The video showing all the work carried out lasts 10 minutes can be viewed below:

1st May work starts- L to R. Kyle Purves (All Aspects Building), Cllr Frank Ross, Jim Mcdonaugh ( FoRP ), Pete Gregson (FoRP) and James Whyte (All Aspects Building)

Cllr Ross helped secure the lion’s share of the renovation costs from Edinburgh Council- the rest came from residents and small funders (see below). Any questions? Please email friendsofroseburnmembership@gmail.com

ABOVE YOU WILL SEE THE PROGRESS OF THE BUILDING WORK AS IT BEGINS IN MAY, ALL THE WAY TO COMPLETION 

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ORIGINAL POSTING- 22nd March 2022

BEFORE

In the News: Edinburgh Reporter 23 March 2022   Edinburgh Evening News 25 March 2022   Edinburgh Live 23 March 2022

Work will start in early MAY on refurbishing the derelict toilet block in the park and converting it into a community cafe.

The Friends of Roseburn Park (FoRP) are delighted to announce that after ten long years of trials and tribulations, refurbishment of the derelict toilet block, set in the heart of Roseburn Park, will commence in early May 2022. Conversion of the block into a new café with public toilets should be complete by summer 2023.

It is anticipated that this new amenity will attract more people to the park, which lies in the shadow of Murrayfield Stadium, with this added attraction to the many sporting activities that take place there, and with café facing onto the FoRP Armoury Mural completed in 2019.

The now derelict toilet block is distinctive; it was built in 1903, designed by the office of the eminent City Architect at the time, Robert Morham, as the park’s pavilion. Later used as a bothy for the park keepers and was converted for additional use as public toilets in 1936. It has been closed since 1982. The refurbishment comes at a welcome time, as the roof is beginning to collapse and nature is taking over the interior, with roots crawling everywhere and trees sprouting from the roof.

The work could never have progressed beyond the initial concept in 2012 without the ceaseless efforts of FoRP Trustees and members who have provided their skills, expertise and time on a wholly voluntary basis. In addition, the support provided by architectural designer Craig Proudfoot of One Foot Square and technical input by Paul Harding has proven invaluable in getting this project off the drawing board.

The refurbishment work will be carried out by All Aspects Building & Construction Scotland ltd under the directorship of James Purves and will be project managed by Craig.

The plan is for the building work to be complete by Summer 2023, with the operator opening the café with hot drinks, snacks and ice cream and endeavouring to keep it open as much as is feasible throughout the year. FoRP knows from the Council’s footfall recording devise that 1800 pedestrians and 450 cyclists use the park every day. They believe that the café will draw even more users to enjoy the park, thus helping to make it a year-round going concern.

Funding the refurbishment has been the greatest challenge of all. Following the launch of the Air Raid Protection mural in Sept 2019, the then chairperson, Pete Gregson, organised a crowdfunder, and launched it with this leaflet, stuffed through thousands of local doors (around 6,000 live in the ward; most use the park)  by a team of volunteers. The business plan and designs were made available to all at www.friendsofroseburnpark.org.uk/cafeconversion and FoRP, with their “buy a brick” scheme raised a total of £8,864 within 4 months.

This gave FoRP a strong foundation to leverage additional grants: Baillie Gifford Investments (£1,000), Virgin Money Lounge (£2,000) and the Evelyn Drysdale Trust (£1,500) + (£2,000).

In March 2020, with £13,364 in the kitty, the Trustees proceeded to make applications to a variety of public and private sources for the outstanding monies required to fund the project.

This effort culminated in July 2021 with FoRP being awarded £66,000 by City of Edinburgh Council Placed Based Investment Programme. Proposed by The Lord Provost, Councillor Frank Ross, FoRP’s café project was approved for funding by Councillors enabling works to commence spring 2022.

Under the new chairmanship of Jim McDonaugh, FoRP Trustees then engaged in extended and intensive planning in getting the design finalised and the tender package prepared. Around 10 builders were approached to ask if they would be interested in tendering for the works.

In February 2022, negotiations finally completed and preferred supplier status was bestowed upon All Aspects Building & Construction Scotland Ltd. On the 2^nd March 2022, FoRP finalised commercial terms with AAB&C and signed the contract with a start date of early May.

Jim McDonaugh said ”At last! This is exactly what our community and park visitors have been waiting for! The refurbished building will be so better than the present eyesore- FoRP are returning the exterior to the way it would have looked when it was first built, 116 years ago- and the interior into a warm and inviting cafe. Visitors will have somewhere to go for a hot drink and a snack – maybe even a light meal- when the work is complete.

It has not been a straight forward project, but working with experienced cafe managers FoRP have come up with a design that gives 30 sq m of floor space as well as a spacious public toilet, kitchen and storage. etc”

Pete Gregson said “It’s been a rollercoaster- on so many occasions I thought we had taken on the impossible; I can’t believe there will still be something to show to my kids in the park that will be there long after I am gone.”

Lord Provost and Ward Councillor Frank Ross said:

 “Converting the old toilet block into a café for the whole community to enjoy is a great idea. It will help to support local jobs and volunteering opportunities, while providing a warm and accessible space for local people to meet up. 

The conversion, which will include an accessible toilet,  has the backing of local residents and I was delighted to secure the Council funding for the FoRP to allow it to proceed.

Additionally, income from the cafe will help to support other projects led by the Friends of Roseburn Park to improve the overall amenity and quality of the Park.”

Further materials on the background to the project can be found here

On 10th November, our Treasurer, John Yellowlees, organised the unveiling of the plaque marking where the artist Charles H Mackie lived on the other side of the river from the park. You’ll see it behind the fence, near the new playpark.

The story was written up in the Edinburgh Reporter- read it at https://theedinburghreporter.co.uk/2021/11/new-plaque-commemorating-the-murrayfield-artist-charles-h-mackie/

Friends of Roseburn Park will be holding our virtual AGM on Wednesday 27^th October at 7.30pm on Zoom.

If you would like to participate, please send an email to the Secretary at secretary@friendsofroseburnpark.org.uk and a week before the AGM we shall send you the link to the meeting. Our Annual report and accounts can be downloaded here: FoRP-Annual_Report+Accounts 2021

We have 3 new benches and 6 new picnic slabs, thanks to a grant from the West Edinburgh Neighbourhood Partnership at the City of Edinburgh Council. Hope you like them!

We lost the bench at the west entrance of the park near the doctor’s surgery during the flood improvement works and have been lobbying the Council for years for a replacement. Now, thanks to the intervention of Cllr Frank Ross it has been installed and what’s more, we’ve been given our very own plaque on it. We’re hoping it will draw a few more activists into FoRP…

Is this what the drinking fountain originally looked like ? Does its country cousin provide the answer?

The 1942 film The Message Must Get Through is the only record of its original appearance we have found. It shows that the Park’s unusual tapering type of Glenfield & Kennedy drinking fountain had some kind of projecting top. What did it look like? If anyone remembers, we’d very much like to hear from you.

Only two other examples of this type still exist, but only one of them still has what could be the same sort of top. It is in Kintore in Aberdeenshire, an appropriate spot for a broad Doric column, where it was photographed by Historic Scotland in 1970. Our thanks to Kenny Thomson of Kintore Community Council who took the coloured ones. It’s not clear exactly how it worked, but presumably water must have come out from the central hole. Perhaps the central cylinder was designed to hold a metal cup?

Kintore’s one also still has the typical G&K counterbalanced turn handle.

It seems likely that the Park’s fountain dates from 1935, when the nearby Pavilion was built as there’s no mention of it on OS maps until their next edition in the 1940’s.

We have prepared a feasibility study on bringning the fountain back into use. If you recall how Roseburn Park’s drinking fountain originally looked, please contact us at chair@friendsofroseburnpark.org.uk

FoRP are pleased to announce the launch of a new walking guide to Roseburn Park, researched and written by local resident Rosie Bell. Beginning at the west entrance to the park at Roseburn Place, the guide  features the stadium, the Armoury, the murals, the Murrayfield DAFs and Wanderers, the ice rink, curling and flood defences. The guide links to associated documents on the park’s history as irrigated meadows, supporting the Dalry/Murrayfield mills and the Roseburn floods of April 2000.

More info on the Roseburn Park History page here

On Sunday 18th April, the FoRP volunteer taskforce were out watering and weeding our tubs and the many new trees in the park in what has been a very dry April. In particular, we have had two new cherry trees planted which really needed hydrating, as they are just coming into bud. These trees, near Roseburn Crescent, were funded by a grant from the Murrayfield DAFs cricket club and form part of the Ian Shiels memorial legacy.

The log bench also got a fresh coat of finishing oil, as the bark is beginning to shed; protecting what was underneath from the elements will help in securing its longevity.

The improvement work on the two pitches on the west side of Roseburn Park commenced today. The contractor, Allgrass Ltd, has been commissioned by Murrayfield Wanderers using funding from the SRU to improve drainage.  First Allgrass must remove the turf; FoRP are pleased to observe that glysophate will not be used for this. The Wanderers have contributed to the funding to ensure that a mechanical removal (koroing) will be used instead. Care is also being taken to protect park trees.

The work will be completed in 30 weeks time – hopefully by the 11th October.

For more info, see our website post of August 2020.

We are looking for donations of trowels, forks or dibbers that our volunteer taskforce can use for maintaining the park. Each year they plant flowers and bulbs; weed and mulch the borders, tubs and planters, and water the new trees during dry spells. There are always places for more volunteers, too!

If you can assist, please email Barbara at secretary@friendsofroseburnpark.org.uk