Author: Stephen Naysmith, 6 Sep 2011

The fundraising method used by Barack Obama for his presidential election campaign could transform charity funding in Scotland, according to the founders of a new cooperative business.

Borders based SoLoCo uses a “crowdsourcing” approach with the aim of connecting communities online. It gives projects or causes the chance to appeal directly to the public for funds on the web. Using a dedicated website, the appeals have to be for a specific campaign over a 60-day period.

As well as Obama’s campaign for the presidency, the crowd-sourcing approach has also been used to raise money for arts projects in America under the Kickstarter scheme, while Scottish company Brewdog adopted it for their ‘Equity for Punks’ expansion campaigns.

An official launch of the new approach is planned to take place in Glasgow later this month, as part of world Social Media Week, but SoLoCo’s website is already live and the first appeals have already gone up on it, with six projects signed up to crowdsource for donations. 

They include an attempt to renovate a walled garden in Assynt, in Sutherland, a multimedia youth project in Duns in the Borders, an employment scheme attached to community cafe Punjab’n De Rasoi in Leith, and an appeal for audio-visual equipment for the project Youth Football Scotland. Between them, the six projects hope to raise a total of at least £124,976.

SoLoCo Founder Kirsty Burnham said: “We believe SoLoCo can help revolutionise the future of funding in the UK. “We want to make it easier to raise funds, and in time make it easier for organisations to be become less reliant on the ‘traditional’ funding bodies.  We also want to help improve the visibility of our communities and all the amazing work happening on the ground every day.” 

“Crowdfunding has already made a huge difference to the arts, music and even Obama’s political campaign – now we want it to change communities.”

Organisers believe any source of new funds should be welcome at a time when an increasingly tough financial climate means the third sector is battling with reduced income from statutory funding. At the same time many organisations also face a steep increase in demand for services.  Charities and campaigns signing up to the site can promote their appeal and then have 60 days in which to fundraise, and are encouraged to make extensive use of social media to do so. 

SoLoCo itself takes a commission on any funds raised, with the amount taken depending on whether or not a campaign reaches its target.  Lots of little amounts all add up 

During Social Media Week SoLoCo is to offer a special crowdfunding workshop on September 20 in collaboration with other UK pioneers of crowdfunding.

They include publishing initiative Unbound, and the focus will be on producing one or more viral adverts to help promote the notion of crowdfunding.

Author: Jeff Salway

CREDIT unions have been tipped to lure more customers from mainstream financial services providers when new rules come into force next year allowing them to widen their activities. 

Membership numbers are expected to rise under changes allowing u nions to serve more people and boost their savings offers. The move comes as Scotland’s biggest credit unions benefit from increased demand as consumers seek an alternative to high street banks. 

Changes to the credit unions act 1979, set out in legislative reforms put before parliament in July, will give credit unions the ability to expand beyond their traditional customer base when they come into force, expected to be early next year. 

Credit unions are not-for-profit organisations that are owned by their members, usually drawn from those living or working locally or belonging to certain organisations. 

However, their reach is currently limited by the “common bond” that members must share, usually living or working in the same area, working for the same employer (i.e. the NHS or police) or belonging to the same association, such as a church or trade union.

For example, Scotwest membership is open only to people living or working in the West of Scotland, while Glasgow Credit Union members must live or work in the G postcode area and the Capital Credit Union is open to people living or working in Edinburgh, the Lothians or Borders. But they will soon be able to widen their membership scope by serving groups such as tenants’ associations or, perhaps more significantly, employees of national companies. 

In addition, the new rules will allow unions to pay interest on savings for the first time, as opposed to dividends, delivering a further boost to their appeal. Members will also be given access to their savings through Post Offices, under a separate government initiative aimed at boosting the sector. 

Dermot O’Neill, Scottish League of Credit Unions said “The forthcoming changes in legislation now affords Credit Unions the opportunity to be considered a genuine alternative to high street banking.  The SLCU will encourage our member Credit Unions to embrace these changes and offer a fuller member service.  Importantly, the legislative changes also include an increased solvency requirement of Credit Unions, ultimately meaning that members money will be even more protected than it is currently”

Mark Lyonette, chief executive of credit union trade body Abcul, pictured below, said: “Credit unions around the country along with their partners have been eagerly awaiting these changes, which will see increased access to safe and ethical financial services in communities and workplaces across the country, and so I’m delighted that they are on track to be in force by early next year.”

Paul Walsh, the chief executive of Cuna Mutual Europe, believes the credit union offering compares increasingly well with that on the high street.”Banks are withdrawing from localism to reduce costs; and in many cases they are closing down branches and pushing customers to online services,” he said. “As mutual lenders and credit unions offer a more personalised, local service, they are becoming even more favoured and loved by consumers.”

The Chance to Thrive: Building for the Future

Summary

The Chance to Thrive is an innovative and creative programme designed to develop and deliver major new and sustainable church based community facilities in some of Scotland’s very poorest neighbourhoods. In the first phase, attention will focus on eight neighbourhoods. However, the Chance to Thrive is not primarily about buildings – it is about people and their aspirations for community. It is about a model of regeneration which recognises the importance of inter-dependence – that in order to build places where we all want to live everyone needs to be involved. The project is being led by the Church of Scotland – Scotland’s largest charity – although the project will operate around strong partnership models.

Introduction

The Church of Scotland has important assets of volunteers, staff and buildings in every community in Scotland. Its buildings are often vital community assets. Over the last decade the Church of Scotland has doubled its level of financial support in the poorest 58 neighbourhoods in Scotland (corresponding to the poorest 5% of communities). This has resulted in increased staffing, engagement, activities and improved buildings as the Church has sought to live out its declared commitment to increasing the quality and value of life for Scotland’s poorest and most

marginalised citizens as one of its core values. This commitment has helped to improve the quality of life in some of Scotland’s poorest neighbourhoods. For example:

 In Cranhill (Glasgow), Cranhill Community Project (www.cranhillcp.co.uk) currently caters for 800 people of all ages and cultures – and has become a vital hub for community activity across the neighbourhood, winning awards across Glasgow and beyond.

 In Holy Trinity Wester Hailes (Edinburgh), the congregation (www.holytrinity-westerhailes.org.uk) provides a range of community activities, including debt counselling and a community café operating in a largely re-developed building following extensive vandalism and fire damage.

 In Chalmers Ardler (Dundee), the local congregation has played a pivotal role in the development of Ardler Village Trust (www.ardlervillagetrust.org) as well as the extensive refurbishment of the church building as a major community resource.

In the Gorbals (Glasgow), Bridging the Gap (www.bridging-the-gap.org) provides peer mentoring for young people moving from primary to secondary schools as well as a welcoming environment for many of the asylum seekers and refugees in the area. Although it has achieved a great deal – particularly working in partnership with Faith in Community Scotland (an interfaith regeneration company it helped to establish in 2005) – the Church of Scotland is committed to achieving even more over the next ten years (Priority Areas Action Plan, General Assembly 2010). These 10 years promise to be particularly challenging in terms of the effective delivery of public and third sector

services. They are also years that without the development of effective and creative responses to the huge social and economic issues which are facing Scotland, many more people will be forced into poverty. In December 2009, One Church 100 Uses (www.onechurch100uses.org) (led by Lord Andrew Mawson, founder of the Bromley By Bow Healthy Living Centre and one of the UK’s leading social entrepreneurs) facilitated a gathering of senior leaders from within the Church of Scotland (and other interested partners) to develop a strategic, entrepreneurial and deliverable response to the current challenges and opportunities facing Scotland’s poorest neighbourhoods and the part which the Church can play in addressing these. The Chance to Thrive has arisen out of this

process.

What the issues are

While the standard of living has increased dramatically for the great majority of Scotland’s citizens over the last fifty years, Scotland’s very poorest neighbourhoods in 2010 are virtually co-terminus with the poorest neighbourhoods in the early 1960s. Despite massive public sector investment remarkably little real progress has been made in persistently poor neighbourhoods. In our research, and arising out of our experience, the Church has identified a number of key issues which have to be addressed if lasting change in our very poorest neighbourhoods is to be achievable and sustainable.

Although there has been a great deal of talk about the need for innovation, creativity and enterprise, the majority of investment has been dependent upon the public sector. With the imminent collapse of public sector finances it is now even more important than ever that solutions are developed which are entrepreneurial, cost effective, economically, socially and environmentally sustainable as well as significantly less dependent upon a grant giving culture.

 Worklessness, a dependency upon insufficient state benefits, the growth in addictions, low levels of educational attainment alongside the fragmentation of communities have all contributed to the perpetuation of poverty. Although there has been massive investment, particularly in physical regeneration, the lack of involvement of local people in the whole change process (there has been consultation in many cases, but not total involvement) – and the inability to significantly back local creativity and innovation – has meant that whilst the physical infrastructure within many communities may have improved, poverty both in terms of economics and also of aspiration remains

endemic.

The money invested in local neighbourhoods has substantially ‘leaked back out’ of those areas. Jobs created have substantially gone to people living outwith the neighbourhood and external private companies have benefited disproportionately from the supposed investment in our poorest areas. Investment has been substantially short-term and disjointed and responsive primarily to changes in regional and national policy as opposed to local knowledge and aspiration. Real change has to be generational. This is an inevitable challenge to those whose effectiveness has to be

demonstrated over an election cycle.

Whilst the quality of housing in many neighbourhoods has improved – and is to be widely welcomed – this is not matched by a corresponding improvement in the quality of the overall built environment. The current strategy encourages independence (every person

existing for themselves within their own house) whereas there is a need to promote inter-dependence with high quality public space and

opportunity for people to engage creatively with each other. 

 The rise in regulation and bureaucracy has also stifled creativity and innovation. Local people and organisations have found it increasingly difficult to navigate their way through the regulation labyrinth and have, as a result, left much of the major development work to external

experts who lack local knowledge, skills and insight. By focusing on the very poorest neighbourhoods in Scotland The Chance to Thrive will seek to contribute to changing this reality. The Church –

with its unique assets of people (staff & volunteers), buildings and resources (financial and people) alongside its long term commitment to Scotland’s poorest neighbourhoods – is well placed to support the effective delivery of change.

What the Church wants to do

The Church wants to play its part – with others – in the development of thriving communities. A thriving community will be a place where people want to live and share with others – and where they want their families to live and share also. It should celebrate religious and cultural diversity,

as well as being a confident, lively and fun place to be.

Over a five year period through the programme ‘The Chance to Thrive, the Church wants to alongside local people from 8 of the poorest neighbourhoods in Scotland to develop new resources designed to help the local community to grow its own capacity to flourish and thrive. Although it is likely that each of these initiatives will involve the development of a new (or substantially refurbished) community resource the focus of the work will be on people and embedding skills and attitudes which will lead to long-term and systemic change. It is fundamentally about creating the spaces and opportunities which enable communities with the confidence to change – street by street, neighbourhood by neighbourhood.

Why the church is well placed to achieve this

With its existing resources of staff, volunteers and buildings in every one of Scotland’s poorest neighbourhoods alongside its long-term commitment to these neighbourhoods, the Church is well-placed to undertaken this work. Key attributes which the Church brings to this work include: 

 A local community with a national infrastructure. While the Church operates at a local level, there is a supporting infrastructure at both city and national level upon which ‘The Chance to Thrive’ will draw. A proven track record in supporting and enabling community change over the long term. Many housing associations, credit unions and community organisations have their roots in the commitment of local congregation and church members. 

 A high level of trust amongst key stakeholders. At a local level, churches, along with schools and medical centres, are often the most highly trusted agencies. Within the private and public sector, there is a broad recognition of the pivotal work of the considerable contribution which churches make to the wellbeing of every community, particularly the most disadvantaged.

 Over the last decade the Church, at a national level, has deliberately bent its resources towards the poorest neighbourhoods and has  committed to continuing to do so in the future.

Although present in the very poorest parts of Scotland, the Church is also present in the very richest. This gives it an almost unique ability to draw upon the considerable resources of money and people from across the country.

An increased knowledge and expertise in the fields of social action and community change with strong links to key public, private and third sector agencies.

A core team of highly effective leaders who have successfully brought about a significantly increased commitment to community engagement within the Church at local, regional and national levels.

An underpinning set of values – grounded in faith – which continues to see potential and hope in local people and places.

Churches were often the first organisation in – and often the last remaining – in many of our poorest communities. In many of the post war estates which now house our poorest communities, Churches provided the first community facilities – helping to create and support the community – and the Churches are committed to remaining

Our approach

The Chance to Thrive will seek to reverse the traditional focus on physical regeneration whilst not minimising the importance of the physical environment. The work will be developed in three stages:

First the Life: Drawing on the insights of appreciative enquiry and the Church’s experience that people living in our poorest communities have huge strengths, the foundational element of the programme relates to the building of confidence in local residents, developing local skills and enabling people to develop their own long-term, creative and sustainable vision for their neighbourhood. This is a long term, and ongoing, process but without the effective engagement of local people any changes are likely to be superficial and will not help people (or

places) to achieve their long-term potential. 

Then the Space: The spaces between buildings are often more important than the buildings themselves. It is in these spaces that new relationships are formed and new communities created. There is the need to create spaces – temporary and permanent – where people want to belong and where they can both enjoy the present and imagine the future. Too often in the recent past places have been created without giving the time which is necessary to ensure that plans emerge from within and reflect the particular heartbeat of a neighbourhood.

Without that space, their places will quickly become sterile and excluding.

 Then the Buildings: The built environment matters but buildings need to reflect the values of a place. The development of new resources through The Chance to Thrive needs to be buildings which reflect and nurture both the community’s and also the Church’s values as places of safety, creativity, neighbourliness and hope. They need to be resources which are adequately staffed and appropriately governed.

Underlying each element of this work is the importance of developing and building confidence – thriving communities are communities which believe in their potential and capacity to succeed. (The three stages were inspired by Jan Gehl, the Danish Urban Designer)

What we will achieve

By the end of the pilot phase we will have

1. enabled eight church communities to have developed their vision of their role in their local community

2. supported the development of local leadership and creativity, including social enterprise

3. assisted those eight church communities to have procured the kind of buildings that will help deliver their vision in partnership with other players in the locality

Any buildings will be developed with a low (or zero) carbon footprint and will have a sustainable ten year business plan ensuring their long-term viability and sustainability. Their capital and revenue development will focus heavily upon the growth of social enterprise and social entrepreneurialism, supporting local people to become leaders and encouraging creativity whilst deliberately reducing dependency on grant funding and external agencies. New operating models – reflective of local aspirations and needs – will be developed. Over the initial five year period the project will enable around £20million of inward investment into the identified communities. Lessons learned from the initial work will then be used to broaden the scope of The Chance to Thrive to a range of other disadvantaged communities throughout Scotland.

How we will know that we have succeeded

The sort of systemic change and transformation which The Chance to Thrive is looking to achieve will take a generation to achieve and will be different in each community. The Church, along with others, is committed to this long-term change process which is prepared to tackle the root causes, as well as symptoms, of poverty. At the same time, key indicators of effectiveness can be identified which demonstrate that the right trajectory is being achieved from the outset.

The project will build in a clear Monitoring & Evaluation process supported by key academics and research organisations. 

Key indicators of success will include: increased individual and community confidence; growing levels of social action & community engagement; increased numbers of local artists; reduced levels of poverty and increased population stability; vibrant new transformational spaces and resources.

First steps

One of the critical lessons which the Church has learnt over its work in Scotland’s poorest neighbourhoods over the last ten years is the importance of starting small and focusing on the local. The first phase of The Chance to Thrive will be with eight local areas drawn from amongst the poorest 5% of Scotland’s neighbourhoods. A volunteer Enabling Panel will be established bringing together a core team of up to 40 people who will have considerable knowledge in the

essential core competencies to assist local people to develop and drive forward their visions. Key skills will include: community development, entrepreneurialism, social business, change management, income generation, architecture, asset management and business planning. The first Panel members will have been identified by February 2011.

Communities will be identified through a competitive process and the leader partner will be the local church. The choice of areas will be based around: local energy and commitment; existing and potential partnerships; entrepreneurial flair; geographical spread; and interest from other core agencies. The first eight local areas will be agreed by May 2011.

 Work will be undertaken within each community to identify key individuals (residents and professionals) with the necessary attributes and potential to offer critical leadership for change over a sustained period of time. An extensive programme of bespoke training, including secondment, will be undertaken with these individuals over an 18 month period.

Shared site visits will be developed both within the initial group of eight (peer learning) but also to other locations of best practice both within Scotland and beyond. This will be a collegial activity with a strong emphasis on the implementation of shared learning.

How much it will cost – and how will it be paid

 The costs of project coordination (including staffing and the Enabling Panel expenses) will be a maximum of £60,000 per annum (limited to £50,000 in 2011) which are being met jointly by the Ministries Council and General Trustees.

Local costs will be covered as follows:

• Existing local staff will be trained and, where appropriate, new staff will be recruited to develop and deliver the work in local neighbourhoods. Through grant funding and its central staff budget the Church will meet up to 50% of these local costs.

• Each neighbourhood will establish a local training and support budget of a minimum of £10,000 per annum to support individuals and organisations.

• Each new (or refurbished) building is likely to cost up to £1.5million (based on current projects) and will have an average projected running cost of £150,000 per annum. The Church will provide 10% of the initial capital costs (plus the value of the existing building/land) as well as an ongoing contribution towards the annual revenue budget. Up to 60% of running costs will be met through income generation and social enterprise.

This initial investment will not, in itself, change neighbourhoods but it will enable the Church to play a critical role in a process of neighbourhood transformation where change is enabled from within the community which will have a long-term ripple out impact.

Conclusion

Manuel Castells, one of the world’s leading urban theorists, asks: What makes for a good city? A whole host of data and theories could be used to answer such a question. For Castells, however, the answer is a relatively simple one: It is a place where his eight year old grand-daughter can

grow up safe and happy.

The Chance to Thrive is a practical attempt to turn that aspiration into a set of realities in some of Scotland’s poorest neighbourhoods. It is about the realisation that Castells’ granddaughter – and every of citizen – will have the best chance to be happy and safe if they have been enabled to

play their part in making that city. Together.

For more information contact

Martin Johnstone

t: 0141 248 2905

m: 07710 509061

e: mjohnstone@cofscotland.org.uk

The cost of implementing The Chance to Thrive involves first the cost of developing an enabling programme for the eight local congregations and

secondly the cost of any building programme. The Chance to Thrive will be looking for a range of short and long term investors from the private,

public and third sectors to work in partnership with the Church.

The Church contribution will be as follows:

– Central coordination and administration costs will be kept to a minimum with the employment of an additional 1 member of staff (National

Coordinator). Administrative support will be drawn from existing staffing

– The Enabling Panel will provide 4000 hours per year across the eight local communities with a projected in kind contribution of up to £200,000

per annum. Volunteer expenses and costs (where appropriate) will be met by the donor organisations (e.g. the individual’s workplace or church).

Hundreds of jobs could be created to build a new £400 million village. The recently formed Kincluny Development Trust intend to apply for planning permission for the new community in Aberdeenshire.

The proposals will see around 1,500 houses built on a former quarry site between the villages of Durris and Drumoak. The Trust will run the community under social enterprise principles and have the potential to manage shops, allotments and renewable energy sources with profits being used for the benefit of local people.

Up to a third of the homes will be affordable to those on lower incomes with prices expected to start at £90,000. If the planning process is successful building may start by the end of 2012.

Bill Burr, managing director of CHAP Homes, has helped to set up the Trust and believes up to 200 construction jobs will be sustained over the 10 year life of the project. He said: “We are putting our money where our mouth is.  In addition to our £400million investment, CHAP will contribute financially to the new Development Trust by allocating a sum from each house sale with the intention of the community managing responsibility for the future development of the village. This is true sustainability.” Leona McDermid, commercial director of the Foyer charity which already runs several social enterprises, said: “A true community is one where everyone not only has a sense of belonging but also a share in a Community Trust that has its own income, manages local amenities and fosters local businesses.  Kincluny Development Trust was our Eureka moment. Sustainability is a term used too often and too lightly, covering a vast range of ideas.  This concept attempts to turn sustainability principles from rhetoric in a glossy brochure, to a day to day community reality.”

Sunday 28 August 2011

A NEW emergency response service could prove a true lifesaver for residents in Kinghorn, Burntisland and Aberdour.  Community First Responder Service is currently looking for volunteers to take part in the programme which is already operating effectively in other areas of Scotland.

They will be trained to attend emergency calls received by the ambulance service and provide care and treatment until paramedics arrives. Because they are sent out to calls in their own areas, volunteers can be first on the scene – and that can often prove vital in saving lives.

The scheme will operate as a community partnership between Burntisland First Aid Services Trust – a charity which provides first aid cover at sporting and other events and runs first aid courses for members of the public – and the Scottish Ambulance Service.

Volunteers will take part in a rota system from their own home or place of work, and are called out at the same time as an ambulance to attend Category A or “immediately life–threatening” calls.

Key skills

Alex MacDonald, chairman of Burntisland First Aid Services Trust, said: “The key skills are already held by local volunteers. But, their time is already stretched by attending weekend and evening events throughout Fife, so extra training is available for any new people who want to sign up.

“The aim is to ensure that in life-threatening emergencies a qualified person can be on the scene and able to give help even before the ambulance crew arrive. It gains a few precious minutes at the time when they matter most. 

Training

“The members of Burntisland First Aid Services Trust are trained to the required standard and some have already said they are keen to join. The training required is the same as what we already offer, so anyone interested can join our regular course, which starts on Wednesday evenings at the end of September. Alternatively, they may be able to attend separate training purely for the Community First Responder Scheme.  Once we have a definitive list of volunteers it will take about two months to set up .’’

The opening of the Harbour Café follows nearly two years of hard work by Tayport Community Trust and other volunteers.

Wednesday’s opening was marked by the gathering of local business people, volunteers, sponsors and the architect at the cafe where trust members thanked them for their contribution. The cafe is also available as a community space and will provide a small gallery to display art work.

Funding to refurbish the Harbour Cafe was provided by the Scottish Government and the European Community LEADER in Fife 2007-2013 Programme, the National Lottery’s Awards for All (Scotland), Fife Council, Fife Community Safety Partnership, Scottish Community Foundation, Ferryport-on-Craig Community Fund, as well as donations from local businesses.

Support was also given by staff from Cupar-based voluntary organisations. Tayport councillor Maggie Taylor said: “I and the other Tayport Community Trust trustees and members are delighted with the success of the cafe.”

In addition to normal cafe services, it is intended the facility will offer training, employment and volunteering opportunities. The premises on the corner of Broad Street have not been used for several years.

Trustee Dr Bob MacKintosh said, “As well as providing locals and visitors alike with a comfortable place to take a break, we hope Tayport Community Cafe will encourage a sense of pride in the area and be a focus for increased community awareness, cohesion and development.”

It is also intended the cafe will provide a welcome pitstop for visitors and those passing through. Fife Coast and Countryside Trust manages the coastal path, and chief executive Amanda McFarlane said, “The new community cafe will offer another much-needed amenity for walkers of the Fife Coastal Path. It is fantastic that organisations are recognising that the coastal path is a huge asset to Fife and are looking to offer this type of facility along the route.”

Local councillors Maggie Taylor, Tim Brett and Ron Caird welcomed the progress and praised the hard work that had gone into the project.

Mr Caird added, “This will not only satisfy a need in the community, but create a potential funding stream for the greater good by ensuring accrued profits go towards provision of the long-awaited sports and community facility.

“This is something that Tayport and the surrounding area requires.”

PARENTS of disabled users of a popular Ross-shire day centre are to urge Highland Council to let them buy out the axe-threatened minibuses so their relatives can travel in safety.

Families are horrified that the council seems intent on withdrawing the two special minibuses serving the Isobel Rhind Centre in Invergordon and leaving the vulnerable users to take taxis and public buses. Parents say their adult children, some of whom have profound learning difficulties and cannot communicate, could not cope with taxis and fear for their safety and wellbeing. 

But Easter Ross Highland councillor Maxine Smith, who held a meeting with worried parents in Alness on Saturday, says she is now going to press the council to show compassion towards the families and agree to buy out the leases on the buses. Cllr Smith said: “I am going to push the council to buy out the leases for the minibuses and hand them over to the parents who will form their own group to take forward a community transport scheme.  Sheila Fletcher of the Community Transport Association, who attended the meeting on Saturday and who is an expert on this, will assist them. Parents would set up their own transport group and they would be in charge of it, and pay towards the costs.”

“This is the least the council can do after putting people through such stress and distressing users of the Isobel Rhind Centre in this way.  I am appalled by some of the stories I have heard. The council seem to be forgetting that these people are all highly vulnerable and children at heart and they cannot cope with massive changes like this, as it threatens their security and wellbeing.”

The meeting heard of one account of a special needs user from Ross-shire who had been asked by the council to take a taxi for a trial period. On several occasions she had been extremely stressed and had soiled the taxi, causing her trauma.

“This was really upsetting for the whole group to hear,” said Cllr Smith. “It’s unacceptable that things like this are happening. You have to deal with this issue sensitively.”

Mike Cubitt of Lamington near Tain, whose son Alasdair (40) attends the Isobel Rhind Centre, said: “If we could get our own transport group up and running, then I would be fine with it. We said all along that we would be prepared to pitch in and help pay a realistic amount towards transport, recognising Alasdair’s income for transport. I think all the parents have said that. But it has to be a safe form of transport. A Right to Try

It seems to be a classic case of the council picking people off one by one and cajoling them into accepting different forms of transport, which are not appropriate. There’s no consistency about any of it.”

Mr Cubitt added: “We don’t want to end up with the number of people attending the Isobel Rhind Centre reducing so that the council can then close it. That’s what we’re all frightened of.”

Rhoda Fraser from Newmore has a 38-year-old daughter who attends the Isobel Rhind Centre five days a week.

She said: “It was a very good, helpful meeting organised by Maxine Smith and the plan that was put forward seems excellent.

“It is obvious that come hell or high water the council wants to remove these buses, but we can’t let them do that because people need to be able to get their relatives to the centre safely.

“We hear all about letting people with special needs be part of the community but my daughter is not capable of being out in the community. She has profound learning disabilities and is epileptic as well. I could not allow her to go in a taxi with someone she didn’t know, even for a short journey.”

Community Transport Association network development officer Sheila Fletcher said she had been “shocked” by accounts told at the meeting by the relatives of people attending the Isobel Rhind Centre.

And she revealed that she had offered the transport solution she proposed on Saturday to social workers in recent months, yet none of the relatives at the meeting had been aware of it.

She said there was precedence for such a system, as something similar had previously been done as part of the transfer to the community of the running of the Assynt Centre in Lochinver. 

Dingwall woman Mary Watt, who has fundraised for the Isobel Rhind Centre in the past, has raised a 2,000-signature petition to retain the transport for users. She and other campaigners plan to hand it over to the council shortly.

Mrs Watt has also alerted MP Charles Kennedy to the parents’ plight and he has taken up the matter with the council.

A council spokeswoman said: “The council has been supporting families and local groups to put new arrangements in place, including community transport solutions. 

“We welcome this proposal, which has indeed come up before, and which we have been exploring further. We shall continue to discuss it with the various parties.”

Local outrage at Highland Council’s decision to close the public conveniences in Arisaig village at the height of the summer season has resulted in Arisaig Community Trust taking on the responsibility to keep them open, as from July 1st.

Arisaig, Caol and Kinlochleven were the Lochaber loos set for closure at the end of June, together with a further ten Highland-wide. The shock decision by Highland Council gave very little time for alternative solutions to be put into place but the directors of Arisaig Community Trust were up for the challenge and have spent the last two months in discussion with the Council.

Chair Ann Martin said ‘Although we will be in receipt of an annual sum of over £3000 Highland Comfort Scheme grant, we have done our sums and the running costs will be well over £6000 a year. We need to do a lot of local fundraising but we’re sure Arisaig residents will support us in keeping this essential service open. This is absolutely what the Trust was set up to do – to save a local service from closure. Although it’s been a difficult couple of months with a lot of hard work put in by the directors, we never had any doubt about taking them on. They are the first public toilets travellers come across after leaving Fort William and are very well used by bus trippers, lorry drivers and boat users as well as car passengers – and locals. To close them would have been crazy.

‘The Trust is running the loos under a temporary licence from the Council while a contract for sale is drawn up. We will buy the building for £1 but overheads are heavy – supplies, paying a cleaner, insurance, rates, electricity, repairs – and we are hoping the Council will do some work on them to improve their standard before we buy.’ The Trust’s first fundraiser will be to serve refreshments in the Astley Hall on Friday July 29th.

Other public conveniences across the region are set for closure next year.

Saluting the past, building civic pride

11 Aug 2011

It has taken 70 years to happen – but a special tribute will finally be unveiled to five brave Scots volunteers who fought against fascism. Later this month the valour of a group of men from Dunbartonshire will be honoured at the unveiling of a statue.

The five, from Renton, made their way to Spain to join the International Brigades to combat General Franco’s fascist uprising against the country’s elected Republican government. The heroic efforts of brothers Patrick Joseph, Tommy and Daniel Gibbons, along with James Arnott and Patrick Curley are to be recognised at a special ceremony on August 27 when an iron statue in the shape of a Spanish bull will be unveiled in their home town.

Danny was wounded in the Battle of Jamara in February 1937, and was allowed to return home – but he made his way back to Spain again, distressed that his brother Tommy had been killed in the battle for Brunete in July that same year. He was eventually captured by Franco’s troops at the battle of Calaceite in March 1938. Kept in filthy conditions in a concentration camp, he and a handful of others secretly combined to keep up the morale of their fellow prisoners.

They were eventually exchanged, in February 1939, for Italian and German prisoners. Patrick Joseph – ‘Joe’ – the third brother, who volunteered as part of a Chicago-based battalion in Spain, was on a Barcelona-based ship that was torpedoed by an Italian submarine.

Two hundred other volunteers were lost at sea, but Joe bravely kept two colleagues, neither of whom could swim, afloat for hours in the water until they could all be rescued. He went on to fight the fascists in numerous battles during the Civil War. He was wounded in the arm after a tank belonging to the fascist forces opened fire.

Of the Renton five, James Arnott was repatriated and Patrick Curley was killed at Jarama – the same battle in which Danny Gibbons was wounded.

The statue, which will be sited at the MA Centre in Renton, is the idea of the Renton Community Development Trust.

We were investigating the history of Renton and came across the Gibbons family – three brothers who fought in Spain  Drew McEwan, the Trust’s chief executive, who with Archie Thomson and Jim Bollan, a Scottish Socialist councillor, has co-authored a booklet detailing local involvement in the Spanish Civil War, said:

“Renton has had an interesting political history – we are still the only area that has returned a Scottish Socialist councillor. Long before then, we used to return two Communist councillors on a yearly basis. We were investigating the history of Renton and came across the Gibbons family – three brothers who fought in Spain. There was even a fourth brother, John, who was keen to fight but was refused entry to the International Brigade in Spain. We did further research and came across James Arnott then Partick Curley, both from Renton.”

“Scots made up about 20% of the Britons who volunteered for the International Brigades in Spain, and 31 came from west Dunbartonshire, including the five from Renton, and another 11 from Alexandria. Others came from Clydebank, Dumbarton, Duntocher and Dalmuir. It wasn’t young and impressionable men who volunteered, either,” Drew added.

“Danny Gibbons was 35 and brother Tommy was 34. James Arnott was 29 and Patrick Curley was 47.

“The chances are that many had experienced the First World War, which is still seen as one of the most barbaric wars ever conducted. It wasn’t as if they went out to Spain with blinkers on, thinking it would be a romantic experience – that they would go out there for a couple of weeks and come back with a suntan. They knew what they were getting into.”

“It has been really interesting to do research into this aspect of local history. Bear in mind that some of these men left this area and walked over the Pyrenees to join a war, which is just a remarkable feat. What also can’t be forgotten is that desperate pleas by the Spanish Republican government for assistance from the European democracies of Britain and France fell, overwhelmingly, on deaf ears. Instead, an agreement was made not to intervene in the conflict, to which Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal and the USSR all agreed to adhere.”

“You could get prosecuted for taking part – it was illegal to fight. It wasn’t just that you got a bad name. Volunteers who returned from Spain would come back to nothing. These men never got the accolades they deserved. Whether people agreed or disagreed with the war doesn’t matter – they showed considerable valour in Spain in the fight against fascism.”

The memorial, which has cost an estimated £2000, will commemorate the bravery of all the local volunteers.

“Hopefully it will last for all time, and will be seen as a fitting tribute to the men who wanted to fight the rise of fascism,” added Drew.

Author: Dominic Jeff, Scotland on Sunday

Spread the jam more widely

By Dominic Jeff, Scotland on Sunday, 21 August 2011

GLASGOW energy firm EML Group is seeking to capitalise on the boom in community wind projects across Scotland with a part-ownership scheme that offers towns and villages a slice of the profits from turbines in their area. The company is offering community groups access to 100 per cent finance to take a share in small wind turbine arrays it plans to build. It says this allows communities to take part in energy projects without any risk or capital outlay.

EML estimates that trusts set up to take part in a project will receive an annual windfall of up to £150,000 for the first 15 years of the 25-year project, with income increasing thereafter. 

One village, Thornhill in Stirlingshire, has already signed up, and EML claims a further ten communities could follow suit.

The Thornhill development would consist of four 500-kilowatt turbines with ownership split between the landowner, EML, external investors and Thornhill Community Trust.

The scheme is currently seeking planning permission – something which is likely to prove less of an obstacle with support from the local population.

Community Energy Scotland, a charity that supports renewable energy projects developed by local groups, promotes a 100 per cent model of ownership by towns and villages, but operations manager

Rona Mackay said energy companies were increasingly offering a stake in their wind farms.
She said schemes with community involvement typically attracted much less opposition than those which only involved a commercial company based outside the area.

She said: “Communities have been saying ‘If it’s going to be on our doorstep, we want a cut of it. A lot of developers see the advantage of local buy-ins, because there are skills and knowledge that can be tapped into.”

Mackay said that in areas with a strong wind resource, such as the Western Isles, it was relatively easy for groups to get 100 per cent finance for the projects, as wind turbines generated a dependable income.  She said about 150 such schemes were in existence across Scotland, although most were still at a planning stage.

Steve Moore, a renewable energy expert with Triodos Bank, said that many wind energy companies were introducing “good neighbour policies” in response to demand from planners that communities see some benefits from developments.