WHALE Arts celebrate community asset transfer success

The community led cultural organisation WHALE Arts in Wester Hailes has completed the Community Asset Transfer for the land on which the arts centre was constructed in 2021.

This will allow them to move on from leasing the land from the council and it includes WHALE’s community garden and a small adjoining woodland area all of which is now in community ownership. The purchase was assisted with a £125,000 grant from the Scottish Land Acquisition Fund.

Interim WHALE Arts Agency CEO Kate Griffin said: “We’re thrilled to have completed the Community Asset Transfer process and are very grateful for our partners’ support to make it happen. Working together the WHALE Arts team, our Members, volunteers and artists look forward to seeing our award winning projects developing and thriving in our space at the creative heart of our community.”

Earlier on Wednesday there was a celebration with cake and a ribbon cutting, marking the new chapter of the community owned creative centre.

Established by local people in 1992, WHALE Arts provides a wide range of creative opportunities, classes and workshops for the people of Wester Hailes, as well as hosting several other community-facing organisations and services, including: Sistema Scotland Big Noise Wester Hailes, Starcatchers – Scotland’s Arts and  Early Years organisation and SCORE Scotland.