The largest social landlord in Leith has challenged local election candidates to sign up to its vision for the north of Edinburgh.

Port of Leith Housing Association (PoLHA) has issued a call to action based around four themes:

Candidates standing in the Leith & North Edinburgh area, as well as those standing on the Lothian regional list will be invited to back the vision as well as being invited to meet with the Association’s chief executive, Keith Anderson to discuss issues affecting its 3,300 tenants across Leith, Newhaven, Granton, Restalrig and Portobello.

PoLHA has a long tradition of supporting the communities of Leith and North Edinburgh. Over the past 40 years it has invested over £200m in ongoing investments and through its employability project, TOiL, has over the past 10 years, supported over 500 young people into further training, education and apprenticeships.

Keith Anderson said: “Leith and parts of North Edinburgh occupy a unique place in the history of Edinburgh and whilst we have much to be proud of, there are a number of unique challenges with being the most densely populated area of Scotland’s capital city. The Vision for Leith and North Edinburgh is our contribution to the debate about how we can improve the lives of people living in the area, but also what is needed to attract investment and improve services.

“The City of Edinburgh Council has said 32,000 additional new homes must be built in the city over the next 10 years, half of which must be affordable for people on low and modest incomes. We will never meet these targets unless we free up the necessary land which exists within the city and remove some of the barriers to the development of, and investment in, new housing projects.

“While building new homes is vital, it is also essential that we support existing residents to live independently in their homes, ensuring the right levels of personal support are available to achieve that.”

You can download the full ‘Vision for Leith & North Edinburgh’ here.