Positive reaction from Scottish Parliament to museum petition

The Scottish Parliament Public Petitions Committee considered our petition again on February 19th. This is what they agreed:

The Committee agreed to seek a further response from the City of Edinburgh Council on what practical and financial support it can and will give to progress the establishment of a Leith Museum. It also agreed to seek a response from the Scottish Government on what action it will take to encourage applications and provide practical assistance, for example through capital grant funding, to assist supporters wishing to establish local museums and, on this specific proposal, whether it will consider establishing a working group to help progress this matter further. It also agreed to write to Scottish Enterprise to seek an update on the current waterfront visitor destination development plan.
These organisations have been asked to respond by 25 April......

Here is a link to the Petitions Committee website which shows what they have been doing.

3072 say YES to a Leith Museum!

Our petition to the Scottish Parliament goes back to its petitions committee on Tuesday 19 February. You can read here all the responses the Parliament received when it consulted various organisations about the petition, together with our own campaign´s further comments in response. The Scottish Parliament website also confirms that our petition was supported by a total of 3072 signatures (and of course, we´ve had more since the petition was submitted!).

More support for the Leith Museum

Support for a Leith Museum continues to grow. The Scottish Parliament, as part of its process of considering the petition in support of our campaign, has asked various organisations for their views on the idea of a Leith Museum. There have been a lot of positive responses. The full set of responses can be found on the Scottish Parliament web-site. They are well worth a read.

Some of the key messages in the responses are the following:
the Scottish Museums Council supports the principle of a Leith Museum

City of Edinburgh Council said: The importance of Leith and its role in Scottish history deserves to be told in a dedicated museum....[and] Custom House..remains the most appropriate venue for a museum of Leith

Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian "has recognised the need to jointly create an international world-class Waterfront [which includes Leith]"

Sir Tom backs Custom House for Leith Museum

Welcome news in this Saturday's "Scotsman" of Tom Farmer's backing for the idea of Custom House for a Leith Museum. He is quoted as saying "There's no doubt in my mind that Customs House is the finest building in Leith and it's a crying shame that it's not open to the public. I think it would be absolutely fantastic were it to become a museum, especially as Leith has such a rich history and for years was Scotland's main port. It's a real dream of mine to see it brought back into public use." We agree - thanks for your support, Sir Tom! See here for the full report.

The case for a Leith Museum

A good article by Museum campaign supporter in Saturday's Evening News - click here to read it!

Campaign Steering Group

Here are some of the members of the steering group for the Campaign for a Leith Museum:

Mark Lazarowicz MP for Edinburgh North & Leith (Chair)
Ian Gilmour, Minister, South Leith Parish Church
Jacqui Austin, who is an exhibition projects manager
Gilbert Archer, local businessman
Jim Tweedie, Chair, Leith Local History Society
Margaret Allan, from the local business community
Alun Rae, a structural engineer with a local practice
Steve Mitchell, representing the Leith Festival Association
John Arthur, local historian
Ian MacDonald, representing the Edinburgh branch of the Saltire Society

Scottish Parliament discusses Leith museum campaign petition

Thanks to the community website "Leith and North" for the following report on our petition before the Scottish Parliament. (Have a look at "Leith & North" for lots of good community information!)

Petition PE1083 went before the Public Petitions Committee this Tuesday, November 6th. Convener Frank McAveety declared it "a good petition worth exploring". Malcolm Chisholm (MSP for Edinburgh North & Leith) was there urging the committee to support this petition, noting the thousands of signatures gathered on the streets of Leith and speaking of the "strong feeling in Leith, that we have a rich and varied history ... with a distinct identity.

Malcolm went on to explain that the campaign wants to see a feasibility study carried out and referred to the appropriate bodies for consideration. He explained that Leith Custom House is owned by National Museums Scotland, and that they are happy for the building to be used if the items they store there can be housed elsewhere. Robin Harper (Green MSP for Lothians, and a committee member) supported the petition, noting that many smaller communities already have their own museums. Malcolm agreed noting that Leith is "one of the largest historic communities" that doesn't have one.

The Petitions Committee will seek the views of City of Edinburgh Council, COSLA, Enterprise companies and the Scottish Museums Council, with explicit questions about funding and any possible constraints; it will then make further recommendations. This does not fast track the petition as its supporters would have liked, but it does keep it before the Parliament under active consideration and leaves the opportunity to gather even more support.

Click here for more on the Campaign for a Leith Museum in "Leith and North"