Have you been along the Turnhouse Road or Craigs Road recently? If you have, you will have seen the sudden burst of energy as home builders race to complete the new houses and flats that lie to either side of Turnhouse Road and along the western reaches of Craigs Road. The West Town – 205 acres for 7000 houses – lies to the East of the airport, on the site visible along the Glasgow Road. The Turnhouse area takes the total to 10,950 new homes. Then add the newly announced Maybury Quarter and you reach a total of 11,950 homes, families (so far).
West Craigs was once only called home by those who lived in the houses built in the late 1950s behind what is now the Casino at the Maybury, in West Craigs Avenue and West Craigs Crescent. There was a short stretch of housing on the main Turnhouse Road, a farmhouse part way along and cottages, and then Lennie Cottages beside Turnhouse Golf Course and the farm on the farside of that. Those of us with longer memories will recall the RAF base and housing towards the old airport and the oldest housing of all at the very end of the runway. And of course the commercial units at the quarry and around the end of the runway.
Now? Well, if you haven’t done so already, i would highly recommend an early evening walk along Turnhouse Road. Don’t go on a weekday before 4pm as the roads are just teeming with heavy trucks and builders’ vans.
The western expansion is vast. In this area alone new housing is transforming mixed use land that has lain in some neglect for a number of years. Those who move in, do so with the expectation of a 20 minute town. No more than 20 minutes by foot to transport hubs (tram and train – with bus still to be announced), education and GP level healthcare. The first of three new primary schools in the full area is due to open in August. No plans as yet appear to be in place for cafes, cinema, library, arts centre, shops, community buildings… church.
The building is not one style throughout. There is variety, there are parks, there are green spaces. Take a look at how it is shaping up. That variety makes it a lot more interesting than many of the new build areas around Edinburgh at present.
And if you do take a walk through the area, be sure to say hello to any new neighbours you might meet. A month ago there were hardly any. Today there are really quite a few homes complete and cars parked in the drives (ironically, for an area promoted as an ‘active town’).
A group of us (Alan, Jan, Alison, Jackie and Gavin) were sent back to school in February for twelve weeks. This was the Pioneering and Church Planting course run by Edinburgh University at New College. So, grand wood-panelled rooms and a wonderful view of the city from the top of the Mound. That was only two Saturdays though. The rest of the time was huddled around a Zoom session with the class of about fifteen, a mix of ministers and other Church of Scotland folk. Students do it online these days.
One of the first things we learnt, which we knew already, was that church attendance has been falling. What we didn’t appreciate was that membership of the Church of Scotland has fallen in every single year since 1957. This course was set up to try to address the problem by making church more relevant to people who don’t attend. There was a bit of theology, a lot of research on why people have turned away from church and what kind of church does attract new faces.
The bottom line is that a church based on a parish system, largely unchanged in three hundred years, doesn’t meet the needs of a society which is driven by technology and where people are typically time-poor. The answer is a form of church which allows people to come together in their own space. Three hymns and a sermon have gone out of fashion. These new churches, called ‘fresh-expressions’ are more informal than traditional and based on relationships more than a strict liturgy. We were shown several examples where the new approach is thriving.
With the western expansion taking place on our doorstep, and not a church anywhere in sight, we have an opportunity to explore fresh-expression in this area, taking the gospel with us. The course has given us a blueprint to work to along with a lot of dos and don’ts. We have seen what is possible elsewhere and have a rough idea of how to set out. This will not be quick. It will be a long-haul with possible dead-ends and changes of tack. There are no certainties, only what emerges as we follow the Spirit and our noses.
Anyone interested in joining the adventure should get in touch with Alan Childs or one of the team.
So what’s this rumour about a possible new parish church for the western expansion of Edinburgh?
We plan to have an information session for the members of the congregations of Craigsbank and Corstorphine Old Parish who might want to know more about the possibility of a church plant in the Western Expansion, i.e. the new developments to the west of Maybury and further west.
The date is 28 August 7.00 – 9.00pm and the venue is the Turnhouse Golf Club function room.
RSVP to the church office at administrator@craigsbankchurch.org.uk.
