Tag: participation

News from Granton Community Gardeners

Hi All,

It’s now August, and that means nearly time for our:

ANNUAL SUMMER BBQ

Saturday 11th August, FREE Food served from 1pm, at our new gardening HQ:
10 Wardieburn Road. (next door to Royston Wardieburn Community Centre)

You’re all invited!

Since our last email update, a lot of people have been working very hard in the gardens (especially watering!) and lots of the crops have been flourishing in the heatwave.

Yesterday we harvested lots of beetroot bigger than tennis balls that we only planted out as tiny seedlings 6 weeks ago.

COMMUNITY MEALS UPDATE:

Community meals are continuing every Tuesday at 5pm, but please note: for the month of AUGUST these will be held at the community garden (10 Wardieburn Road) instead of the church. This will be a bit more of a BBQ/picnic feel, but still a great chance to come and eat with neighbours, family and friends. All very welcome!

Food is FREE/donation/help with washing up etc..

If anyone would like to volunteer to help out with setting up or running the BBQ or community meal events, please give us a shout.

GARDENING DROP IN SESSIONS:

These are continuing, EVERY TUESDAY AND SATURDAY from 11am.

All welcome, no gardening expertise necessary. Meet at new garden: 10 Wardieburn Road. On Tuesdays there will be someone around all day, so you can work in the garden and then relax at the community meal, or come and go as you like..

We’ve been picking large amounts of soft fruit, and our heritage wheat has ripened super early this year. Give us a shout if you’d like to help harvest it..

Hope you’re all well,

Tom
Granton Community Gardeners

Democracy Matters: sign up for discussion event

Working together, Community Development Alliance Scotland, The Scottish Community Development Centre and the Poverty Alliance invite you to discuss the next phase of the Local Governance Review and  share your ideas about how local democracy could change.

Join us for the morning, chat to us over lunch and learn how you can help others have their voice and make a difference.

  • The Studio, 67 Hope Street , Glasgow
  • 10 am til 2pm
  • 9th August 2018

Register here >> 

Democracy Matters

The Scottish Government has launched the next phase of its Local Governance Review, inviting people to join a conversation called ‘Democracy Matters’.

The campaign asks five key questions about how decisions should be made at a more local level. It asks whether communities, of place or identity, should have more control of decisions and what those might be. It also asks how this should look and what new or existing decision-making processes could be used.

The Local Governance Review was launched earlier in the year aims to find out what changes are needed to encourage a more local, participatory and inclusive democracy in Scotland.

A short animation summaries the review and the five questions being asked:

“In modern Scotland power must work in a way that involves and benefits everyone. To get this right, we will review how responsibilities and resources can be shared across national and local government in a way that delivers the greatest benefit to Scotland’s different places. However, the starting point must be with our citizens and the power and potential within our communities themselves.”

The review encourages people to hold conversations in their communities to discuss Democracy Matters and includes a community engagement fund where groups can apply for £100 – £300 to help make conversations happen. They have also published guidance about how the discussion might work and how it could be facilitated.

The review of local governance was set out in the Scottish Government’s 2017-18 programme for government and will be part of the forthcoming Local Democracy Bill

You can download the report and view more information on the Scottish Government website here.

Register for the event here >>

Democracy Matters: an opportunity for people to have their say

People across Scotland are being invited to join a conversation about community decision-making to help make public services more locally focused. The Democracy Matters conversation will identify new legal rights for communities which would place them at the heart of decision-making.

As part of the conversation people are being invited to consider a short set of questions on shaping local democracy. Community groups can also apply for grants of up to £300 to host their own events related to the project.

Communities Secretary Angela Constance said: “The start of the Democracy Matters conversation is an important moment for community decision-making in Scotland. We believe that more decisions about public services should be taken locally, and that communities should be able to influence those decisions.

“We want to hear from people across Scotland about the issues they want decisions on in their neighbourhood, town or village, and the kind of arrangements that would help that happen.”

COSLA President Alison Evison said: “Across the country, it is widely recognised that Scotland needs local solutions to the opportunities and challenges it faces.

“The conversation is a vital contribution to the change that is needed across all spheres of government to make Scotland a more democratic place, and to ensure that Scotland’s public services are built around the communities they serve.”

Scottish Community Alliance Director Angus Hardie said: “As things stand, communities often find that the really important issues that affect them the most are decided without their involvement and in faraway places. 

“But if democracy is working well, most of those decisions would be taken much closer to these communities and often by local people themselves. Democracy Matters is a rare opportunity for communities everywhere – especially for those groups whose voice doesn’t always get heard – to become involved and to re-imagine how democracy can be made to work for everyone.”

The Democracy Matters conversation is a joint venture between the Scottish Government, COSLA and the community sector and will run over the next six months.

More information on how to take part in the conversation and how to apply for funding to run an event is available online.

You can also contact the organisers via: democracymatters@gov.scot

 

West Pilton West Granton Community Council sets AGM date

WEST PILTON WEST GRANTON COMMUNITY COUNCIL

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Tuesday 8th May at 7pm in West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre Continue reading West Pilton West Granton Community Council sets AGM date