Author: LPL

The Scottish Government’s housing policy consultation closed last month. Stewart Maxwell, the minister, has had some publicity for his oddly titled Firm foundations document. He made headlines when it was launched by suggesting the right to buy would be ended for council housing.

There was a further flurry about giving first-time buyers a leg up in ‘pressured’ housing markets. But what else has been squeezed into, or out of, this policy document has not been so readily revealed.

Start loosening the strings and no end of bits and bobs pop out. There is the ambition to increase housing output from 25,000 to 35,000 homes per annum in just over a decade. This target covers all housing tenures, not just social renting, so much use is made of the weasel word ‘affordable’.

What is quite remarkable about this ambition is that not only will there be more houses, but they will be built to a much higher environmental standard and be cheaper. How will this be achieved? Well, it’s not by throwing more public money at housing, as the recent tight spending round revealed.

The first solution is to free up the planning system -release more green belt. In case this does not appear very environmentally conscious, there is an odd reference to developing eco-villages. Perhaps the controversial developments by Donald Trump in Aberdeenshire and Donald Macdonald in Aviemore will be packaged in this way, but it’s a safe bet that any social housing will be omitted

The second approach is to bring local authorities in from the cold, by letting them build new houses. Hence, the ending of right to buy, but only for any new houses built. In the past, councils funded development from their own borrowing. Few could do that now, given the scale of outstanding debt. Extinguishing debt was why councils as diverse as Glasgow and the Borders transferred stock to housing associations. Those that could develop without subsidy are mainly north-east authorities, where the SNP is strong, but overall numbers would not be significant But why give authorities capital subsidies when most have no development experience? Better to leave it to housing associations.

But here’s where matters begin to unravel. Government is concerned that the cost of new rented housing by associations has risen some 20% in recent years. So rather than sticking with a large number of small local suppliers in distinct geographic or community localities, the SNP is proposing a Tescoisation of development, with only one housing association developer operating within one housing market area. Existing suppliers would not be funded, because they don’t cover such large areas and might fail to make the price offered, The gap would be filled by a handful of very large, asset-rich England based housing associations interested in expansion for its own sake. These organisations operate at a UK level, delivering a standard housing product, from Dagenham to Dundee.

Throwing the entire procurement system that is baby, bathwater and bath out the window is bold, but reveals a complete lack of understanding of the development process, and what is driving costs up. A senior civil servant, in addressing a recent angry meeting in Glasgow, put the savings expected at 3%, But the true cost will be the destruction of the world-renowned community- based cornerstone of Scottish housing renewal policy. How ironic would it be for an SNP government to preside over the destruction of the only truly significant innovation in Scottish urban policy, community-based housing associations and their locally focused regeneration activity?

If this was not bad enough, Firm foundations focuses overwhelmingly on the problems of housing supply in ‘pressured areas’, Yet in places such as Glasgow the problem remains one of quality. Previous attempts that focused solely on the procurement of cheap housing failed and in fact quickly became the focus of so much Scottish regeneration activity for the last 20 years. This agenda has been jettisoned, the ‘wider action’ elements of renewal forgotten, and a housing supply only agenda is put on the table.

More houses, and especially more rented housing. are needed but Maxwell does not have the money, nor I suspect the political commitment, to make this a priority. Providing a bung for a homebuyer in Stirling might get you a headline, opening the first newly built council house certainly will, but housing policy should be more than that. It’s about convincing sceptical colleagues that providing good quality housing for the poor, in a locally accountable way, is a priority. Supporting Scotland’s successful community- based housing association movement is a prerequisite. And it should also be about building on the successes of community-based regeneration.

Little wonder there are such homelessness, health and crime problems in certain parts of Glasgow and the west of Scotland given the quite atrocious housing and social conditions that persist. Is tackling this scandal not to be on the agenda of a new Scotland?

Author: LPL

BACKGROUND
Project: Scottish Land Fund (SLF).

Period of evaluation: 2002 to 2006.

Evaluating organisations: SQW and Land Use Consultants (LUC).

Evaluation commissioned by: The Big Lottery Fund.

Aims and outline of the project: The SLF made a total of £15 million available to fund the transfer of land and land assets to community ownership in disadvantaged rural areas of Scotland. The fund aimed to: improve opportunities for local people; encourage community involvement and participation; enhance environmental diversity and quality; and broaden land ownership. Funding was available for acquisition, technical assistance and development. A total of 251 grants were awarded to 188 community groups.

KEY LESSONS
Annette Pearson writes: This report’s key finding is straightforward: handing real powers to local communities can rapidly improve an area’s social and economic performance.

When assets were transferred into community control, disadvantaged rural communities felt empowered and motivated, the evaluation finds. This enabled the development of social capital, boosted cohesion, and helped strengthen communities through improved communication and a shared sense of purpose. Of all of the projects funded, the evaluation notes that only one “failed”: a very high success rate.

The evaluation makes it clear that development funding is critical if assets are to be utilised with any haste. Relying on voluntary effort will often result in a project making very slow progress, and thus any impact will generally only be achieved over a considerable period of time. Development funding is also crucial in providing a reliable source of income in the period before communities can begin to yield dependable revenue from their newly-acquired assets. The transition from grant funding to self-sufficiency needs to be carefully planned for, the evaluation found.

The evaluation also concludes that engaging schools in projects can be beneficial to both children and the project itself; and that the transfer of assets to a community tends to provoke a growth in membership of community groups. Where there was a major transfer of land – such as in North Harris and Gigha – there was equivalent, major growth in community spirit and social cohesion.

– Annette Pearson is a senior regeneration manager at the Black Country Consortium.
– Evaluation of the Scottish Land Fund is available via www.regen.net/doc

Author: LPL

BACKGROUND
In the context of the recent Spending Review, the Scottish Government announced the creation of a new fund aimed at tackling poverty and deprivation across Scotland. The Fairer Scotland Fund replaces a number of current programmes and funding streams. On an all Scotland basis the Fund totals £145m nationally per year for the next three years and will be part of the Local Government settlement. An allocation from the fund is to be made to each local authority area to enable community planning partnerships to work together to tackle area based and individual poverty; and to help more people access and sustain employment opportunities.

KEY PRINCIPLES FOR THE FAIRER SCOTLAND FUND
The Scottish Government considers the following principles crucial for investment of the Fairer Scotland Fund by community planning partnerships:-
• A clear focus on investment to address the causes of poverty, not its symptoms
• A strong emphasis placed on making early interventions for vulnerable individuals, families and disadvantaged communities
• Promotion of joint working between local partners
• Focused action on improving employability as a key means of tackling poverty
• Empowering communities and individuals to influence and inform the decisions made by community planning partnerships

The Scottish Government is very clear that not all deprived people in Scotland live in the most deprived areas. So, in recognition of the importance of individual deprivation, community planning partnerships will have increased freedom to invest in particular disadvantaged groups or individuals wherever they may live in order to tackle the root causes of poverty across the entire area. There will be no requirement to target a set proportion of their fund allocation for investment only in 15% datazone areas, as under current arrangements.

*the allocation is ringfenced for the first two years of the spending review period, in order to provide transparency and ensure that all community planning partners can play a part in driving strategic investment of these resources. However, it is envisaged that the ringfencing will be removed in 2010/11 as single outcome agreements are concluded with community planning partnerships.

Author: LPL

The announcement this week of a new initiative, to march under the slogan Inspiring Scotland, to invest between £70-100m in Scottish charities should help lift the spirits of a voluntary sector unsettled by the combination of a more restrictive public spending round and a new government with its own ideas about how to allocate public funds.

The fact that the initiative comes from the biggest single independent funder of the Scottish voluntary sector is an added bonus. Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland has earned a reputation as a sym- pathetic funder consistently responsive to the sector’s evolving needs and ambitions.

The publicity for the launch brands the initiative as an exercise in venture philanthropy. Charitable funding has its own fashions and venture philanthropy already has a slightly dated feel. It is often described as a product of the dotcom boom, as a wave of new American billionaires looked to reconnect with the social causes of their generation, and the collapse of that boom robbed it of some of its bloom. Whether the branding can with- stand the shock waves of the collapse of the dotcom boom’s successor in financial services is a moot point.

The well prepared supporting material which accompanies the launch provides an insight into Inspiring Scotland’s particular understanding of venture philanthropy. It is based on a strategic understanding of need -in this case the needs of Scotland’s 32,000 young people who are in neither work, training or education -and of the root causes of the problem. It involves a long term commitment of resources from a range of sources, from the charitable sector itself, the private sector and the public sector. The importance of government involvement is particularly emphasised ”as we’ll be able to deliver more for everyone by linking our work to local and national strategy”.

It will require the charities which it sup- ports to develop their structures and management processes to achieve long term sustainability. The development of sophisticated measures of success will be particularly crucial not least because it will “enable Inspiring Scotland to demonstrate its value to investors”.

Where will the annual £10m come from? There will be a modest contribution from TSB Lloyds Foundation itself. The Scottish Government has committed £3m annually for three years from its Enterprise and Learning budget. The balance of £6.5m is to come from other charitable foundations and individuals including presumably venture philanthropists. Without knowing how solid such commitments are it is impossible to ignore the precedent of another well publicised recent initiative, Project Scotland, which promised -and failed -to supplement a generous government commitment with equally generous backing from the private sector.

It is debatable how far Inspiring Scotland’s prospectus justifies the initiative’s promotion as an innovation in venture philanthropy. Its claim that it is the first initiative venture philanthropy to come from within the voluntary sector itself rather gives the game away. In fact the practical content of the prospectus reads more like a case for a strategic voluntary sector/government partnership led from within the sector but with private sector financial support and focused on maximising the long-term contribution of those voluntary organisations which can demonstrate most clearly the effectiveness of their approach. Anyone concerned for those missing 32,000 young Scots will wish the new venture success, whatever their scepticism about aspects of the promotion.

Author: LPL

Aline Community Woodland is the largest community woodland of its type in community ownership within Scotland. The land was acquired by the Erisort Trust from Forestry Commission Scotland in 2005 with support from the Scottish Land Fund. In the 1990s many of the trees had been destroyed as a result of an invasion of pine beauty moths. This created substancial areas of deadwood which tourists viewed as an eyesore.

The Trust however spotted a commercial opportunity as they began to clear the deadwood. A market has been developed for the logs as firewood and kindling. Demand for their product now outstrips supply.

However much of 625 hectares woodland was unaffected by the pine beauty moths and remains an area of remarkable beauty and rich in wildlife, fauna and flora. A detailed forest management plan has been developed which sets out the proposals for planting, improving access, wildlife interpretation, and education and recreational development. Five local people, who have been trained in all aspects of forestry required for the project, have been employed to manage the development work. Training and environmental education will continue to be key aspects of the Trusts work.

A combination of webcams and underwater cameras will beam live pictures of the areas of wildlife to visitors at specially designed shelters and hides. Traditional paths and bridal ways are being upgraded to allow pony trekking and mountain biking to develop. Safe water access is being provided to encourage water based sport. Plans are underway to build five star lodge accommodation for visitors.

The Erisort Trust has been able to develop their plans because of the strong partnerships it has built up with its funders :
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, Western Isles Enterprise, Iomairt aig an Oir, Scottish Land Fund, Forestry Commission, Forestry and Rural Development Scheme, Scottish Natural Heritage, RSPB

Author: LPL

Despite the planning officer stating his support for the application, the Tweeddale councillors were unanimous in their dismissal of the application. The only difference of opinion was the best way to reject it. Some wanted just to turn it down flat, the rest wanted to force the owners, Inverwest Ltd,. into remarketing at a realistic price. In the end, the latter option was selected, which is extremely positive news for the community. As even if we were to fail in our attempt to secure the Community Right to Buy through the Land Reform Act, when marketed at a realistic price, we know there are people out there who recognise the excellent business opportunity the Crook Inn represents.

It might be worth just putting the loss of the Crook into context, as not everyone lives in a small rural community, and might be wondering why such a fuss is being made over a pub.

Tweedsmuir is one of those rare places that still has a thriving and vibrant community. It’s usually a shock for new residents to move here and discover we do actually all know each other, and we do things as a community from Burn’s suppers to Curry nights, from Film shows to Tug ‘o’ war competitions. It has it’s disadvantages of course, everyone is interested in your business, and they say the Tweedsmuir gossip network makes the internet seem pedestrian in comparison. But the advantages of having a group of people who genuinely care about you and your family, and who you know you can rely on when things go wrong is something that is nowadays rare and valuable.
The community and the rural lifestyle it stems from is however under intense pressure. In recent years Tweedsmuir has seen the loss of it’s school, it’s shop, it’s post office, it’s public transport. As one of Tweedsmuir’s last remaining assets, the Crook Inn plays a pivotal role within the community as a meeting place, a place to have fun, a place to do business, a place of employment and training, a place to reinforce the ties of friendship that underpin our community.

So, when we say we want to save the Crook Inn, please realise that for us it’s much more than a pub, it’s an opportunity to turn around the fortunes of Tweedsmuir and start to rebuild what we have lost and what has been taken from us.

We have shown that Inverwest Ltd. have presented flawed and erroneous information in support of their application
We have shown that the so called marketing of the Inn was a complete farce.

We’ve shown that the Inn has and can be run profitably, and there are buyers willing to pay a fair price for it.
All of this has been ignored and the word of the owner taken without question by the Planning Department. Even the evidence they requested themselves has not been considered.

We are confused at how the Scottish Borders Planning department can come to a decision that seems to go so strongly against opinion and evidence. In the light of this and whatever the outcome of this application, we will be calling for an independent investigation of the way this application has been handled.

Author: LPL

In parts of Glasgow’s east end getting from A to B is far from easy for young people. Turf wars between rival gangs of youths means that access to certain streets is off limits for youngsters from “the wrong area” who consequently have to take circuitous routes to get to where they want to go. Getting to a swimming pool or a local youth club is not as straightforward as one might imagine.

To tackle the problem Iain Mulholland, a local community activist, set up Bringing the East End Together (BEET) several years ago. Transport is one of the project’s key services. With ambitions for further growth, BEET currently has 3 minibuses which pick young people up from their homes and take them to exactly where they want to go. Often the public transport system doesn’t quite work for the youngsters but BEET’s transport service solves the problem. Other activities include the establishment of a youth pub to act as a meeting place and organising opportunities for the youngsters to meet people of the same age from other countries.

For more information check the BEET website at www.beetglasgow.org.uk

Author: LPL

Hundreds of residents demanded a halt to plans to “desecrate” a Glasgow country park last night when they confronted council officials at a packed public meeting.

In a display of public anger, 700 people arrived for the meeting at Pollokshaws Burgh Hall, organised by campaign group Save Pollok Park in opposition to plans to build a treetop adventure course within the park’s woodland.

More than 100 were left out side in the car park while inside the crammed hall local councillors, officials and developers Go Ape struggled to fend off criticism.

As tempers boiled over, BBC broadcaster, Chick Young, wrestled the microphone from a meeting official only to have the audio cut before he could express his evident disgust.

Council officials were repeatedly accused by park goers of failing to advertise its plan to site an aerial assault course in the North Wood, next to the Burrell Collection, costing £20-£25 to take part.

The council has been derided over its public consultation in October, where a majority of respondents were in favour of the Go Ape proposal, half of whom were pupils from a local secondary school.

But when asked by Nicola Sturgeon if they would pause and reopen public consultation in the light of the “unprecedented” turnout council chiefs stood firm.

Turing to face audience, Councillor Ruth Simpson, executive member for land and environment, shouted into her microphone: “We have made a full consultation, and you did not respond.”

Robert Booth, director of land services, was bullish in his defence of the council’s right to grant planning permission, with or without the consent of the Maxwell family or the National Trust for Scotland , who oversee the estate under the terms of the gift to the citizens of Glasgow.

“They have no right of veto. That is our legal opinion,” said Mr. Booth. “I am stunned by the attitude of the National Trust.”

Mr. Booth later indicated that he would “welcome” further discussion with the Trust, before the application goes before the Council’s planning committee.

But when asked again by Ms Sturgeon whether the Council would also reopen public consultation, both he, local councillors Stephen Curran and Colin Deans declined to answer.

It is understood that the majority of councillors are in favour of the Go Ape proposal, which the Council feels will enhance the range of facilities in the park and provide opportunities for teenagers to take part in physical activity.

The founder of Go Ape, Tristram Mayhew, explained to the audience that it was the Council that had originally approached the company with the idea, citing Pollok Park as its preferred location.

The leisure firm was also taken by the Council to see Dawsholm Park, but felt that a lack of toilet facilities and car parking made it unsuitable for their business model. Mr. Mayhew insisted that walkers would not be fenced out of North Wood, and the only noise that would be heard from the trees above was “the laughter of children and families”.

But in his presentation Bob Marshall, of Save Pollock Park campaign group, showed that the woodland would be dominated by the noise of children on zip slides, one of which would pass directly across “the glade” – a popular picnic area.

He said: “We are not against Go Ape being in Glasgow. But we are passionate about Pollock Park. The park has seen development after development and the North Wood is the last substantial area of quiet woodland we have left. In the light of what we have seen tonight at this meeting, we urge the Council to look at other locations and hold a proper assessment.”

The meeting concluded with a show of hands, where only seven of the 550 people in the room were in favour of Go Ape’s proposal.

But even after the vote, Mr. Booth said he remained confident that the course would be proven to be popular.

“We have seen opposition to many developments in the park, such as the mountain bike track, the play area and The Burrell Collection.

“But in the cold light of day people will see that this proposal, if passed by the planning committee, will enhance Pollock Park.”

Author: LPL

LPL believes that Scotland’s community sector should articulate its own independent position on community empowerment, but as yet our sector has no representative body. This position statement is offered as a contribution – as the basis for dialogue between the community sector and Scottish Government.

Download Position Statement here

Author: LPL

Most importantly, our position statement is an Action Plan which identifies the specific measures required to create the environment in Scotland for a thriving community sector. Some of these measures are structural requiring Government to take action but mostly empowerment happens at community level.

Download Position Statement here