My 9-5: Judy Crabb of Heart of Newhaven

Judy Crabb, the chair of the Heart of Newhaven Community which is an initiative to turn the former Victoria Primary School into a community hub, shares her daily life and career path.  

Where do you call home?   

Trinity. I love it because it has diversity of built and natural environment, great people, conservation areas and parks. I live just up from the Forth so you can look across to Fife but it is also close to Newhaven with its heritage.  

Trams are due to arrive here next year which will be a bonus for the project as it is very close to the terminus of Newhaven tram.   

My day starts with…   

I am retired but getting involved in the project has become close to a full-time job. I wake up at 7am and get to my laptop not long after 7.30am. As the board of trustees, we have all worked incredibly hard in the last six months by undertaking the many processes involved in enabling a ‘school’ become a community hub, completing the Community Asset Transfer from the City of Edinburgh Council to the charity, putting in place all the necessary Health and Safety requirements, drawing up leases and employing staff 

My main responsibilities are…   

I am the chair of the Heart of Newhaven Community project. The charity was set up when I found out Victoria Primary School would be located to a new site as it couldn’t cope with the increase in the number of pupils. It was the oldest working primary school in Edinburgh and the oldest of the three buildings on the site is Grade B listed and has three floors. There is a one-storey annex, The Anchor Building, and a portacabin, The Creel. 

We asked the community what they wanted to do with the building and they said they wanted it to be used for learning and enterprise; wellbeing; culture and heritage. People wanted it to be a place where generations come together, which makes the project really unique. It is not a standard community centre.   

To secure the school, we went through a legal process called Community Asset Transfer where the council says if the community can prove the space would be of use to the community, then they will sell it to the community. The council agreed our request and we went to the Scottish Land Fund to secure funding of over £800,000 to buy the building. We are not making any changes to the building that costs money we haven’t got. We will need further funding to deal with issues like water, the windows and the boiler.  

 

A typical working day usually involves…   

The project is driven by our understanding of what the need is in the area. This includes the provision of early learning, care and development for young children and we are also working with a charity called Mwamba that gives women of different nationalities a voice. Younger and older people have lots in common in terms of their needs and we will bring them together and address the issue of loneliness. We want to be as inclusive as possible.   

We support the idea of a 20-minute neighbourhood where most of people’s daily needs can be met within a short walk or cycle.   

The best part of my job is…   

The difference we have already started to make to people’s lives. We have started to address the issues of social isolation and loneliness. People are excited to get involved in creative local activities.    

 

After work I…   

I have an allotment and I go there whenever I can. We have really good crops of strawberries, redcurrants, blackberries and sweetcorn.    

What’s the best piece of career advice you’ve been given?   

Talk to other people who have done something similar as you can learn from what other people are doing. People will be happy to help you.  

You can find out more information about the Heart of Newhaven Community project at heartofnewhaven.co.uk or @theheartofnewhaven on Instagram.  

ESPC magazine

This article appeared in the October 2022 issue of the ESPC magazine. Find out more about the ESPC magazine and read the latest issue online.