Author: SCCS

Looking for space for meetings and events?

If you are looking for space to meet or for an event you may still find something through our spaces for change network of local community and faith venues in Glasgow. We have 25 venues who are looking forward to welcoming civil society groups and campaigners during COP26

Book a Space 

 Meet Us: Space for socialising, rest  – and charging devices!

At Adelaide Place, 209 Bath Street more info

• Welcome Ceilidh – Saturday 30th October 7-10pm
• The Climate Fringe cafes – 830am-430pm daily – a drop-in location for hotdesking, charging phones and laptops, informal meetings and getting advice and orientation on what is going on in the city.
• The Open Mic Ceilidhs – 7-930pm daily: come and take part, bring your songs, stories, poetry and music

Note: From 7-10 November Adelaide Place will be one of the People’s Summit venues (no cafes and open mic ceilidhs on those days)

Please note our covid guidance. Make sure you lateral flow before you go! 

Helping you Orientate Yourself in Glasgow

Our COP26 map highlights key places 

• The Locations of the bookable local venues on our spaces for change network
• All the hubs for civil society across Glasgow where things will be happening over the two weeks  
• Our COP26 Local Workspaces  – a network of Cafés with extra charging points ready to welcome activists and campaigners to Glasgow
• The Climate Justice exhibition trail – showing art sent to us from global south countries to help raise their voices at COP26 see photos here.

Visit the COP26 map

Finding you places to eat, drink and relax

Glasgow is packed full of community run and  sustainable places to eat and drink. This map has been crowdsourced by people in Glasgow to show their favourite places – so if you’re looking for an oatmilk flatwhite or the best curry in Glasgow while you are here, check the map! 

Also showing bike shops, community gardens and parks.

Visit the Green Map

Finding out What On Earth is Going on …

There are hundreds of events going on in Glasgow during COP26. The Climate Fringe lists civil-society events by theme and type so you can filter the ones you want and also has specific lists for online events, arts and culture, Blue Zone events, and Live events in Glasgow. Each day we will be doing our ‘pick of the day’ for the Blue Zone, events outside COP and what’s on in Arts and Culture and recommended places to socialise.

Visit the Climate Fringe

What if we can’t come to Glasgow?

We realise that so many people can’t come to Glasgow due to travel restrictions, covid, visas or expense and so we are gathering as many live streams as we can along with a specific programme we are creating so people can easily find content that suits them to stream.  Our small grants have enabled communities to set up and run their own ‘COP in the Community’ events

Tune into Climate Fringe TV here.

Arts, Culture and Artivism

We have a small hub for artists and artivists during COP to create and rehearse. And we have a list of resources and a small emergency fund for materials to support artists making a difference at COP

• Get in touch if you would like to have an arts space during COP26
• View our specially commissioned interactive work by artist and activist Aidan Moesby, which is online and also live at the Climate Fringe cafe during COP. Sagacity interacts with people tweeting about COP to take the emotional temperature of Glasgow. 
• Get out and about and see our collaboration with Climate Change Creative in posters around the city – locations on the map here:
• See art and banners sent from round the world to us from civil society groups who are unable to come to glasgow due to vivid, visas and expense – locations on the map here:

 Accommodation: 

Our COP26 Homestay Network is still open for new hosts! We now have over 1000 hosts but we anticipate people will still be looking for accommodation up to the middle of the first week of COP26 so please do sign up – If you still need accomodation please do look for a host on the website!

How to stay in touch:

• Sign up to our e-bulletins, 
• We’ve got three digests: Blue Zone, Fringe and Arts and Culture which will be live on the Climate Fringe Blog at 4pm each day for the next day
• The Climatefringe.org has Civil Society events happening live in Glasgow, online and also around the world. Click on our filtered webpages to find out what’s on in the areas you are interested in: eg Blue Zone, Civil Society Fringe events, Online events, Arts and Culture
• We are on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram tag us!
• Daily live updates on what’s going on over on TikTok (yes we’re new to this so please be gentle)
• If you’re looking for locally-run sustainable, and lovely places to hang out the visit the Green Map

Covid Guidance:

Please stay safe while you are in Glasgow – please see our recommended guidelines here.

Travel, advice and practicalities

To be honest we are finding it hard to navigate all the advice and guidance around official delegates and what to do, so we have put all the info from Glasgow City Council, Uk Government and UNFCCC in one place – travel closures, registration procedures, safety advice. Find it here

Author: CRNS

CREATIVE INDUSTRIES IN SCOTLAND : EMBRACING A CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Executive Summary

For full report – Click here

The creative industries in Scotland are an incredibly diverse sector with a global reputation. Contributing to the economy, employment, health, and wellbeing of Scotland, as a growth sector it has the potential to support the delivery of green recovery ambitions and align with, and progress, Scotland’s wider environmental policy and strategy intentions. 

Funded by Creative Scotland and delivered by Community Resources Network Scotland, this project considers the extent to which the creative industries are embracing the circular economy, moving away from a linear ‘take, make, waste’ model, towards a more resource efficient and environmentally sustainable way of operating. It also considers how the sector is using its creativity to educate, inform, inspire, and support others in making the transition towards more circular practices. 

Through interviews with a range of stakeholders across the creative industries, a snapshot has been taken of the sector and a series of case studies developed. The challenges and barriers that the sector faces in making the transition have been identified, and whilst it is evident that many organisations appear to be at the start of the journey, there is a strong desire across the sector to support the principles of the circular economy and embed more circular practices. Examples of activities that organisations are delivering include: the development of reuse networks and opportunities to maximise the value of materials and resources already in use, and reduce overall consumption; use of creative learning opportunities to inform and educate; creative commissioning of exhibitions and programmes to promote creators adopting circular economy practices and also to promote positive messaging in relation to resource use to a wider audience; and, strategic development and collective commitment to implementing and delivering more sustainable consumption and resource usage and management.

Through this research a number of characteristics of the sector have been identified, which lend themselves well to facilitating transformational change. For example, the ability to present information in an unusual or interesting manner, through different mediums or from different perspectives, in essence the storytelling ability of the sector. This is a strength that can be exploited to help drive systemic change towards more sustainable practices, well beyond the creative sector and into mainstream society. In addition, it is evident that the relationship with materials in the creative space can be more intimate and aligned, which lends itself to seeing inherent value in items which others may consider to be of little or no use. Those working in the creative industries also have an extensive bank of skills to draw upon, practical abilities associated with artistry and making, that can help support the development and implementation of more circular practices. 

It is clear from the research that momentum towards better understanding of materials and resource use is starting to emerge which can be built upon and the challenge is to ensure the sector as a whole, with all its variations and diversity, is on the same journey. With this in mind, a number of steps have been proposed, as a call to action to stimulate change. These include addressing the biggest barriers to progress, specifically space scarcity and lack of sufficient understanding of actions that can be taken; raising minimum standards and prioritising environmental requirements to ensure that ambitions and expectations of the sector are high; ensuring that collaboration within and outside of the sector is maximised and opportunities to coordinate and align support are taken; and finally, ensure that needs are being met to deliver change, through a review of the support tools available and addressing any skills gaps. 

In essence this report represents a celebration of a sample of creative organisations who have made progress in achieving or committing to more circular ways of operating, shining a light on their success, and incentivising those who have yet to start on this journey to consider the changes they could make to manage their resource use more effectively and protect the environment that they operate within and beyond.

Author: Neil Dawson, Brendan Coolsaet, Julián Idrobo

We are currently facing a mass extinction of plants and animals. To remedy this, world leaders have pledged a huge expansion of protected areas ahead of the UN biodiversity summits to be held in October 2021 and May 2022 in Kunming, China.

The focus on how much of the planet to conserve overshadows questions of how nature should be conserved and by whom. In the past some conservation organisations have seen indigenous and local communities as undermining environmental conservation.

Our research strongly contradicts this. Our recent publication in Ecology and Society shows the best way to protect both nature and human wellbeing is for indigenous and local communities to be in control. That conclusion stems from examining examples of conservation projects carried out since 2000 and their results. Our international team of 17 scientists studied the effects on habitats and species and local communities.

We found improvements for conservation and people are much more likely when indigenous and local communities are environmental stewards. When in charge, local communities can establish a shared vision for conserving the environments they live in and for coexisting with wildlife. We show that applying their knowledge and ways of managing habitats and species is far more effective at protecting nature than efforts controlled by outside organisations.

Locals do it better

For example in southwest Taiwan, indigenous Tsou villagers took over conservation activities in a state-protected forest. After the community was put in charge, poaching and illegal logging greatly reduced. This success story has become a model for other communities in Taiwan.

Another example involved local communities in the western Brazilian Amazon protecting nests of the giant Amazon river turtle. Informal guards from local communities along the Juruá river reduced poaching levels to only 2% of nests – compared to 99% elsewhere, including in state-run protected areas.

In stark contrast, only a small minority of the projects led by states, international NGOs or companies enhanced both conservation and local people’s lives. We found a third of those initiatives run by outsiders were detrimental for both local people and nature. Those outsider-run approaches frequently fail because managers lack the money and personnel to enforce rules introduced without local consent. Offering small financial incentives or a seat at meetings is rarely enough to obtain approval and avoid local resistance

In one of many examples, protected areas run by the Tanzanian government in the Serengeti for tourist safaris brought major financial gain for the state, but little for local people. Local people felt unfairly treated as they also lost access to grazing land and, in some cases, clean water. As a result of feeling excluded, locals no longer guarded their lands and illegal hunting increased.

However, there can be obstacles for local people in taking charge of projects. For example, in northwest California, historic discrimination against the indigenous Yurok has eroded local forest management organisations and knowledge. This community eventually won back control of its territory through the courts, but years of unchecked gold mining and timber extraction had causAndy Wright www.madebyawdesign.com

Fairer conservation

Supporting local communities’ rights to influence decisions about their lives, cultures and environments should not be viewed as a radical approach. Underestimation of local knowledge and practices by funders, governments and organisations who dominate conservation is counterproductive and discriminatory. There has been a gradual shift in policy towards recognising the role of indigenous and local communities, although this has not yet become mainstream conservation practice. The UN biodiversity summit must ensure a central role for indigenous and local communities or there will be another decade of well-meaning efforts that simply lead to further ecological decline and social harm.

There are reasons for optimism: we know conservation can become more effective through reinforcing the rights of indigenous and local communities. Examples include a declaration in Canada of more than 25 new protected areas which will follow indigenous stewardship principles.

If this bold direction were followed across the world, it could usher in a new era of local stewardship that greatly enhances the prospects for both people and nature.

Author: Climate Cafe Scotland

What is a Climate Café?

Climate Café is a space, for people to get together to talk and act on climate change.

Our Cafés are informal, inclusive spaces where everyone is welcome to join the conversation and get involved. Often they are local in their focus, connecting with wider climate action nationally and globally. Importantly, Cafes are apolitical and non judgemental. In communities, work places or educational spaces, a pop up Climate Café may be a place that offers an opportunity to get together for a regular chat and update on climate matters.

Most of our Cafés choose to meet monthly for a couple of hours. Many Cafés like to bring in external speakers to inform the conversation and action. Some Cafés choose to do this every time, while others choose to have more time to chat. The chat in Climate Cafés often leads to exciting ideas, projects and action. They are a great place to feature and connect with local projects and initiatives, support new businesses and hear from others taking action.

Each Climate Café will be unique to the people and place it is in.

At the moment our Cafés are meeting virtually, using zoom, and this is allowing connections to be made more widely too!

Why start a Climate Café?

Climate Cafés are a great way to get a climate conversation started in your community or work place. All of our Climate Cafés have got started with a presentation from a Climate Reality Leader that updates on the latest science, impacts and solutions.

For many, a Cafe is a great way to start the conversation. For those who have an established project or programme of climate action then a Climate Café can just be a space where everyone can come together for a cup of tea and a chat about their work or the wider world.

What do I need to start a Climate Café?

A Climate Cafe is simple to get started. We recommend that you work with 2-3 others in your community, who may be connected to different networks – that’s a great way to ensure that your Cafe gets going with a diverse range of voices and different perspectives.

Some Cafés meet in a local Café, if there is a good space and they are happy to host a gathering. Others meet in a community space, a community centre, town or church hall where you may need your own kettle, tea, coffee and biscuits.

When choosing your space, consider whether it will be accessible to everyone – check access arrangements; what acoustics are like; will everyone be able to hear each other; can you provide tea and biscuits for free, or a small donation and who will tidy up?!

When safe to do so, it’s great to support local Cafés and businesses, especially as we recover from the pandemic. Do consider whether drinks will be affordable for everyone and if your host venue are happy for you to sit chatting for a while.

Many are happy to host a Climate Café, and some may even provide a quieter space or a group discount, but always worth checking out the venue in advance and being thoughtful guests!

What is it like to go along to a Climate Café?

Climate Cafés are relaxed and informal, so you should be able to just drop in, have a cup of tea, and a chat – just like any Café. Every Climate Café should feel really welcoming, open and inclusive to all. It is a space where you should feel informed, inspired and able to get involved.

A Climate Café is not really a meeting space for lots of papers and minutes or actions! The role of the Co-ordinator(s) at a Cafe is to ensure that everyone gets to contribute and the conversation moves through the topics people are interested in. Expect the chat to be wide ranging and solutions focused, with a positive focus on what we can do!

In lots of Cafés, a project or event idea may come out of Café chats. If so there might just be updates at Cafés, with separate meetings to progress the project. Those who choose to be involved in a project can be, while the Café continues to be a place for conversations.

Co-ordinators may take notes on what everyone would like to chat about at a future Café, ideas for speakers, information to send or a need for more tea and biscuits, but that’s about it!

All Climate Cafés are responsible for providing a safe space to meet, and following current government guidance in relation to COVID 19. Climate Cafés are currently meeting online.

Where can I find a Climate Reality Presentation?

If you would like to set up a Climate Café in your community, we will be able to provide you with a starter pack and put you in touch with a Climate Reality Leader who can share a presentation on the latest science, impacts and solutions to the climate emergency we face.

Click here if you would like to find a Climate Reality Leader to do a presentation to help you get started or contact us directly on info@climate.cafe and we can arrange that for you.

Top tips

Here we share some helpful tips about setting up a Climate Café, learned from our experience over several years, with different Cafés and different places.

Climate Cafés can play a valuable role in celebrating and connecting people to local climate action. Instead of competing with all the amazing climate action happening already, they create spaces to connect with, learn more about and join others. Invite inspiring individuals, local businesses or projects along to share their story!

Climate Cafés can be a great way to keep the climate chat and action going. Tackling the Climate Emergency is going to take us all, and together we can think bigger and smarter! Sharing news, ideas, resources, actions can generate new ideas and energy.

Get Creative! Whether it is decorating new mugs for your Café, painting a banner for a march, sharing stories or making bunting to bring to Glasgow in November – getting creative gets everyone talking and brings new people into the conversation.

Be inclusive! If there are people missing from the conversation in your community, find out where they may feel more comfortable, what topics may be of interest and go to them. In terms of discussion topics, think of fresh prompts, talks and insights to interest everyone.

Additional resources

Here we share some additional resources which you may find useful – shared by Climate Cafés, for others that may find them useful.

The Climate Reality Project: – Request a free presentation from a Climate Reality Leader.

Check out our useful links for reliable climate resources too.

Author: Deborah Anderson, The Herald

Community Land Week

THEY became a lifeline during the pandemic with stay at home advice and travel restrictions in force, the community shop enjoyed a renaissance as people either rediscovered them and realised the important role they had to play.

Not just a place to buy supplies, our community stores were among the few places people could interact with many shopkeepers checking up on their more vulnerable customers.

And for Carbost community shop on the Minginish peninsula on the Isle of Skye it became even more of an essential service during lockdown.

Securing its long term future is one of the reasons why the community got involved in a buy out three years, which despite a covid delay, was finally completed earlier this year.

This month Carbost Community Shop will be celebrating its community buy out success as part of Community Land Week which runs from October 9 to 17.

Community Land Week is a chance to highlight several projects which were acquired during the pandemic, against all odds and is organised by Community Land Scotland in partnership with Scottish Government. The Carbost project is among 10 which were completed following lockdown with the Scottish Land Fund contributing more than £3m to help the buy outs.

In Carbost, the shop never closed during the buy out process and villagers got behind it at the height of lockdown last year.

Cathy Simon, one of the directors of the shop, said: “Apart from the challenges of working our way through buying property during lockdown, covid showed us how important it was to have a community shop that would support our local village with essential supplies and help deliver to those vulnerable people shielding.”

“Of course covid delayed the process required to go through buying a property but we are so pleased we did it, and we have made significant progress since buy out this January with some essential repairs. We are so proud that we never shut the shop for one day with the transfer of private ownership to community ownership.”

The shop, housed in a 100 year old corrugated iron building, was bought by the community with a grant from the Scottish Land Fund of £145,000. The SLF also supported the preliminary work required for the purchase, with community engagement, business planning and 6 month’s salary of a shop manager.

The property had been on the open market for several years as the previous owner sought to retire from the business. Following a public meeting in 2018, volunteers Cathy Simon and Janette Sutherland formed a steering group with colleagues to work on the community buy out. The completion date for the sale of the property was initially set at April 2020, right at the beginning of the first lockdown, but it was delayed until the successful acquisition in January 2021.

“We struggled during lockdowns, as everyone did, to get tradesmen available to help with essential repairs, but we have now improved the toilet facilities thanks to some fantastic local volunteers,” added Mrs Simon.

“The shop serves a community of 400 year round, and business increases significantly with the huge numbers of tourists in the summer season. We stock good product range catering for local demands – just recently we have added a vegan range. We have always aimed to run a fully staffed business model to provide local employment and currently we employ two part time supervisors and three other part time staff.”

“Being 18 miles from nearest supermarket – it would have been very hard in winter weather if we had lost our local facility.”

Linsay Chalmers, development manager at Community Land Scotland, believes that when communities purchase the land on which their people live and work, they have the tools to reinvigorate their areas and improve the prospects of future generations.

Ms Chalmers said: “With all the challenges thrown up by the pandemic we decided to celebrate this year’s Community Land Week with projects which took ownership during covid. These projects were not able to celebrate their successes during lockdowns.”

Cara Gillespie, chairman of the SLF, said: “We have long been a supporter of Community Land Week- a wonderful opportunity to celebrate all things community ownership. This year ten resilient projects, all of which have received Scottish Land Fund backing, will open their doors to the public. This is a chance to hear first-hand about the challenges and opportunities ownership brings but even more so a chance to celebrate the power of collective community action.”

Community Land Scotland was set up in 2010 to influence policy to make it easier for communities to buy land. Since 2012 the Scottish Government funded SLF has given a total of 585 awards worth a total of £53.5m. There were 612 assets in community ownership as at December 2020. This is an increase of 15 (3%) from 597 in 2019. The Highland and Argyll and Bute local authorities together contain 234 assets, 38% of all assets in community ownership.

Annan Harbour Action Group will be taking to the water to celebrate their land buy out which was completed in March 2021 with the help of a Scottish Land Fund grant of more than £95,000.

In Dumfries & Galloway, harbour volunteers are organising a visit by boat and pontoon to the newly acquired Minister’s Merse.

Alan Thomson, harbour development officer, said: “We are planning a visit to our newly acquired land which must be effected by boat and pontoon transfer as there is currently no land access. This will be an expedition of exploration for our trustees and members who have never set foot on this piece of land.”

The action group purchased a redundant warehouse on the quayside at Annan Harbour and a spit of abandoned land adjacent to the harbour and aim to develop Annan Harbour and the surrounding area as a community asset, through the promotion of water based and shore-based activities linked to the maritime environment.

Mr Thomson added: “We will be working with the community to promote the harbour and quayside, as a hub for performances, events and festivals linked to tour themes which revolve around maritime history heritage and the natural environment. We are working to improve the infrastructure and facilities of the harbour to increase public participation in water based activities such as boating, rowing, sailing, and nature tourism and walking. We are also developing training in traditional skills such as building coastal rowing boats to ensure the heritage of these crafts is maintained and passed down to future generations.”

Author: David Domonay

Best Community Garden in the UK – Woodlands Community Garden

Despite or perhaps because of lockdown, Cultivation Street 2021 saw more entries than ever before. Record numbers of people entered our community gardening competition, including many returning projects, but also a fabulous number of brand-new entries, gardens created over the past 18 months and still coming into their own.

These weren’t just community gardens; there were school gardens too, and our judges were blown away by the high standard of the entries, highlighting just how important gardening and growing together is for the nation. And how for so many people it benefits physical health as well as mental well-being. Cultivation Street, sponsored by Miracle-Gro® and supported by the Daily Express, remains a beacon of green guidance and advice. We love watching gardens grow and develop so we are already so excited for next year – the 10th anniversary of the campaign! 

Well done to all those who entered and keep gardening!

This award goes to fantastic and inspiring community gardening projects who are making their local area a greener place to live. Our winner, taking home £1,000 prize money and a Miracle-Gro® hamper, is Woodlands Community Garden based in the heart of Glasgow – a green oasis that was once a derelict site.

Now a much-loved community resource, it’s used for volunteering, education, play, and socialising. It’s a hub where each year around 50 households grow their own fruit, veg and herbs. With many residents not having access to their own gardens, it’s an important part of the community as an accessible green space. 

The garden has a hub for meetings and socialising which encourages the community to come together to share stories, tips and support. As well as this there is a performance stage area for events which children can use to put on shows and share their love for gardening. Tim Cowen who runs Woodlands Community Garden said: “The pandemic has challenged us all and created huge pressures for so many people. We knew that our community garden has been helping people by providing a lifeline space for them and to come together and find comfort in the beauty of nature. It’s so wonderful to have our hard work recognised, not just as the best in Scotland, but as the best in the UK. After a difficult year, it’s really boosted our spirits and brought a big smile to our faces.”

Author: Paul Gray

Extract from an article written by Paul Gray for Reform Scotland. See full article here

…….The real answer lies in fundamental reform of the whole system and not just parts of it.

There are internationally recognised examples of what works. A quick search of the Jonkoping system in Sweden, the Buurtzorg model in the Netherlands, or the NUKA model in Alaska, will demonstrate that health systems can be integrated and can be made to work at lower per capita cost without sacrificing quality, and with better access and better outcomes. A quick search of the official report in Scotland’s parliament or Hansard in the UK parliament will almost certainly yield glowing references to all three systems. One feature distinguishes all of these systems – they are truly local. Each system has a different approach to governance: the NUKA system is owned by the population, for example. But they involve integration and local delegation to an extent that would frighten most politicians here. And for example, Jonkoping would mean that the concept of a national health service be very different, except for the highest tariff (i.e. most serious, complex and rare) cases, because the local hospital system is part of the local delivery system and not run centrally.

One of the lessons of the pandemic is that change is possible, and that it can be made to happen quickly. Another lesson is that technology can play a bigger part in diagnosis, care and treatment, and simultaneously reduce the need for patients and clinicians to travel while increasing the efficiency of the system. Better use of technology and properly joined up, patient-centric digital systems are essential components of any development. Even the best of systems embraces the need for change in response to changing contexts: as Jonkoping’s Chief Learning Officer said, Our current system serves us well, but it will not serve my grandchildren well in the future. (And yes, they have a Chief Learning Officer at the same level as their Chief Executive Officer.)

Unless we are willing to be clear that 2019 is not coming back and we are not starting from where we were then, and that 1948 when the NHS was first established, is lost in the mists of time and demographics and public expectation, we will continue to have a political bunfight while people suffer and die. If the NHS is truly precious, it deserves a robust diagnosis, and it requires radical surgery. Whether there is the courage to take such an approach remains very much open to question……

Author: Scottish Government

Improving the National Performance Framework

Our current National Performance Framework (NPF), launched in 2018, was developed in collaboration with all parts of society: public and private sectors, local government, voluntary organisations, businesses and communities and had cross party support in the Scottish Parliament. At the time, the First Minister said “the new NPF belongs to all of Scotland and together we can fulfil the promise contained in it.” As we have sought to deliver, measure and improve the NPF in the years since, we have benefited from the perspectives of many individuals and organisations across Scotland. As part of that continuous improvement programme we have two asks of you right now. 

Firstly, we need you to tell us how you currently use the National Performance Framework (or don’t). And to tell us what could make it more useful. Our short survey will be open until 27th October. Let us know what you think, it’ll take no more than 10 minutes. 

And we need to hear from as many people and organisations as possible, so our second ask is that you share the survey amongst your networks. If you have organisational newsletters or social media accounts, we would appreciate you promoting the survey via those channels (we can provide some promotional text, send us an email and we’ll get that to you).There’s also a blog post with a bit more background if you’re able to share that, and we’re @ScotGovOutcomes on Twitter if want to retweet us!

In addition to informing our continuous improvement programme, your responses will also help us think about the questions we need to ask during the next NPF review, which we’re beginning to plan.

Thank you.

Scottish Government National Performance Framework Unit

Nationalperformance@gov.scot

Author: Scottish Housing News

Rural Housing Scotland will lead the development of an ambitious new initiative to tackle the interlinked issues of depopulation, demographic change and the climate crisis in Uist.

In partnership with community landowner Stòras Uibhist and with funding from Emsée Fairbairn Foundation, Rural Housing Scotland plans to develop Smart Clachan which will incorporate cooperative community-led housing, workspaces, growing space and the use of renewable energy.

The project aims to create a community-based initiative to support repopulation, with live/work spaces which are affordable, cooperative, interconnected, sustainable and low carbon.

These Smart Clachan are proposed for several locations across Uist, to help stem depopulation and encourage relocation, as well as to support Gaelic language and culture.

Smart Clachan are a modern interpretation of a ‘clachan’; a traditional island township consisting of a few houses and crofts. They utilise community-led, cooperative housing models to create modern, affordable homes.

This community-led, cooperative ethos is fostered through a range of shared services and facilities to enhance sustainability and connectivity, including a community work hub to enable households to establish their own business or work remotely for local, national and international companies.

Research from The James Hutton Institute has shown that sparsely populated communities are facing a demographic time bomb, threatening their sustainability; an exodus of young people and decline in the working age population, and an increase in the older population.

One driver of the out-migration of young people is lack of affordable housing and the competition faced by local young people from the in-migration of cash rich older households. This was highlighted in a newspaper letter from young people on Uist which gained national prominence and called for action to sustain the population, language and culture of the island.

Vital grant funding has been awarded from Emsée Fairbairn Foundation to enable Rural Housing Scotland, in partnership with Stòras Uibhist, to recruit a project manager to lead the delivery of Smart Clachan in several locations across the island.

Stòras Uibhist is providing sites for the development of Smart Clachan in South Uist

Author: Scottish Government

For Executive Summary – click here

This report presents analysis of responses to a public consultation on proposals for regulations on Local Place Plans (LPPs). These regulations are part of wider work on planning reform and implementation of the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 (the 2019 Act).

For full report – click here