Hundreds attend annual Broomhouse street party for community BBQ, fringe performances and live music

Organisers say the event has grown every year

The annual Broomhouse street party was in full swing this year – with hundreds having attended the community event that included a BBQ, live music, fringe performers and a range of activities for all ages.

Kicking off at 12pm, the event saw Broomhouse Crescent close to traffic at 12pm, transforming the area into a spectacular community venue decorated in flags and balloons. There was a glorious festival vibe with children getting their faces painted and balloon models in the community hub, with three bouncy castles, an ice cream van and a range of community stalls across St David's church grounds.

Organised by Space @ The Broomhouse Hub, the annual party is a flagship calendar event which allows the community to come together, eat for free, enjoy live performances and meet people from a range of organisations that provide support for the local community.

The Broomhouse street party included performances from a local band, a DJ, beatbox artist and fringe performers. For younger guests there was also bouncy castles, face painting and a range of fun activities. From left to right: Ali Kennedy (Foundation Scotland), Andy Hunter (Space), Neil Hay (Space CEO), Chris Holloway (Foundation Scotland). Photo: Lewis Houghton

Neil Hay, chief executive of organiser Space @ The Broomhouse Hub, said: “The street party has run for a good few years now and at the core of it it’s an all-day event for the local community. It’s grown every year and this year we had fringe festival events, a Ukrainian choir, DJ and local band, so it grows as the organisation grows.”

Founded more than 30 years ago, Space @ The Broomhouse Hub delivers transformative personal, social and community development opportunities for local people in and around Broomhouse, Parkhead and Sighthill.

Operating out of an incredible community hub in the heart of Broomhouse since 2019, the charity provides a range of vital services – from training and employment opportunities for those disadvantaged by poverty or other limiting factors, to social groups for isolated older people.

The organisation, that has tripled their staff capacity and doubled the reach of their vital support services in recent years, also provides a safe space for toddlers and young parents, community food initiatives and free meals for children during the school holidays, youth clubs and a dementia day care service.

Hundreds attended the incredible community street party organised by local charity Space @ The Broomhouse Hub. Investment from Foundation Scotland in recent years has seen the Edinburgh charity triple their staff capacity and doubled the reach of their vital support services in the local community

And following the Covid pandemic and the cost of living crisis, the charity has tripled their staff capacity and doubled the reach of their vital support services, with Space citing a recent investment of £500,000 from Foundation Scotland as the catalyst for their expansion.

Mr Hay said: “One of the issues many areas have is that they don’t have a community hub at the centre of what they do. Funders like Foundation Scotland are few and far between and their support went a long way into the build costs to get the building open in 2019. It means that we are literally and metaphorically at the heart of Broomhouse – you don’t stumble upon us, we’re here in the community.”

Chris Holloway, head of social investment at Foundation Scotland said: “Broomhouse is very lucky to have an organisation like the Space – we saw it was a community that had difficulties but we knew Space could help them through it and help support families, individuals and it’s doing that to it’s maximum potential.”

Over the past 11 years, Foundation Scotland has invested over £12.5 million in 72 organisations around Scotland, with their investment to redevelop the Broomhouse Hub being one of their largest investments. Mr Holloway, who attended the street party said: “Today will go down in folklore, where one person tells you there were 100 people there and next year they’ll say there was 1000. It’s been absolutely fantastic, we were delighted to be welcomed along, take part and see the community in action – we love it.”