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Deprivation in Corstorphine and Clermiston Community Council Area

Parts of the area are in the most deprived 20% of Scotland.

The Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) shows that parts of Corstorphine and Clermiston face hidden deprivation, particularly around health, wellbeing and social isolation. Corstorphine in Bloom provides preventative, community-led action that directly addresses these pressures at very low cost to the public purse.

click image for interactive map

SIMD looks at 7 everyday aspects of life:

  1. Income (low household income)
  2. Employment (unemployment / insecure work)
  3. Health (illness, hospital admissions, mental health)
  4. Education (school attendance, qualifications)
  5. Access to services (GPs, shops, public transport)
  6. Crime
  7. Housing (overcrowding)

Corstorphine and Clermiston is not uniformly affluent – deprivation exists in pockets.

🧠 Health

Indicators like:

  • DRUG / ALCOHOL, DEPRESSION, SMR (early death rates), Emergency admissions

These often cluster together and appear even where income deprivation is not extreme

👉 This strongly links to mental health, loneliness, and lifestyle factors, not just poverty.

How Corstorphine in Bloom can help

🌱 1. Mental health & wellbeing

Strong evidence shows that:

  • Green spaces
  • Gardening
  • Volunteering
  • Walking routes
    reduce:
  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • GP visits

👉 This directly links to the health indicators in SIMD (DEPRESSION, EMERG, SMR).

🤝 2. Social connection (huge but often invisible)

SIMD does not directly measure loneliness, but loneliness drives:

  • Poor mental health
  • Alcohol misuse
  • Physical decline

Corstorphine in Bloom:

  • Creates low-barrier ways to meet people
  • Is especially important for:
    • Older residents
    • People not in work
    • New residents

🚶 3. Access without cost

Your projects:

  • Are free
  • Are local
  • Do not require transport, booking, or confidence

That is crucial in SIMD terms: Access barriers are often social and psychological, not just physical.

🎓 4. Informal learning & skills

Bloom activities build:

  • Confidence
  • Teamwork
  • Practical skills
  • Intergenerational contact

These contribute (indirectly but meaningfully) to:

  • Education outcomes
  • Employability
  • Youth engagement

🏘️ 5. Pride, safety, and perception

Well-kept spaces:

  • Reduce fear of crime
  • Encourage people to spend time outside
  • Improve how an area feels

That matters even where crime rates are not high.