

The board decided to postpone the cuts to June this year, meaning that small organisations such as the PDP are left with uncertainty about how they will continue after said cuts. 

PDP manager Anne Munro said today: “We are delighted the Lord Provost and Councillor Pogson have offered to meet with local older folk to receive the petition and to hear from them at first hand the impact of the 100% ‘disinvestment’ by EIJB.  

“PDP were fortunate to receive support from The One City Trust in 2022 towards our highly successful project ‘Coming out of Lockdown Re-Connecting Programme for Older People in Leith/NE Edinburgh, and to receive a letter of congratulations as part of PDP’s 45th Anniversary year from the Lord Provost in November 2024. 

“The continued support of our much-needed services is very welcome”