- Overview
- What is an activity park?
- Origins of the idea
- The location
- Why Leith? Why now?
- The team
- Our partners
- Make Space for Girls
Overview
The Leith Links Activity Park campaign was launched in July 2021 in response to a call for ideas from Leith Links Community Council on utilising disused bowling greens in Leith Links, the largest green space in Leith and one of Edinburgh’s designated ‘Premier Parks’.
We created a ‘what if’ visual of an activity park on the site, and shared it on our newly created social channels and in-person at a community picnic organized to gather feedback on ideas for the space.
As part of the launch of the campaign, we conducted a 3-week survey on the concept. Of the 2k people who responded, 93% were strongly in favour of transforming the bowling greens into an activity park.
Leith Links Community Council’s consultation report was published showing a majority preference for the bowling green area to be repurposed for ‘outdoor activity / sport / fitness use (e.g. skatepark)’ and the building to be refurbished and to include pubic toilets.
Over the past 3 years, we’ve taken part in 2 further public consultations by The City of Edinburgh Council on proposals for the park and the activity park idea, both of which have added definition and detail to the original concept – and both of which have continued to receive overwhelming support from the local community.
This strong community backing has given us the confidence to continue pursuing ambitious new facilities for the park and the people of Leith.
What is an activity park?
It’s a space that brings together facilities for a variety of sport, play and leisure activities. Here are a few inspiring examples.
Origins of the idea
Despite being considered as the location for Edinburgh’s first major skatepark back in the early 2000s – and with skateparks now proliferating across Scotland (108 and counting) – Leith has never had a permanent outdoor skatepark.
In response to this, in 2015, a group of dedicated local skateboarders, parents, and friends came together to build a ‘mini ramp’ on an abandoned area near the beach in Seafield. Although this was unfortunately burned down within six months, it marked the beginning of Leith DIY. Ruari Britee-Steer, one of our founding members, is also one of the driving forces behind the group.
Leith DIY went on to construct two more skateparks in Leith. Between 2016 and 2018, ‘Rat City’ was a concrete skatepark at Melrose Drive near Ocean Terminal. Built without permission, it was ultimately demolished to make way for the Trams to Newhaven project. This was followed by ‘Shantytown’ (2019–2023), their first legitimate location, which operated as a pop-up community space adjacent to Leith Walk. It also served as a venue for the Scottish and UK Miniramp Championships.
Inspired by Leith DIY, in March 2021, local designer Gordon Carmichael began Photoshopping real skateparks onto areas of the Links. This culminated in a post showing an activity park takeover of Links Gardens – a road running through the park that had been temporarily closed as part of Edinburgh Council’s COVID street scheme.
The post received significant attention, was featured in an Edinburgh Evening News article, and became the catalyst for forming our group.
In a stroke of fortuitous timing, in April 2021, Leith Links Community Council issued a call for ideas on repurposing the derelict bowling greens.
The rest is history.
The location
Leith Links is located close to the heart of Leith, the port district of Edinburgh. Historically a separate entity from the city, Leith retains a unique character and strong community spirit.
The park plays a central role in local life, surrounded by schools and home to football and cricket clubs. It also comes alive each year for Leith Gala Day.
It has a long history as a place of leisure as documented by Andy Arthur on his Threadinburgh blog.
As Andy describes, the area at the North of the Links has been the site of bowling greens since 1857 and at the height of it’s popularity, there were 7 greens on the Links.
In 2013, new tennis courts were installed on one of the bowling greens. The remaining three (one of which had been converted into a putting green) gradually fell into disuse. The site and its pavilion have since been the focus of several revitalisation efforts, including the Dry Dock community space within the pavilion building. However, today, the area remains underused and increasingly derelict.
Why Leith? Why now?
Leith has the highest population density in Scotland and continues to grow with ongoing housing development. These developments bring with them benefits, challenges and opportunities – we believe one of those opportunities are new and ambitious facilities and public spaces for this growing population.
A significant portion of this growing population are children and young people who attend the 19 schools that are within 2km of the proposed site.
That’s over 6,000 school pupils who would be able to access facilities such as a new skatepark, a roller rink, bouldering walls and a pump track – all within a 30-minute walk.
Imagine if some of these activities could be added to their school’s PE curriculum? Or be used by their after school or holiday clubs?
For us, this is one of the most important arguments for ambitious new facilities in Leith.
The team
The founding members of LLAP (and the organisations they represent) include:
- Gordon Carmichael
- David Mckean
- Evie Murray (Earth in Common)
- Ruari Britee-Steer (Leith DIY)
- Sam Paterson (Skateboard Scotland)
The team has grown over time and currently also includes:
- Akiko Kobayashi
- James Britee Copeland
- Cara Sulieman
We also work with an expanding network of individuals and organisations that represent the activities we hope the park will eventually host.
Our partners
Earth in Common
Earth in Common is a community-led organisation based in Leith, focused on sustainable food, environmental education, and social equity. Through urban farming, climate action, and grassroots initiatives, they empower people to build a fairer, greener future.
Evie Murray is founder and CEO.
Skateboard Scotland
Skateboard Scotland is the official governing body for skateboarding in Scotland.
We are a membership based organisation which has been working since 2003 to improve and develop the skateboarding scene across Scotland.
Sam Paterson is the vice-chairperson.
Leith DIY
Leith DIY Skatepark is a grassroots community group dedicated to creating and maintaining free, accessible skate spaces in Leith. Driven by local skaters and volunteers, the group builds and advocates for DIY skate features, fostering a vibrant, inclusive scene for all skill levels.
Ruari Britee-Steer is a founding member.
Thriving Greenspaces
The Thriving Greenspaces team at Edinburgh Council works to enhance and protect the city’s parks and natural spaces for people and wildlife. They focus on sustainable management, community engagement, and improving access to quality green spaces across Edinburgh.
Make Space for Girls
We’re big fans of Make Space for Girls, a fantastic organisation that advocates for parks and public spaces that work for girls and young women, challenging the fact that most facilities are designed with only boys in mind. Their research and campaigns highlight how better design can create more inclusive, welcoming spaces for everyone.
We’ve had their campaign front-of-mind as we’ve supported the Thriving Greenspaces team on proposals for an activity hub on Leith Links; advocating for features such as a roller rink, mixed-age swings, and social seating that aim to address this imbalance. We continue to follow their work and use it to inform our approach as the design development progresses.
Check out their Park Watch project, a powerful piece of research published by Make Space for Girls back in 2023 – putting into numbers what we all suspected; that the status quo for facilities in parks isn’t working for teenage girls.
Stay in the loop
Subscribe to get the latest updates on the campaign.
Leith Links Activity Park 