Author: Alasdair MacKinlay, Scottish Government

In April this year, the Scottish Government and COSLA announced a joint statement of commitment to community empowerment.That statement set out a definition of community empowerment and a high level outline of a community empowerment action plan. The definition that was agreed by Ministers and COSLA says that community empowerment is a process where people work together to make change happen in their communities by having more power and influence over what matters to them.

It is fair to say that the definition has been read differently by different people. Some think that the definition suggests a ‘top down’ approach to empowerment. This was certainly not the intention. Ministers are clear that in essence empowerment is about
people doing things for themselves about the things that matter to them. I suspect that the debates will continue – and the trick will be to balance debates on definitions with making progress on practical action.

Key roles and messages

Since the announcement of the joint statement, Ministers have asked us to work closely with a range of colleagues to develop the detail in the action plan. As a key part of our joint working we have been very pleased to work in the spirit of the concordat with COSLA’s community empowerment working group. Ministers see local authorities having a key role in enabling and supporting community empowerment and COSLA’s decision to set up a group to look specifically at this agenda is to be warmly welcomed. No less importantly, we have also benefited greatly from challenge and ideas from Local People Leading (LPL) who are campaigning for a strong and independent community sector in Scotland. Many LPL supporters are involved in the community led groups who form the backbone of community empowerment on the ground. It is important to remember that the content of the plan we are developing has been heavily influenced by the wide ranging dialogue that we carried out towards the end of last year. Given that around 380 people gave of their time and energy to get involved in that process, it is important to the Scottish Government that what was said is reflected in the plan. It might be helpful to reflect on some of the key messages that we heard and how those are feeding in to action for the future.

Perhaps most strikingly, there was a strong plea that we should not invent new schemes or structures, but that we should publicise existing examples and build on what already exists. It was also agreed that there was no “one size fits all” model of communityempowerment.

For that reason, we have approached twelve existing examples of community empowerment practice to try to reflect experience from different parts of the country and to give a flavour of the different models in existence. We are delighted that we will be able to tell the stories of places where communities own significant assets like the island of Gigha and Cordale Housing Association, through to examples involving bodies like Registered Tenant Organisations and Community Councils who have clear influence over local decision making.

Describing these examples will not be a dry, academic exercise, but will celebrate what can be achieved through community empowerment by supporting people to tell their own stories in an inspiring way – including both the good and the not so good bits.

It is clear to Government that communities owning assets like land and buildings can be a powerful route to empowerment in the right circumstances, and this was backed up by a number of people involved in the dialogue. Community asset ownership is a complicated area, and we will be working with Development Trust
Association Scotland and other stakeholders to put in place a range of work that will help communities and the public sector understand and deliver the potential benefits of community asset ownership.

Time and again in our dialogue the point was made that training was needed to help people understand what community engagement and empowerment are and how to deliver them. We will be investing in a range of National work in this area, from supporting a successor to the Community Voices Network aimed at community activists to working with the Improvement Service to develop and deliver
training aimed at local authority councillors – which is a first for Scotland.

Work in progress

Finally, while everyone saw potential benefits in communities being more empowered, there was a strong view that many communities simply wanted better opportunities to be heard by public sector bodies when they are planning and delivering services. The plan will therefore reflect the continuing importance of community engagement, as part of a spectrum of working with communities, and we will continue to promote the National Standards for community engagement and the community engagement planning tool, VOICE.

So the plan is a work in progress – and when it is launched early next year it should be seen as a starting point. It will include a restatement of Ministers’ firm commitment to seeing more communities becoming more empowered. I am sure that beyond the publishing of the action plan, debate and discussion about community empowerment, both the principles and the practice, will continue and we look forward to that on-going dialogue

ITS vision is much more than a handful of meeting rooms for local people.

The Kyle Citizens Community Trust has been working with the Big Lottery Fund to fulfil a dream of developing a “community hub” owned and managed by residents in the area.

Now, however, the charity is being evicted by North Lanarkshire Council from the building that it wants to acquire to benefit the COmlIiunity and provide space for a new range of social enterprises.

The Kyle Road Day Centre at KiIdrum, Cumbemauld, has, for years, been used by a variety of interests such as seniors groups, mothers and toddlers, and tenants and residents’ representatives.

Ten groups operate in the facility where belly dancing, yoga, dance, gardening and a book exchange are among other activities.

The trust was recently told in a letter from the council that it had 15 days to remove its equipment and belongings.

The council, which until recently ran some of its own services from the building said it was no longer in a position to staff the premises or process let requests.

“For this reason it would be our intention to provide janitorial cover until Thurs- day December 12,2008 at 4pm,” it said. “The services to the building will also be disconnected at this date.”

The trust was angered because it said the council had given earlier assurances that it would be able to remain in the building after the local authority evacuated.

The council has now granted a short term lease until the end of March.

That cut no ice, however, with Rose Bowie, chair of the trust, who said the local community had been waiting 50 years for the ambitious facility the charity envisaged.

She told Tf’N: “It’s just a stay of execution and it’ll be our heads that roll. The council doesn’t want to serve the community.

“Not only is our groups’ treatment by North Lanarkshire Council disrespectful but in one fell swoop they have robbed us of our vision for the future, halted our activities and our focus.”

Bowie said that the trust had “jumped through hoops” to assure the local authority that it had everything right in its application to take over the running of the building. “KCCT bent over backwards and did everything they were told, all to prove their worth. The trust rose to every challenge set in very restrictive time frames by the council.”

Bowie, a member of the Cumbernauld Community Forum, said the trust had been forced to spend £500 on insurance in August after being informed it was needed in order to sign an agreement to operate out of the building.

“Nothing came of that,” she added. In a statement to TFN the council said it had now agreed to allow a short-term lease arrangement with groups using the centre taking over the responsibility for its running costs and becoming keyholders.

It said that the groups had been offered alternative accommodation in discussions with them over the past two years.

Bowie refuted that claim and said that the “stay of execution” had, to an extent, exacerbated the situation.

She said the local authority had now given the trust a “ridiculous” time limit-the end of January -to raise more than £122,000 to buy the building.

She added: “For 45 years or so this building has been rent-free to groups but now they are wanting a rent to cover the heating, utilities and security.

“It’s alarming. We are having to pay for our stay of execution.” She said that the trust had been miling good progress with the full application to the Big Lottery for funding to re-build the day centre.

“We hope to encourage through a mixture of enjoyment and learning that there is a life beyond television in our community. We only have to “reshuffle” our priorities.”

The Reshuffle, which has been running each January for the last three years is a day event which fills the community centre with activities, talks and workshops in a variety of community themes – The reshuffle is completely run by volunteers and good-will and is in receipt of no funding. A major emphasis is on attracting families and all ages.
What we offer is an opportunity for folk to try out a few ideas and experiences that are different from the telly. The last Reshuffle dealt with Common Good issues and green space, as well as lots of things for kids to do – from science activities like experimenting with different materials, soldering and building small electronic circuits. The Galgael boat builders were at hand to demonstrate and let people try out different crafts and the Cardboard Club where weans can work together and build there own spaces. As well as these activities there will be a series of.
talks and films along with The Radical Independent Bookfair Project

This year its “The Art of Noise”
How to stand-up Shout-up and shout out for your community. As well as workshops on community journalism, making a news-sheet – Sunny Govan Radio will be there – cover the proceedings – you will also be treated to the Electron clubs (subtle) Noise Orchestra – electronic noise making; a voice workshop to encourage your confidence, and help you to express yourself, a community consultation wall, where you will be able to post your ideas drawings and photographs, a media workshop that will record and film the days events and what folk are saying and doing. The GalGael will be there to remind you of the beauty of hand skills and heritage – the cardboard club will be industrious and dynamic building play houses for the kids, there will be films from document 6, AnarchoTV will be streaming live internet TV, the RIB bookfair + videotheque free things, book swap and books to understand the world and much more… Join in Contact: bob@citystrolls.com

The JANUARY RESHUFFLE at the PEARCE INSTITUTE Govan on January, 31st 2009 12 – 6pm

RESIDENTS of a small Highland community have become the 100th group to launch a community buy-out bid, the government announced yesterday, revealing the extent to which land reform legisla tion has shaken up the traditional model of land ownership.

Environment Minister Michael Russell promised that 2009 would see improvements in the groundbreaking land reform system, paving the way for other rural communities to take control of their local areas.

Evanton Wood Community Company, based near Dingwall, has registered to buy 64 acres of woodland on the Novar Estate, Ross-shire. The company plans to maintain the wood and improve the road and path system. The creation of a shelter, toilets and information will boost the amenity for visitors, the proposal states.

Russell Morrison, the group’s chairman, said: “At the moment, children are bused to various places for nature studies when we have a wonderful facility right on our doorstep.”

The buy-out plan follows a number of high-profile local takeovers, and comes less than a month after the 30 residents of Rum backed a scheme to take control of their island’s key assets .

Supporters of the Rossshire bid are hoping for Big Lottery backing for their buyout, which is expected to cost several hundred thousand pounds at least.

Announcing the landmark community plan, Mr Russell stressed the importance of the Land Reform Act 2003, brought in under the previous Holyrood administration.

He said: “The community right to buy is incredibly important, particularly to rural Scotland. Giving communities control over the way their land is managed inspires greater power to shape their own futures, creates a strong sense of ownership and provides rights and opportunities to help realise local ambitions.

“Rural communities throughout Scotland are continuing to recognise the real benefits of the community right to buy legislation. As a result registrations have been made on a wide range of assets including churches, woods, fields, estates, a golf course, a youth hostel and even an avenue of trees.

“The legislation has been very popular. However, more can be done to assist community bodies in working their way through the processes and we’ll be providing further help for them in 2009.”

Though initially viewed as a controversial idea, unpopular with many land owners, the act has allowed a number of small rural communities to gain unprecedented control over their local affairs.

With first-refusal buying rights for successful applications, many communities have been able to emulate the experience of the small group Assynt which, in the early 1990s, launched the modern land reform movement when it bought a large North Lochinver estate from a bankrupt Swedish property company.

Funding for community buy-out projects has come from a variety of sources, with lottery money adding to grants from Highlands and Islands Enterprise. In 2006 islanders on South Uist, Eriskay and Benbecula benefited from a GBP2m lottery grant to buy their islands from a consortium of absentee landlords, though they did so without using the Land Reform legislation.

Community buy-outs have been held up as a key force in bringing economic recovery to outlying areas.

After the South Uist, buyout, a GBP12m pier regeneration project was unveiled, which islanders said would not have happened if the land remained under private ownership.

Landing parties

2002 – Residents on the tiny island of Gigha paid GBP4m to buy out their land, raising money in part by selling Achamore House, the traditional laird’s home. The flag of the community trust was hoisted to fly between the Union Flag and the Saltire above the island’s hotel.

2005 – Crossgate Community Woodland became the first group to secure land under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003. The former mining community of Crossgate, Fife, raised GBP150,000 to buy land from the Coal Authority.

2006 – South Uist residents undertook the biggest “friendly” land buy-out to date, spending GBP4.5m to take over South Uist, Eriskay and most of Benbecula from the South Uist Estate company, a consortium of absentee landlords and property owners.

2006 – Residents of Neilston, East Renfrewshire, became the first in Scotland to use the Land Reform legislation in an urban location. Concerned that a former Clydesdale Bank would be turned into flats, they bought it to provide opportunities for self-development, training and employment.

July 2008 – An Aberdeenshire community won the right to buy its local pub, the Midmar Inn.

Locals feared the loss of the inn would tear the heart out of the village’s social life, and hundreds of names were gathered on a campaign petition backed by government ministers.

Dec 2008 – The 30 islanders of Rum looked set to take over their island’s key assets in the smallest community buyout to date. The 23 residents on the electoral register are due to vote on a transfer this month.

Credit: Newsquest Media Group

The Scottish Renaissance Town programme will be launched in the Glen Hall on 15th January. It will be five years – almost to the day – since the beginning of Space to live and the first mention of a grassroots-led village plan. Maybe that’s as long as it takes to grow a good idea; we have been patient. During that time – when perhaps it seemed that nothing was happening – we’ve been running workshops, speaking to councillors, lobbying policymakers and movers and shakers all over the place to convince them that ordinary places like Neilston deserve every bit as much care in their planning and building as city centres and conservation areas. For as Sam Galbraith famously said, ‘Where are the conservation areas of tomorrow?’

But it’s not only bricks and mortar. People must be at the centre, and that is why during those five years, Space to live, and then Neilston Development Trust, has steadily built upon the real sense of community here, celebrating it with the Neilston Live festival, the Bank Programme, encouraging our pride of place. And not just the Trust. Among residents’ associations, clubs and individuals there seems to be something afoot, a new sense of energy and possibility.

Perhaps that’s why we have caught the eye of some influential people, who agree with us that there’s life in our small towns that needs recognised and expressed in a quality environment. In this special edition of The Space you’ll learn about the team and the landmark process that we have been able to attract to our town. Neilston’s been here for centuries and will be, long after we’ve gone. But for now, in this tiny moment in its history, we can say that Neilston’s time has come. Let’s hear it for the small towns of Scotland!
On January 15th, as the result of years of local campaigning, Neilston becomes the first pilot Scottish Renaissance Town. A team of top-flight designers and thinkers will join Neilston’s people, local officers and elected representatives in the launch of a new initiative, which hopes to bring new life to Scotland’s small towns. All eyes will be on Neilston!

Some thoughts from Alan Simpson, design team leader for the Renaissance Programme: Many European cities have a tradition of urban care and a sense of quality that makes their urban centers so attractive. In the UK many towns and cities also maintain high standards in the urban environment – places like Durham and Bath, the Cotswold towns, in Edinburgh … (However) while as a nation we value quality in our buildings and civic spaces – the value of tradition, amenity and beauty – we nevertheless lack real concern about what a place looks like in its everyday life. This lack of concern manifests itself in low quality buildings, the poor state of our public transport system and the general condition of many of our streets and squares. It manifests itself in the prevalence of litter and pollution and in the shortage of attractive landscaping, street trees and good public art. It manifests itself in the lack of an overall concept of amenity and in a sheer lack of beauty.

The Renaissance Towns initiative seeks to help bring about a revival. At the heart of the renaissance of these towns is the fundamental belief in the value of local empowerment. A need is recognised to more fully engage and empower local communities in order to release their latent skills, knowledge and desire to improve their towns as places to live, invest and visit.”

Alan Simpson will be describing the Yorkshire experience at the launch meeting on 15 January, and these projects have attracted massive local participation.
The formation of Town Teams, made up of residents, business leaders, local authorities, indeed all relevant stakeholders and provide a vehicle to engage the interest, support and ideas of the local community;
• Large Scale Planning Workshops
• A Community Charter will be produced, which is an agreement signed up to by all parties, as to the way forward, leading to more detailed management and business plans.

If community is dead, who is to blame for its murder? While market forces have played their part in the breakdown of solidarity and collective institutions, this new collection of essays argues that government meddling has been instrumental in the death of community.

If government lets us get on with it, communities would thrive, it claims. Instead, decades of official intervention into the ‘creation’ of community has served to erect unnecessary barriers between classes, races and neighbours. Building community has in recent times become ‘just one of those management objectives that has to be ticked off’, with numerous initiatives to turn us into volunteers, integrate us with our neighbours and knit our families back together.

The promotion of multiculturalism For example, has, by highlighting and privileging differences between racial groups, undermined any meaningful prospect of a unified community. One essay on the migration of Brazilians into a small town in County Galway in Ireland proves that diverse racial groups manage to integrate perfectly well together without government interference. In 14 essays by some of the UK’s foremost social policy writers and practitioners, a range of issues are explored, from the trend to blame poor public space for low community relations, to placing the future of participation in the hands of digital technology.

Andrew Calcutt, principal lecturer in journalism at the University of East London, reveals how government plans for social order tore into working class solidarity in the aftermath of the second world war. The book puts forward a convincing argument against government meddling and is timely given the current focus on empowerment.

It argues that attempts to manage and audit community relations merely serve to stifle spontaneous solidarity. Only by shifting the debate away from government exercises in ’empowerment’ can communities be freed to thrive in new political spaces.

Author: Steve McElroy Helensburgh Advertiser

A community’s 10-year wait for work to start on a new village hall has come to an end — with the push of a spade.

After years of campaigning, suffering set-backs and fund-raising, the people of Arrochar, Tarbet, Succoth and surrounding areas saw their tangible efforts finally come to fruition when development of their £1.1 million building began.

The honour of cutting the first turf of the 3 Villages campus went to Mary Haggerty, secretary of Arrochar and Tarbet Community Centre, a community activist and supporter of the Arrochar and Tarbet Community Development Trust which has been responsible for the development.

Around 60 members of the community, and those involved in the campaign, representatives of funding contributors, architects, builders and pupils from Arrochar Primary School attended the ceremony.

Provost Billy Petrie, a supporter of the long-awaited development, said he was “absolutely delighted” to see the work actually starting and praised the community for their magnanimous efforts.

He said: “I was at the first meeting when a sub-committee was set up to look at having a new hall when their old one was taken away.

“The people of the area were robbed of a community centre but decided that they could build one of their own and they have fought tenaciously and tirelessly for 10 years with a wonderful community spirit. It is wonderful that it has now come to fruition.”

Provost Petrie singled out four individuals, Trust chairman Duncan McLauchlan, Mary Haggerty, Ronnie Ross and Retta Deerin, who were the main instigators of the development and met with officials of Argyll and Bute Council who put forward their proposals.

The Provost added: “Had it not been for the tremendous dedication of these members in the early days it would not have happened. They were the pioneers and contributed a major part of the jigsaw and their contribution has not been in vain.

“At that time the council was not so helpful because of impediments but, over the years, things changed and they were allowed to look at it sympathetically.

“The development will greatly benefit local people and generations to come.”

Pupils from Arrochar Primary School provided a time capsule which they filled with their own work, and about what they expect from the new hall, before it is buried in the foundations.

The site has been fenced off by the builders, M&K MacLeod of Lochgilphead, who start construction on January 6. The project will take around a year to complete.

The building will consist of a main hall with stage, multipurpose hall, small classroom-sized hall and kitchen and there will also be provision for national park tourist facilities and public toilets.

Apart from their own efforts, funding was also provided by Community Links Scotland, through Dunbritton Housing Association and Wider Role, Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park, the Big Lottery, Argyll and the Islands LEADER, and the council.

Other developments planned for the village include a new jetty, public toilets, refurbishment of the community owned Pitstop Diner, the development of housing by Oxford Inns, who own the Arrochar Hotel, and an all-weather sports pitch in the area behind the new village hall.

The sale of the derelict Arrochar Outdoor Centre to the Territorial Army was one of the initiatives which led to the 3 Villages Campus becoming a reality

Charity aims to raise £1m to reopen Govanhill Baths CAMPAIGNERS working to reopen Govanhill Baths have launched a bid to raise £1million in a year after presenting their business plan to Glasgow City Council. The charity has an ambitious £12.5m proposal to restore the Edwardian pool in the city’s Calder Street and provide a range of new facilities for the community. And it hopes to win approval for a first £8m stage that would see customers swim at the historic pool for the first time in 10 years. The handover of the business plan this week has already won cross-party backing at council, Holyrood and Westmin-ster and marks a major breakthrough in the campaign to reopen the baths which closed in 2001. The Govanhill Baths Community Trust has worked with its sponsors, Nord architects, on a blueprint that would reinstate swimming pools at the B-listed Edwardian building and would also feature a four-storey extension at the back of the building, offering a nursery, a cinema, cafe and community spaces. A plan to sell part of the site for housing has been shelved in favour of building affordable office space for local businesses. There will also be a roof garden, while the basement has been earmarked for a recording and rehearsal studio. The trust has already identified almost £5m for the first phase but need another £3m. They hope £2m can be secured from other bodies leaving another £1m to be raised by themselves from donations, events and a new shop. Spokesman Andrew Johnson said: “The plan is fully costed and will offer something to every aspect of the local community. “We hope the council will come in with some funding, along with the Scottish Government.” MSP Frank McAveety said: “This project would benefit the whole of the South Side. “Westminster has made millions available to the Scottish Government for economic development and I am calling on them to make sure that some of that is allocated to this project.” A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: “The council has begun its scrutiny of the trust’s business plan and will consider this fully in due course.” The trust hopes to soon be able to open a new shop, in a former bank on Victoria Road, to boost its fundraising.

Author: Judy Wilkinson

Comment on growth of Conferences as big business

I feel that there is a gap opening up between the professionals who can afford to go to the increasing number of expensive seminars and conferences that are now on offer like and community groups or small organisations like mine who simply cannot afford these fees.

Can LPL help local organisations have more accessible conferences?. I realise that everyone needs to generate income so probably have to charge for their conferences but on the other hand the local community groups and planners, community workers etc need a common ground to meet and engage views. It may be this can be done through bursaries and other support mechanisms.

A possible community model is our Annual Scottish Allotments Conference in Dunblane each year. This is completely free with a request for a £5 donation for lunch. Admittedly the Hall (with three break-out spaces) is a community resource and very inexpensive. We send out all information via email apart from to those who request snail mail. We only offer expenses to our speakers if they come from outwith Scotland – Richard Wiltshire the English allotments guru came last year and we paid for his travel but put him up in a committee members house. We usually have two MSPs (chairing morning and afternoon sessions), and really good speakers including government officers, local authority officers, SNH and environmental organisations representatives all of whom give their time and input as part of their responsibility to the community. Our members run the rest of the proceedings with a session to update us on latest developments across Scotland and a variety of workshops. In this way we spread information across our membership, inform other interested bodies and enable professionals to meet the grass roots.

It works well and is most enjoyable.

Judy Wilkinson
Committee member Scottish Allotments and Gardens Society

Author: Ian Alexander, Newstart Magazine

Government considers delegating authority to make Social Fund loans

Credit unions and other third sector organisations might be empowered to issue loans on behalf of the government’s much-maligned Social Fund under proposals announced this week.

The fund, which provides more than £770m-worth of loans and grants to benefit claimants, is set to be over- hauled so that advice on budgeting and saving could also be provided to tackle underlying financial issues.

A government consultation paper also pledges to look at how community care grants could have a greater focus on vulnerable people and proposes a single loan system to replace crisis and budgeting loans.

The minister responsible for the Social Fund, Kitty Ussher, said: ‘What has struck me is in some parts of the country there is fantastic expertise and enthusiasm from a variety of external organisations -including, but not limited to, charities, debt advice and credit unions -that we could, in theory, work with to make our service even better, making affordable credit available to more people and providing greater financial advice and support in difficult economic times.’

Around three million claimants benefit from the one-off Social Fund payments, which help steer vulnerable people away from loan sharks.

But the performance of the fund, currently administered by Jobcentre Plus, was heavily criticised last year by the work and pensions commit- tee, which said it was ‘letting down’ the poorest in society and claimed attempts to centralise the system had failed (New Start, 23 May 2007).
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Moves to contract out the provision of Social Fund loans and financial advice to private sector firms and the voluntary sector were rejected in a feasibility study earlier this year due to the economic climate.

Mark Lyonette, chief executive of the Association of British Credit Unions, said: ‘With proposed new legislation which will allow credit unions to expand to more areas of the country and enable more people to access their services, we would be happy to work with the government to explore the possibilities of delivering this service; something which would be far more accessible if credit union services were to be made avail- able through the post office network.’

The proposed changes could be in place from 2010.

Consultation responses should be sent tosocial.fund@dwp.gsi.gov.uk by 23 December.

The Social Fund: a new approach, www.dwp.gov.uklconsultations/2008Isocial-fund -new-approach.asp