Edinburgh's Gorgie Farm: Councillors agree a partial reopening as soon as possible

Edinburgh's much-loved Gorgie Farm should have a "soft" or partial reopening to the public as soon as possible, councillors have agreed.

The popular city attraction closed suddenly a year ago when operators Love Learning handed back the lease to the city council because of "serious financial challenges". The farm's animals, including sheep, pigs, snakes and lizards, had to be re-homed. 

And Edinburgh Voluntary Organisations Council (EVOC) was appointed to develop a community-led model for the farm's future with £150,000 of council funding. EVOC took over the lease, organised extensive repairs and set up a steering group of local organisations. It is expected to make recommendations to the council in July.

Councillors say the farm should partially reopen as soon as possible. Picture: Lisa Ferguson

But Sighthill/Gorgie Green councillor Dan Heap warned the council's culture and communities committee that community support for the farm could be at risk the longer it remained closed.

He said Gorgie Farm was "the jewel in the crown of Gorgie" and an "incredibly important green space" with a "fantastic record" of giving young people who would not otherwise have had much access to animals and nature the chance to experience that close to home.

"EVOC is to be congratulated fir the work it has done. The site was not left in a good condition, it did not have the maintenance it needed. EVOC has come in and done the job we needed." But he said when the final proposals were brought forward they must include "some kind of initial reopening as soon as possible".

He said: "The transformation of the farm is going to take, I would imagine, several years. But the gates can't be closed for several years more. We might not get lots of animals back straight away, but we might have some smaller, easy to look after animals and a softer reopening.

"We're going to be spending £150,000 putting together this vision - and that's absolutely what we should have done, taking that time is important. But we can't spend £150,000 and the gates stay closed. And the longer we leave the gates closed the harder it is going to be to re-engage the community. There is a lot of love for the farm, but the longer we take, that is going to fade away. We need to look at some soft, partial reopening just to sustain that engagement."

Sighthill/Gorgie independent councillor Ross McKenzie said Cllr Heap's call for at least part of the farm to reopen as soon as possible reflected the demand in the community. "At the moment it is completely closed off to the public and my expectation is that the proposal in the summer will involve substantial investment and take a long time to deliver.

"That is potentially very exciting for the farm, for the area, but in the meantime it's important to find a way for the public to access at least some of the site to reassure people the farm is coming back and the green space has not been lost to the community."

A report by officials asked the committee simply to note progress, but convener Val Walker accepted Cllr Heap's amendment calling for the farm to "re-open to the public as soon as possible, even if this may mean initially partial or limited access". And the rest of the committee agreed unanimously.