Will proposed changes to the planning system in Scotland give communities a greater say on their places? And will this protect the built and natural environment in Scotland? Continue reading Holyrood committee seeks your views on proposed planning changes
The ‘ArtRoots fund’ is still live but you must get those applications in soon!
This is a Sustrans fund for grants of between £100 – £1,500 for community groups to improve sections of the National Cycle Network with aesthetic improvements such as sculptures, landscaping, benches, murals and so on. It is open to applications until 10th February 2017 with all funding to be spent this financial year.
See below for details:
Community and third sector projects that try new ways to tackle poverty and improve people’s lives can now apply for a share of £29 million funding, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced. Continue reading Creating a fairer Scotland: Aspiring Communities Fund launched
Council seeks your views on budget priorities
Edinburgh residents are being asked by the City of Edinburgh Council for their views on reshaping council services as part of public engagement for the 2017/18 budget, which will be set early next year.
This year people will get the chance to contribute ideas of their own on how city services are provided, by having meaningful conversations online with other residents in their local area. Residents will also be able to see the suggestions of others in their community and rate those ideas.
The Council has agreed draft spending and saving plans for the next three years and is now looking for residents’ views on how best to change the delivery of some services.
A seven-week engagement period, beginning today (Friday, 30 September), will run until Friday, 18 November. It will focus on three key themes, new ways of working, lean and agile services and working with partners.
The online survey will ask residents to think about how the changes below could affect them, their community and the city as a whole as well as what challenges and opportunities they present for the Council.
Developing the ways customers do business with the Council to include more online tools which are accessible and respond to customer needs so that services are delivered right first time.
Working with Edinburgh Leisure to maintain access to quality facilities and programmes whilst achieving savings and efficiencies.
The Council will also be working closely with communities, equality groups and partners over the coming months by running workshops around reshaping services, working with communities to agree how local budgets should be spent and creating a city vision for Edinburgh for 2050.
A Question Time event will also be webcast from the City Chambers on Thursday, 10 November to give members of the public a more personal opportunity to ask questions about changes to services.
Councillor Alasdair Rankin, Finance and Resources Convener, said: “We have an increasing population, inflationary pressures, decreased budgets and greater demand for our services so it is really important that we get residents’ views on how we can more efficiently deliver services.
“In previous budget engagements residents told us to protect education, care for older people, culture, and services for vulnerable children and adults. These continue to be our priorities.
“Using our online engagement tools, we’re making it easy for people to contribute their views and ideas, and to understand the different challenges there are reshaping our services.
“We are improving our engagement tools this year by allowing people to speak to other residents in their local area about issues which specifically affect them. This will give us quality feedback on how people would like their services delivered in the future.”
Councillor Bill Cook, Finance Vice-Convener, added: “Everything you say will be taken into account when we draw up the final budget to be considered by Council in early 2017, so we are extremely interested in hearing your views. Whether it’s via the online survey, dialogue page, phone, letter, email or social media we welcome all feedback.”
At a meeting of the Finance & Resources Committee on Thursday, 29 September, councillors approved a report on the draft budget.
The draft budget, online survey and dialogue page can be accessed at www.edinburgh.gov.uk/
Residents can have their say by:
Completing the online survey
Commenting on the online dialogue page
Phoning on 0131 200 2305 (8.30am to 5pm Monday to Thursday, 8.30am to 3.40pm Friday)
Writing to Freepost, RSJC-SLXC-YTJY, Budget, Council Leader, City Chambers, High Street Edinburgh EH1 1YJ
Speaking to your local councillor(s)
FRIDAY 4th MARCH 7 – 10pm NORTH EDINBURGH ARTS
US FILM SHOWS RISKS OF FRACKING
Communities invited to screening of American documentary
Community campaigners are inviting local people to view a documentary highlighting first-hand accounts of the effects of fracking in the United States.
Hands Over Our Scotland has helped organise a local screening of the film ‘Groundswell Rising’, featuring the testimonies of people in towns across America who have to live side-by-side with the fracking industry.
The film will be shown on Friday 4 March from 7 to 9:30pm at North Edinburgh Arts.
Dr Richard Dixon, Director of Friends of the Earth Scotland will introduce the film. He will be joined by Prof Andrew Watterson, Director of the Centre for Public Health and Population Health Research, and Head of the Occupational and Environmental Health Research Group, School of Health Sciences, University of Stirling for discussion after the screening.
Dr Richard Dixon said: “Scotland has to learn from the communities that have already had to live with fracking. Seeing the reality of having this dirty industry as a neighbour should persuade anyone that it’s not something we want here. For the sake of the climate and local people, fracking and unconventional fossil fuels are the last thing Scotland needs.”
Maria Montinaro, of Hands Over Our Scotland, who is accompanying the producer on a tour of UK, said: “This film shows the reality of what it means to live beside fracking operations, including the daily struggle of ordinary people to protect their children’s air and water.
“Their testimonies show what is potentially in store for communities around the Forth if our government allows big fossil fuel companies to go ahead with their plans. The first duty of any government is to protect its citizens. We call upon our Scottish Government to put the health and wellbeing of Scottish communities first – banning this industry .”
Groundswell Rising has been praised by critics. LA Weekly said it ‘balances grim facts and expert analysis with scenes of ordinary people pushing back’, while Hollywood Reporter said it ‘delivers its arguments with a canny mixture of facts and emotion’.
Executive producer Mark Lichty will speak at the first screening at the University of Edinburgh. Mark is an attorney and former CEO of Bustin Industrial Products. Having been in manufacturing for many years, he is deeply concerned about the safety issues not being addressed by the oil and gas industry.
He said: “I’m really looking forward to meeting people of Edinburgh. The film shows how an industry rich with political connections managed to slip into a position of almost untouchable power and how at-risk communities have come together to fight back.
“Groundswell Rising is a documentary told by those who are living it, with honesty, passion and a sincere desire to protect our children and the world we leave them. I hope that Groundswell Rising will inspire people and politicians in Scotland to ban risky gas extraction once and for all.”
The Groundswell Rising screening at North Edinburgh Arts is part of a tour across central Scotland being organised by campaign group Hands Over Our Scotland.
Full screening details are available at www.groundswellscotland.com.
Deadline looms for Communities & Families applications
Don’t miss out on your chance to secure last minute funding for the Communities and Families fund, a joint programme delivered with the Scottish Government. Since opening the programme has awarded over £5.4 million to groups working with children across Scotland. Continue reading Lottery funding for children and family activities
STV is to recognise local champions from across Scotland in a star studded awards ceremony hosted by Carol Smillie. RBS: Finding Scotland’s Real Heroes – The Awards will air on STV at 9pm on Tuesday (15 December). Continue reading STV to broadcast Real Heroes awards ceremony
Dear Editor
Local authorities are elected to operate a wide variety of services in their areas, services that keep the community functioning. The trend now is to cut back on what is thought not to be necessary, to offload some to private contractors or to get the community itself to be the provider. Continue reading Letters: Saving our public services
The third series of RBS: Finding Scotland’s Real Heroes returns to STV tonight to celebrate people whose tireless effort, resourcefulness, and kindness has improved local communities across Scotland.
The series, sponsored by Royal Bank of Scotland, begins with a special launch show tonight at 8pm – RBS-How to be a Real Hero, where actors Jayd Johnson and Ron Donachie catch up with four winners from the 2014 series to see how being voted a winner has changed their lives, and the projects they work with.
The show also gives advice to viewers on how they can get involved in helping in their local communities and become real heroes themselves.
The series continues on Monday 26 October featuring the individuals who have been nominated by the public and selected by a special jury. Across the five episodes, a line up of ‘star reporters’ including Richard Wilson (One Foot in the Grave), actress and singer Clare Grogan and Commonwealth Gold medallist swimmer Hannah Miley will visit each of the nominees and interview them about their work in the community and their thoughts on the nomination for an award.
This year’s shortlist includes deserving Scots from across the country, from Stonehaven to West Calder, and Nairn to Cupar. Categories including RBS Community Project of the Year and Hero Animal of the Year will return again this year as well as two new additional award categories including Hero Mum or Dad and Fundraiser of the Year.
At the end of each programme, viewers are invited to vote for the nominees they believe most deserving of an award, with the overall winners being announced at a glittering, star studded televised awards ceremony later in the year.
Elizabeth Partyka, deputy director of channels at STV, said: “The time has come to highlight the outstanding work modestly carried out by each of this year’s nominees. We look forward to celebrating the enormous achievement of each of these individuals who make a real difference in their local community. Each story tells of a remarkable accomplishment and is very moving – all the finalists are considered to be most deserving however it is the STV viewers that decide who will receive an award.”
Chris Wilson, Royal Bank of Scotland’s Managing Director of Branch and Private Banking in Scotland said: “Everyone at Royal Bank of Scotland is looking forward to finding out more about this year’s incredible finalists. We think it’s important to celebrate those people who go that extra mile for their community. Each one of the finalists is deserving of recognition and we are all looking forward to seeing who the public choose.”
‘giving communities the power to make their own choices is one of the most effective ways to tackle poverty and address inequalities.’ – Local Government & Community Empowerment Minister Marco Biagi MSP
Development Trusts Association (DTA) Scotland, the national organisation for development trusts, says the introduction of the Community Empowerment Act presents communities across Scotland with an ideal chance to ‘seize the day’ as their rights and opportunities in relation to assets, land and participation increase.
Development Trusts, community groups and representatives who gathered for the Associations’ two-day Annual Conference in Inverness yesterday heard that there has never been a better time for community-led regeneration, as more and more communities look to take control of their future through the acquisition of assets.
Ian Cooke, Director of DTA Scotland (pictured) said: “The introduction of the Community Empowerment Act brings with it ground-breaking opportunities for communities across Scotland in the acquisition, development and management of land, buildings and other physical assets.
“Often driven by the need to save community services and iconic heritage assets, community groups have historically had to work against the odds and with minimum support to take on assets and services.
“However, now, more so than ever before, communities have an opportunity to stimulate sustainable growth and lasting change thanks to favourable policies like the Community Empowerment Act which encourage, support and help resource this kind of community-led activity.
“We would urge that anyone considering taking on an asset, however early the stage, gets in touch with the team at the Community Ownership Support Service to find out how they can help support the process.”
Under some of the notable provisions of the new Act, most of which are expected to come into effect in the summer of 2016, communities throughout Scotland will:
In his Ministerial address at the DTAS Conference today, Minister for Local Government & Community Empowerment Marco Biagi MSP is expected to say: “These are remarkable times in Scotland to be an active citizen. We have almost unprecedented levels of participation and engagement from people in communities the length and breadth of the country and the Scottish Government wants to build on the enthusiasm that people have been showing and get them more involved in local decision making, so that we can release at a local level the energy that comes from employing those talents, and allowing communities to guide the changes and improvements that they want to see in their local areas.
“In June this year the Scottish Parliament passed the Community Empowerment Act, the focus of which was to put forward legislation that helps give communities the means and ability to greater control their futures. Communities in the driving seat, that is the aim of the Act.
“We want to go beyond consulting, go beyond engaging and get into the true participation and partnership that is the only way communities can be empowered. We know that giving communities the power to make their own choices is one of the most effective ways to tackle poverty and address inequalities.”
Also addressing conference today will be Rob Hoon, manager of the successful Out of the Blue arts and education trust based in Dalmeny Street.
Entitled ‘Assets, Enterprise & Creativity‘, DTA Scotland’s conference – the organisations’ twelfth – has brought together Scotland’s experts on community-led regeneration, along with the development trusts and community organisations and groups looking to deliver innovation and sustainable change on the ground.
Topping the agenda is ensuring that delegates are aware of the opportunities available to them as a result of the introduction of the new legislation. Once again a sell-out, the Conference is providing an invaluable forum for the sharing of ideas, experience and good practice.
