Community Action Plan Annual Report published
The Community Action Plan Steering Group has published its Annual Report into delivery of the Glenkens and district Community Action Plan (CAP) over 2024. The Report gives updates on progress made in delivering the priorities of the Glenkens communities, as set out in the CAP and can be found here: Glenkens & District Community Action Plan Steering Group Annual Report 2024.
Great progress has been made by many Glenkens charitable organisations on these priorities, despite the cost-of-living crisis and a restricted funding landscape.
In addition, the CAP Steering Group has been strongly advocating for the rural voice to be heard at regional and national levels – working to alleviate some of the challenges our communities face at a systemic, upstream level, rather than just intervening to mitigate the symptoms.
The CAP's goal is for the Glenkens and district to be 'a connected, resilient and carbon neutral place, where people will want to live, to work, to bring up their families, and to grow old. It will be somewhere that other places in Scotland will look to for inspiration'.
The CAP is now more than 4 years old, and so the CAP Steering Group intends to use the current Local Place Planning process as the basis for a refresh of the CAP in the second half of 2025. There will be many opportunities to input into what the current priorities and needs of the Glenkens are then.
The Glenkens & District Community Action Plan Steering Group is supported by the Glenkens Community & Arts Trust (GCAT) and comprises volunteers from diverse backgrounds and experiences across the Glenkens communities. Their role is to ensure delivery of the CAP priorities, to respond to arising themes that impact the CAP goal, and to keep the CAP relevant. All information, including Meeting Reports, can be found on the Glenkens Hub here: Community Action Plan Steering Group
John Paterson, Chair of the Community Action Plan Steering Group, said:
“This report highlights the huge amount of work being done by the Glenkens communities towards achieving their CAP priorities. We have made really concrete progress on a number of fronts in 2024. However, it remains a frustration that the unintended consequences of national and regional policies on housing, centralisation of services and urban investment continue to make rural living very challenging, and that solutions proposed by communities for communities are not being considered.”
Peter Fryer, Chair of the Glenkens Community and Arts Trust, said:
“GCAT is delighted to continue in their anchor organisation role of leading on delivery of the Glenkens and district Community Action Plan, and I would like to thank all the many workers and volunteers across the whole of the Glenkens who have made this level of delivery possible.”
Fiona Smith, Chair of the Glenkens and District Trust which administers community benefit funds on behalf of the Glenkens Community Councils, said:
“This report shows what can be achieved by communities working together with a relatively modest amount of seed funding from community benefit funds. I am delighted to see our funding strategy leading to so many CAP priorities being implemented and also to see the funds being used strategically for long-term ambitions as well as shorter term projects. This is a great demonstration of the value of keeping the community at the heart of the decision making on the use of these monies.”
The Steering Group was pleased to welcome two new members after the call for members last year. Robert McTurk and Jennifer Harvie, who will be known to many as long-term Glenkens residents, will be bringing their experience and expertise to bear on CAP delivery this year.
In turn, Bob Glaister and Barney Fryer are stepping down, having been on the Steering Group since 2021. Many thanks are due to both of them for their wise insight and thoughtful contributions.
The CAP Steering Group is still open to interest from more new members, and for members of the Education and Learning and Land Use sub-committees. If you'd like to find out more about any of these voluntary roles, contact Helen Keron on helen@catstrand.com before the 17th February.