Author: LPL

Participatory budgeting began in 1989 in the Brazilian city of Porto Alegre, where it was launched by the socialist mayor of the city OIivio Dutra -a bastion of Brazil’s governing Workers’ Party. The system soon spread to other cities in Brazil, such as Belo Horizonte.
Under a typical Brazilian PB system, civic forums carve up 66 per cent of the participatory cash into separate thematic budgets, ensuring that key policy portfolios such as housing, education and transport receive a substantial chunk of public spending.

In many Brazilian cities, PB decisions direct spending across the municipal area as well as in local neighbourhoods, although each district is commonly allocated a chunk of each thematic budget (with those suffering from poor services given a bigger slice of the cake). Locals then vote on which projects, within each theme, they wish to see funded.

Typically, the remaining third of the PB budget is given over to free- style spending, which can be used to finance a wide range of projects. As Alan Budge, associate at England’s PB Unit and global scholar of PB, says: “If they want to put up a statue of the local football hero, they can.”

The sums of money allocated through PB in Brazil are huge: between 1992 and 2002, more than US$ 700 million was allocated through the system in Porto Alegre alone. In each year, the spend represented 15 to 25 per cent of the

On a personal note, felt a bit rattled after the meeting today – I suppose it was inevitable that sooner or later Bunny Huggers had to happen, and we all do need to move on to pursue different (and perhaps personally more meaningful) things, I do however feel responsible for making things difficult. I have always enjoyed making my work personal and city’s budget, and by 2000 some 30,000 people were voting each year in PB polls.

“Participatory budgeting has completed reversed the traditional patronage approach
that characterises public administration in most Brazilian cities,” says Professor Rualdo Menegat, a course coordinator at the Institute of Geosciences at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sui, and a former deputy environment secretary in Porto Alegre.

The system is now common-place around South America, and it has begun to emerge in Europe and the Anglophone world. PB has been used in France, Germany, Wales, Italy, Germany, Scotland and Spain.

Notably, it has been adopted in Canada -where some cities use it to allocate public housing resources -and looks set to become wide- spread around England.

Author: LPL

LEADER is divided into two main allocations – £38.5 million for the whole of rural Scotland and an additional £19.2m for the Highlands and Islands.

The £57.7 million, a joint allocation by the Scottish Government and European Union, will be matched at a local level by public and private funds – potentially doubling the figure.

Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the EnvironmentRichard Lochhead said:

“This is a massive investment in rural Scotland which will see decisions taken in local areas on how best to support a wide range of grass-roots community projects.

“The fact that all funding decisions are to be taken locally will greatly empower community decision-making and ensure only those projects which will make a real difference to rural Scotland will be selected.

“I would like to encourage rural communities to now seize the opportunities presented by this funding and take control of their own future development.”

Sixteen Local Action Groups (LAGs) across rural Scotland will administer the funds. Each has successfully applied for funding to be used to implement high-quality local development strategies for their respective areas.

It is anticipated that a further four LAGs will be formed in the second round which opens today.

The £19.2 million convergence fund for the Highland and Islands, which replaces the Highlands and Islands Special Transition Area scheme, will be administered through the Argyll and Islands, Highland, Orkney, Shetland, Outer Hebrides, Cairngorm Local Action Groups. Moray is expected to join in the second round announced today.

LEADER (Liaison Entre Actions de Développement Économique Rurale or links between activities developing rural communities) is a mainstream part of the Scotland Rural Development Programme (SRDP) 2007-2013. It is a bottom up form of local governance aimed at empowering communities to develop their own area using innovative approaches and cooperation. Funding is awarded to Local Action Groups (LAGs) to take decisions on projects which are community driven and have a wide community benefit.

The SRDP is a major programme of support for rural Scotland worth about £1.6 billion over the programme period. The objectives are set out in three themes; to increase competitiveness in agriculture and forestry, improve the environment and the countryside, and enhance the quality of life in rural areas.

Approval of SRDP, following the recommendations of an independent assessment panel, and using a scoring matrix based on population, area and overall quality of bid, means the LAGs can now open for business, and seek applications from potential beneficiaries to implement their local development strategies.

A total of 16 areas applied under the first funding round with proposals to form LAGs. Applications to bid for the second round or LEADER funding were issued today and it is anticipated that a further four areas will be approved. £6.7 million has been held back to fund the second round of applications.

Local Action Groups receiving LEADER funding under part one are:

Aberdeenshire, £3.24m
Argyll & Islands, £2.33m
Scottish Borders, £2.33m
Cairngorms, £0.92m
Dumfries & Galloway, £2.75m
Fife, £1.33
Forth & Lomond, £2.63m
Highland, £6m
Kelvin Valley, £0.53m
Orkney, £0.51m
Outer Hebrides, £0.94m
South Lanarkshire, £1.39m
Shetland, £0.63m
Tyne-Esk, £2.23m
West Lothian, £0.98m

Author: LPL

DETAILED plans for what could be Scotland’s first eco-town were unveiled yesterday.

Planners hope to regenerate four former mining villages on a 1,200-acre site at Cardenden in Fife – using it as a blueprint for future sustainable communities.

The proposed scheme of 5,000 wooden eco-homes, of which 1,000 would be affordable housing, will be built over the next 20 years.

They will incorporate a range of innovative renewable energy features and recycling systems aimed at creating a zero-carbon community.

Planners say the eco-town would not just be a “stand-alone structure” but would also involve eco-town residents and those living alongside it, being involved in community and recycling projects and adopting a greener, healthier lifestyle.

However critics say it is an example of “greenwashing” in which large-scale housing programmes are pushed through despite local opposition because they include green features.

But Colin Anderson, managing director of Banks Property Development Limited, the company behind the plan, said the proposals were not merely about providing housing but about helping to “breath new life” into Scotland’s neglected communities.

“Scotland has so many old industrial villages, fragmented communities stripped of ambition which are crying out for redevelopment.

“The Scottish Government says about 10,000 new houses are needed a year so why not build these houses where people want them and which could lead to long-term regeneration. People in Cardenden don’t want another anodyne housing development and I think many have been pleasantly surprised at what we have come up with.

“When eco-towns were first proposed in England the vision was that they would be single entity settlements on greenfield sites including abandoned air fields. There was such a public outcry the focus turned to brownfield sites such as Cardenden which can be tied in with the infrastructure.”

Mr Anderson added that his company has submitted bids for four out of the ten eco-towns in England

Søren Madsen, an architect at Arkitema, one of Denmark’s leading building firms, which is masterminding the development, said: “This is an amazing opportunity for Scotland though some aspects of what is being proposed such as turbine technology is already part of everyday life in Denmark.

“With Cardenden I like the fact that we are building on an existing identity, but the big challenge will be weaving the old and new, locally and socially.

“People have been very curious. Their population has fallen from 20,000 to 5,000 and they want it to come up to a critical mass – the eco-town could be a way to do this.”

Andrew Saunders, director of Ore Valley housing association in Cardenden, said: “The proposals are very interesting in eco terms and because of the demand for affordable housing across all tenures in this area.

“As a registered social landlord we cannot compete with this, but it has a synergy with what we have been doing in terms of energy saving. If the local community want it, itwill go ahead.”

The proposals do not fit in with Fife Council’s structure plan and the company is now hoping it can influence the Scottish Government to look positively on the idea.

CAUTIOUS WELCOME FOR ECO-TOWN PLANS

PLANS for the eco-town received a mixed response yesterday.

• David Taylor, secretary of Cardenden and Kinglassie Community Council, said: “We are taking a cautious approach to this. We want the village to grow, but people are nervous of change.

“You also have to think about the mentality of people in the four villages – it can be difficult getting them to integrate at present, never mind bringing in a new town.”

• Robin Harper, Green Party MSP, said: “This project can be an icon for all new developments, small and large, and I find it genuinely exciting. Hopefully, Cardenden will set the pace for all future development.”

Author: LPL

Background
The Swedish Village Movement has grown out of difficulties being experienced in many rural areas of the country especially in the sparsely populated areas in the northern region. Lack of jobs and service facilities, outmigration especially of young people was a fact. Village people felt abandoned by the authorities and began to see that they had to rely on their own initiatives and efforts. No one else would take action for them.

Local mobilisation
Today there are 4200 village action groups in Sweden spread all over our country operating under the municipal level (there are nearly 300 municipalities). We estimate that about 100 000 persons are directly engaged in these village groups and about 3 million Swedes are affected, which is a third of the Swedish population.
Many citizens participate in community work in a new (or rather traditional) way. Local people invest their time and money. We underline that our Village Movement vitalizes our Swedish democracy and strengthen the economy all over Sweden – not just in Stockholm.

Rural Parliament
Every second year people gather in a “Rural Parliament” to discuss and put focus on rural matters. The “Parliament” gives guidelines for the Councils work. One important aim is to rouse opinion for rural Sweden. The big event is open to all and there are always foreign guests.
Over one thousand delegates, out of whom around sixty come from abroad, usually attend the Rural Parliament. The main themes in 2008 are Climate, Environment and Energy. Many seminars will be held during the Rural Parliament. One of the main issues of this year’s Rural Parliament will be to discuss and contribute to the Government’s strategy plan regarding Rural Development

Maturing
Our Swedish Village Action Movement is maturing. From rather simple to advanced tasks, from leisure to jobs, from specific actions to a holistic view on local development and from “want-lists” to elaborated local action plans. At the beginning the leadership could be more or less self-appointed, but nowadays local elections are made in good democratic order. From just a few examples of active villages there now is a strong popular movement and from a rather neglected phenomenon it has gained respect from many parties, including the government and the EU-commission.

Author: LPL

The roots of the Leith Festival go back 100 years – in 1907, the ‘Leith Pageant’ parade was held to raise funds for a new hospital in Leith. But it took until 1970s before the parade became a festival. Since the millennium, Leith Festival has grown spectacularly, now boasting 150 events operating out of 60 venues across the community and drawing in an audience of over 30,000. The Gala Day and Pageant remain the traditional heart of the Festival but in recent years the programme has developed and diversified to the point where it now includes separate strands for comedy , music, film, photography, visual arts, literature and drama, dance.
Leith Festival is an independent registered charity. It takes the form of a Company limited by guarantee and has a board of directors that are drawn from the local community. The Festival engages on a freelance basis an Artictic Director and a Festival Manager and offers internships to students from the city’s universities who assist on areas of marketing, programming and event management.

The main Festival programme runs over a 10 day period in June but also manages to coordinate community celebrations at other times of the year such as St Andrews Day, Christmas Celebrations and a Burns Supper.
The strategic objectives of Leith Festival are :

• As an organisation, to be the lead catalyst and pace-setter for festival, arts and celebration activities in Leith with a strong reputation in Edinburgh, Scotland and beyond
• To have a permanent all year round professional presence in our own premises in the heart of Leith
• To establish the Leith Festival in June as a major arts and celebration event in the Scottish calendar with a growing international reputation – progressing in 2009 to a full fortnight in June
• To progressively organise festival, celebration and arts events at many other holiday and celebration times throughout the year
• To establish a Leith presence in the Edinburgh Festival and Fringe in collaboration with other partner organisations and businesses in Leith and beyond
• To develop street and open air art and celebration events in Leith and build the Gala Day and Pageant into a major street carnival event
• To develop the activities of the organisation into work experience, training and volunteering opportunities for the residents of Leith of all generations and backgrounds
• To actively develop and seek funding for our own arts and festival projects that will nurture, develop and encourage Leith talent and expression
• To support the development of original arts in Leith and make Leith into a renowned centre for original arts
• To build strong relationships with the Leith business community and promote the activities of the festival as a strong brand to commerce and business well beyond the Port
• To establish the Association as a financial secure organisation with an asset base and a variety of entrepreneurial income generating activities
• To champion the identity of Leith and build on our multi-cultural and international identities in the tradition of the Port

Author: LPL

The review of Rural Policy in Scotland recently published by the International OECD, is an interesting take on Rural Scotland’s economic strengths and weaknesses. Consultant Martin Hilland is enthusiastic about the report and sends his personal response on its local implications.

Download document here

Author: LPL

Hazel Blears will announce a “community empowerment” white paper – to be published in the summer – that would give a local dimension to proposals set out a year ago by the prime minister to create a new democracy in Britain. The paper is likely to extend the principle of statutory rights to information, accountability, and sometimes redress, to a gamut of public services – including neighbourhood police and primary care trusts.

Ministers are also looking at providing forms of compensation if local services fail to meet commitments on standards. Blears is interested in extending the principle of rewards, such as discounts in rent or housing points, if individuals or communities act as good citizens, for instance, by controlling their children, or looking after their home.

“It will not just be about what you get, but also if public services deliver, then what should citizens deliver,” Blears said yesterday.

She is looking as well at developing community contracts, whereby councils and local communities strike a bargain on how each side will behave in return for decent services.

Petitions by groups of 250 people, or 1% of a neighbourhood, would also require a statutory response by the council, or public service provider.

In probably the most sensitive area, the white paper will look at new ways of making the police and the health service accountable to neighbourhoods and local councillors. Ministers admit they have failed to provide a solution to the debate on how to make the police accountable, and the recent Flanagan review failed to provide an answer.

“Everyone now recognises that people want more accountability, but we need to make it clear to people at local level what is the offer as a local resident from the local authority, health bodies and from the police,” said Blears. “People need to know what the offer is across the local services, and there is a desire among local people to have a say in shaping priorities.

“It’s not about telling the police how to catch criminals, but saying we have got a real problem about kids in local shopping centres, and asking them to sort it out, and come back in a month to say what they have done. Access to real time local information across the services is going to be a big force for change in all this.”

One minister involved in preparing for the white paper said: “It could be a way of putting pressure on GPs to respond to demands to keep their services open at evening and weekends. It would also be a way of ensuring neighbourhood policing is a reality … We have to find a way of putting pressure on public services to deliver, and ensure they put information in the hands of the public.”

Ministers are also looking at the idea of extending the concept of community kitties by giving local areas, potentially the size of three council wards, access to £1m annual budgets to spend on priorities selected by local bodies.

Ministers regard the community empowerment proposals as potentially the best way to re-engage the public with politics – such as by placing a duty on local government to promote democracy. A new government survey to be published tomorrow will show six-in-10 people do not feel they are given an adequate say on how council services are run, while more than 90% of people believe the accountability of councils could be improved.

Author: LPL

We would like to inform you of a major project in Edinburgh that is currently a live Outline Planning Application (OPA) sitting with the City of Edinburgh Council.
The Leith Docks site in question is owned by landowners Forth Ports PLC who bought the company inclusive of the land from the British Government in 1992 for £33 million. The site consists predominantly of reclaimed land and has approximately 180 Hectares of developable land.

The City of Edinburgh should be taking a stronger leading role in the Edinburgh waterfront and Leith Docks development. They are currently undervaluing the heritage and merits of the city and they are insufficiently forward thinking when it comes to sustainability standards and contemporary design.

With regard to the Leith Docks site, the City of Edinburgh Council have never been presented with a planning application of this size. It is on a par with the development of the Edinburgh New Town and the planned proposal presented by the winning scheme by James Craig in 1766. (The development of Edinburgh’s New Town was competition led. There were seven entries with six submitted by the deadline of May 21st 1766).

Over the next 30 years the Edinburgh waterfront is to have 30,000 new homes built along it. We are not against development and acknowledge the need for more housing stock within the city of Edinburgh. However, we fundamentally question the process, procedures and resulting quality of what is rapidly happening around us and especially along the Edinburgh waterfront. Within the city of Edinburgh more and more campaigns are growing up in order to challenge the planning committees decisions.

The Leith Docks site is huge and is greater in size than the New Town of Edinburgh. As the city of Edinburgh is internationally renowned for planning with the historic and chaotic Old Town and exemplary New Town. Leith Docks unique character presents an excellent opportunity to create a contemporary and forward thinking new area within the city worthy of internationally merit. This site is to have 50% of all the new housing proposed for the Edinburgh waterfront. 15,900 new homes will be built over the next few years, spread between 9 “Villages” as the current live OPA outlines.

Forth Ports PLC have commissioned a master plan framework from RMJM Architects. If granted Outline Planning the land value of the Forth Ports site will vastly escalate. Current land values range between £2 – £6 million per acre. The profit that could be gained on land sales from the Leith Docks site is clearly vast. It is estimated that it will easily quadruple the value of the current site.

We have now formed a group called JUMP (Joined Up Master Planning) to question the original document, the Leith Docks Development Framework and the RMJM master plan framework.

Since the beginning of December 2007 the JUMP group have met every Thursday between 6pm – 8pm at the AiA Art in Architecture offices at 2 Commercial Street, Leith, Edinburgh EH6 6JA. JUMP is an open interactive group, welcoming to anyone interested in the development of the Edinburgh Waterfront and Leith Docks site. It welcomes input from professionals and non professionals alike, sharing a common interest in the long term quality of their local environment.

Transport, Housing Forms and Urban Grain are some of the topics being explored through the JUMP design workshop.

Some JUMP Design Workshop Ideas
Green Landscape, Canals, Draining some of the docks for use as recreational space, Major Events Park, Carbon Free Zone, No Cars, Pedestrian Friendly, Road / Rail Bridge to Fife from the east end of the city and linking to the A1, short and long haul Ferry Terminal in addition to the Forth Ports Cruise Linear docking station, continuation of the Shore Area, emphasising the Water of Leith river edge and creating more human scale retail outlets and café / restaurant culture, Housing Forms of various types from one, two and three level family housing to large blocks of predominantly one and two bedroom housing set within green space and having green roof tops and multi use facilities, Self Sustaining Energy.

The outcomes from the JUMP design workshop highlighted shortcomings in the Leith Docks Development Framework (LDDF) document that resulted in the live Outline Planning Application (OPA) by Forth Ports PLC and the RMJM master plan framework currently being considered by the City of Edinburgh Council. The JUMP design workshop also highlighted positive and negative discrepancies between the LDDF and RMJM master plan framework.

(It should be noted that the LDDF document was originally commissioned by Forth Ports PLC’s chosen consultants and then submitted to the City of Edinburgh Council who then tweaked the document and put it out to public consultation following which it was then adopted by the city. Therefore, whenever RMJM or Forth Ports are questioned over the OPA they will always respond by saying that the material they have supplied complies with the LDDF documentation approved by the City of Edinburgh Council.)

It should also be noted that the UK planning process does not currently effectively enforce planning conditions onto developers. This shortcoming in UK Planning Legislation is one of the fundamental reasons for the poor quality of the contemporary built environment and public space generated around us. The written applications presented for planning approval may be slick and propose to deliver the highest standards of Aims and Objectives, Best Practice, Environmental Sustainability and Industry Standards. However, because of the inability in the UK Planning System to enforce these written criteria onto developers they inevitably wriggle out of providing anything more than the basic standards that they know they can get away with in order to achieve the highest level of profit. These points are understandable – but it is the long term quality of our environment that we have to look out for and not just the short term gain.

Generally, other national and international cities that go through major city and waterfront development projects have done so based on a major international event happening. Edinburgh – to date – does not have this incentive. The 30 year plan to develop the Edinburgh Waterfront is an unrealistic time frame. To make an impact the City of Edinburgh should be able to say that there is a phased development strategy to take between 5 – 10 years. That way people may take note

Author: LPL

Across Scotland, development trusts hold land under community ownership or have the potential to acquire land. Many trusts have identified affordable housing as one of their key concerns and priorities for action. Housing associations can provide housing for rent but low cost ownership gives people in local communities a stake in the future. Trusts have been frustrated at the lack of progress and have lacked capacity and expertise to tackle the issue.

So DTA Scotland is joining forces with Green Homes pioneer, the Environment Trust, to pilot a programme of privately financed affordable environment friendly housing in Scotland.

The Environment Trust is the UK’s leading non- profit developer of affordable environment friendly housing. It is a development trust itself, and is establishing a Scottish charity- Environment Trust Scotland, to take forward the Green Homes programme in partnership with DTA Scotland. It has in principle support from RBS Scotland for the programme, and relationships with Unity Trust and Triodos banks and the Ecology Building Society.

The Trust’s approach is holistic and creative, seeking innovative and imaginative solutions to environmental problems. Previous developments have included public space, apprenticeships in construction, and workspace.

Green Homes are built to the Trust’s specification which maximises the use of environment friendly building materials and techniques and minimises energy and water consumption. All schemes depend on the investment of land to produce affordable housing, and are financed by bank loans, with purchase on a mortgage at 50 or 70% of market value. Sale at full market price can further cross subsidise the affordable housing, and the unsold equity is retained as a community asset.

The development process is straightforward. Trusts participating in the programme identify land suitable for development in their ownership. Environment Trust Scotland acts as the developer of the scheme. Once homes are sold, the equity retained is held by the local trust. The process will help empower and enrich participating trusts.

Environment Trust Scotland will:

– Work with local stakeholders and residents to agree the scope of the scheme
– Consult with planning authorities to agree a planning framework
– Assess market conditions and values
– Investigate and report on site conditions
– Appoint a full professional team to design, specify and cost the works
– Apply for planning permission
– Manage a tender process with a range of suitable builders
– Manage the development and sales process to completion and handover
– Charge its costs to the project, and take a modest 10% profit on sales

Scheme Example

10 new green homes in following mix:

4 x 3 bedroom houses @ 95sq m
3 x 2 bedroom apartments @70sq m
3 x 1 bedroom apartments @ 45sq m

Costs

Construction @ 1500 / sq m £1,087,500
Professional Fees & other costs £350,000
Profit £162,000

TOTAL £1,599,500

Income

100% Market Price Sales £900,000

2 x 3 bed @ £300,000
1 x 2 bed @ £200,000
1 x 1 bed @ £100,000

70% Market Price Sales £420,000

1 x 3 bed @ £210,000
1 x 2 bed @ £140,000
1 x 1 bed @ £ 70,000

50% Market Price Sales £300,000

1 x 3 bed @ £150,000
1 x 2 bed @ £100,000
1 x 1 bed @ £ 50,000

TOTAL £1,620,000

Equity Balance retained by local trust £480,000

The scheme example shows one approach, but the model is flexible.

For instance- the 50% sale homes could be financed by the local trust on a long term mortgage and rented out for holiday lets or local needs, or all could be sold at a lower discount.

Private finance, in the form of a loan, is available to meet the costs of the entire scheme once planning permission is granted and costs and values confirmed. So there is a liquidity hurdle to be overcome in order to develop a multi site implementation of the model. Each project will cost up to £200,000 before private finance can be drawn down.

Author: LPL

Southside Media aims to be a model for the creation of sustainable not-for-profit hyperlocal citizen journalism across Scotland and beyond.

What do we mean?
Hyperlocal means that we try to provide news coverage of community-level events that are usually overlooked by bigger media.

When we talk about citizen journalism we mean that we try to encourage members of the community to share their own stories and images directly with their neighbours through our community websites. This content can also be published in our community newspapers and used as a guide for our staff, so that they can concentrate on the stories that are really important to local people.

Hyperlocal media
In June 2007 an article in the Sunday Herald named Southside Media as a pioneer in the publication of hyperlocal media in Scotland.

Newspapers
We produce not-for-profit papers with news and views that are right up your street.

Since December 2005 we’ve published a monthly community newspaper called G41, which serves the G41 postcode area in the southside of Glasgow, covering the communities of Dumbreck, Pollokshields, Shawlands, Strathbungo, Crossmyloof and Langside.

In August 2007 we started publication of a sister community newspaper called G42, serving the neighbouring G42 postcode area, including Govanhill, Crosshill, Toryglen, Mount Florida and Battlefield.

Both papers have 20 pages and are published in full colour. As well as hyperlocal news, sport, features and views, they have a shared What’s On guide full of information about local events.

Websites
We also publish and maintain two community websites at g41.org.uk and g42.org.uk.

We’re really interested in ideas about citizen journalism. Our sites give local people the chance to tell their own stories. Registered users can write their own articles for publication, submit events to a community calendar, take part in debates in forums and make comments about any content that’s submitted to the site. They can also share images and write their own blogs.

The idea is for people to share narratives about their community. We think this can help create stronger links in communities, gives people a sense of pride and encourage joint action for change.

The content posted by local people on our websites is often reproduced in our newspapers and is used as a guide for our staff, so that they can work on stories that they know are important to the community.