From Partnership to Trust
The North Edinburgh Trust developed from the Pilton Partnership, which was established in 1990 as an action research project within the 3rd European Anti-Poverty Programme. At the end of programme funding in June 1994, the Partnership continued as the strategic community capacity building organisation for North Edinburgh. As such, the organisation played a key role within North Edinburgh bids for various regeneration and social inclusion initiative status, and in the delivery of the Priority Partnership Area and Social Inclusion Partnership programmes. Its responsibilities have included the support and development of community involvement and participation; the management of North Edinburgh regeneration and social inclusion funding; supporting the development of projects and services that help address poverty and the maximisation of income and community resources.
Between 1995 and 2007, the Board of the Pilton Partnership comprised elected community representatives and local councillors. For a number of years, the organisation was keen to maximise economic opportunities for local people and establish a community-owned asset base. The Partnership was aware of continued high levels of poverty that existed within the community, coupled with community frustrations around the lack of tangible benefits for local people from the neighbouring Granton Waterfront development. As the biggest brown field development site in Scotland, it was felt that the Granton Waterfront provided a once in a lifetime opportunity to make serious inroads into the levels of poverty within the community. To achieve this, the community had to reposition itself in relation to various key players and become much more pro-active in driving the community agenda.
Following community consultation, the Partnership evolved into a community development trust in June 2007, at which point the name of the organisation was changed to the North Edinburgh Trust.