Gracemount

Gracemount Mansion

Gracemount Mansion is a B-listed Georgian villa built in beautiful grounds in 1790. For over 40 years it served as Scotland's longest-running youth and community centre, creating lasting memories for generations of local people. After closing in 2018, the building fell into disrepair.

Local residents have since established the Gracemount Mansion Development Trust to bring it back into community ownership through a community asset transfer.

While fundraising is taking place to support the full restoration of the building and its ongoing running costs, the Trust is already working to deliver impact. Successful initiatives to date include

• hosting events for 250–300 people in the Mansion's wooded grounds and walled garden,
• partnering with other local organisations,
• and running wellbeing programmes that address social isolation.

Community parties and events take place regularly in the Mansion Gardens along with regular activities such as Move, Breathe and Be in Nature and Family Fun Fridays for care-experienced families.

You can find more information about the project, what’s on and how you can support on the Gracemount Mansion Development Trust website.

St Catherine’s Roman Catholic Primary School

We’re developing plans to create a replacement school building with community facilities for St Catherine’s Roman Catholic Primary School. The replacement school would be located on the South East Locality Office site.

The current buildings are no longer fit for purpose and require replacement. The school is also facing growing demands from new housing in the catchment area, and the increase in early learning and childcare entitlement means a larger building is needed.

As part of this work we're exploring options to create a new community hub and education building which could include a base for community services. We're developing the project in consultation with the community, building on the information we collected in the ‘My Gracemount’ community consultation.

We started engaging with the school community on the design in early 2026. We expect that construction of the new buildings could start on site in 2027.

You can find more details on the project on the Future Schools Edinburgh website.

You can also read the December 2025 newsletter that provided an updated on developments in the design and building of the new school, and you can read the January 2024 Outcome Report on the consultation to relocate St Catherine’s to a new site on Captains Road.