It’s likely to be several years before any animals return due to costs.
Phase one of a new five-year plan will see Fountainbridge-based community workshop Edinburgh Forge relocate to the site next month and host classes on “woodworking, metal working and other crafts”.
There is no timescale for when Gorgie Farm will reopen to the public however. It needs around £5m for maintenance and improvements to buildings, many of which were left in a poor condition by previous operators. The new charity will apply for “significant grant funding to deliver the works as quickly as possible,” a report said.
The council admitted there were “substantial risks to the proposal”, particularly around the significant investment required to deliver the vision of a community farm. “However, the GCF submission does demonstrate that a sustainable partnership approach could provide a successful community facility.”
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Other plans for 2025 include inviting volunteers back to work on the community gardens and allotments which have been left unattended and overgrown, hosting events, organising a community art project, and opening a coffee kiosk and children’s play area.
Charity Love Leaning ran the farm from 2019 but handed the keys back in January 2023 as it said running costs had skyrocketed to the point they were spending £27,000 on energy bills over just eight months. Around 50 animals including pigs, sheep and ducks were moved off the site and rehomed.
The council later brought in Edinburgh Voluntary Organisations Council (EVOC) and gave it £150,0000 to develop a plan for the farm’s future. It unveiled the blueprint for ‘Gorgie Community Farm’ last year proposing spaces for growing, outdoor play, community enterprises and markets, which the new charity will take forward if councillors approve the 25-year lease next week.
Some councillors expressed concern last October over EVOC’s “unexpected” decision to vacate the farm prior to a new operator being agreed, which led to a community gardening group being made to leave due to safety concerns.
For over 40 years prior to its closure Gorgie Farm served as a free attraction for youngsters and adults, while providing volunteering and employment opportunities to locals. It’s expected it will remain free for the public to visit once reopened.
The council received four bids to take over the farm after inviting expressions of interest from organisations able to ‘manage and run the site as a functioning asset to which the community will enjoy access, ensure the inclusivity of everyone, ensure buildings is property maintained and managed, and ensure full engagement and transparency with the local community’.
The bid “considered to best meet the required criteria for the vision of establishing a community farm” came from Gorgie Community Farm Limited (GCF), a report said.
Their vision is a “sustainable, inclusive and community driven facility that enhances the well-being of local residents through collaboration, education and social inclusion,” it added.
The charity’s long-term financial strategy is based on 40% revenue from subletting land to other organisations, 40% from grant funding and 20% from onsite events and sale of produce. “In the initial years,” the report said, “due to the condition of the site, it is recognised that a higher percentage of grants will be required. The GCF business plan includes a detailed funding plan outlining grants that will be targeted.”
GCF was established as a company last May and became a registered charity in September. One of its directors, Brendan O’Brien, is also a director and part-owner of W.M Armstrong’s, a chain of vintage clothes shops in Edinburgh. In addition he is a director of Textile Recycling International Limited, one of Europe’s largest textile recycling businesses, which called in administrators last year due to “challenging market conditions”.
GCF was contacted for comment.
If the lease is approved by the authority’s Finance and Resources Committee on Thursday, January 16, Edinburgh Forge will “immediately relocate to Gorgie Farm and continue to operate with their existing substantial membership”. The report revealed the community interest company originally submitted a proposal for Gorgie Farm however their preference “was to work with other partners on the site”.
Edinburgh Forge director James Mason told The Herald: “Our project has a wonderful membership with roots in the locality and we jumped at the chance to join in rejuvenating a much loved community space for Gorgie, Dalry and the wider city.
“Thanks to Graeme McGartland and the Fountainbridge Meanwhile project, we have seen first hand how empowering a space set aside for community groups can be. We are excited to bring that energy to Gorgie.
“Edinburgh Forge is an inclusive community workshop and makerspace, providing tools, machines and bench space to undertake woodwork, metalwork and other crafts that are impossible in the traditional tenement housing format.
“In short, we’re a place for the people of Edinburgh to come and learn new things, practice their creativity or take on projects while getting to know other local makers.”