Support centre facing eviction launches £150,000 plea to secure new home

A charity that provides extracurricular activities for disabled adults is facing a bill of more than a £100,000 after being asked to vacate its premises.

Upward Mobility (UpMo) must leave its current home at St Margaret’s House in Edinburgh following the property owners’ decision to enter talks to sell the site.

The building, which has operated as a creative and community hub since 2008, currently houses around 150 artists, workshops and organisations.

The charity says funds are desperately needed to equip a new facility to make it accessible for students.

‘I love coming here and having fun’

Rebekah-Mae Montgomery regularly attends the hub.

There, the 24-year-old comes into her own, singing on stage with friends and playing instruments.

“I love Freddie Mercury, Queen, Madonna, and I love classical music… and I also love Dora the Explorer.

“I do music and take pictures outside. I do drama and art. It’s such an amazing place for adults with disabilities. I love coming here and having fun. It’s such an inclusive place to be.”

But behind the music, Rebekah-Mae faces significant health challenges.

Rebekah-Mae lives with autism, KBG syndrome, a rare genetic disease, and Periventricular Nodular Heterotopia (PVNH), a rare brain condition where nerve cells fail to move to the correct outer layer of the brain during foetal development.

She is believed to be only the second documented case of someone having both conditions.

“Lots of people have disabilities. Lots of those people who do amazing things. That shouldn’t stop us.

“My goal is to work with children in nursery. I want to help and teach them. I’m really great around them.”

‘It’s her home away from home’

Rebekah-Mae’s mum, Mimi-Beth Montgomery, says losing the facility would have a severe impact on service users.

“Rebekah-Mae is such a unique character. She lights up a room the moment she walks in. She has a love of life; she’s an all-singing, all-dancing kind of person.

“This is her special place. It’s her home away from home. If she lost this space, it would be catastrophic.

“What would they do? Where would they go? Where would they meet their friends?”

UpMo said relocating its service users would involve substantial costs.

The charity estimates it will need £150,000 to cover the four-month transition, acquire a new facility, and adapt the new premises to the needs of the students.

Chief executive Mark Smith said: “Failure is not an option because people, families, carers, need us.

“Community, certainty, regularity, knowing where they’re going to be every day, it’s a really important thing for our students.

“For us, moving a community is hard, but it’s all the stuff that goes around it; specialist toilets that are appropriate, personal care facilities for our students. These things are not easily replicated, these things are not cheap.

“We have to move a community, prepare people for that move, pay for everything we currently have here to be replicated somewhere else, and that takes time. Four months is not long enough to do it.”

With the building now on the market, tenants have been told it will close in early 2027, leaving around 150 artists and community groups facing the search for somewhere new.

A spokesperson for the Caledonian Trust said: “We have fully communicated that St Margaret’s House has been on the market for some time. We’re in discussions with a preferred party, but the process isn’t finished, and it would be inappropriate to provide any more detail.

“St Margaret’s House has been an important home for independent artists and freelancers in Edinburgh and we have been proud to support them. However, the building is decades old and no longer meets the standards needed for its long-term future.

“Scot-ART has held the lease on the building for many years, on very generous terms, and is now serving notice to its sub-tenants. Vacant possession is targeted for January 2027, with plenty of time for people to plan ahead.”