Taking a fresh look at the Glenkens Community Action Plan

The Glenkens and District Community Action Plan (CAP) was published in 2020, after 18 months of community engagement work. In 2023, the Glenkens Land Use Vision was adopted as an addendum to the CAP, in light of the rapid change in the landscapes around us.

Now, the Community Action Plan Steering Group (CAPSG) has determined that it is time to update and refresh the CAP, to ensure that it continues to express our community priorities for 2026 and beyond. The CAPSG is very aware that the communities of the Glenkens have been 'engaged with' many times over the last few years, and so is determined not to add to the consultation fatigue by coming to the communities with a blank sheet of paper.

Instead, they will build on the information contained in our Glenkens Local Place Plans and other community work in order to create. a first draft proposal which will then go out for detailed community review. Nothing will be set in stone at this point, but it is hoped that having a sensible starting point will be easier for people to engage with, and constructively feed back on, than starting from scratch.

To begin this process, the Glenkens and District Community Benefit Fund has provided funds for the Glenkens Community & Arts Trust (GCAT) to engage a local researcher to pull together all the local inputs that are available, from Local Place Plans to land use maps to regional strategies.

Becca Nelson will be taking up this role, and one of her first tasks will be to reach out to local organisations to see how the new CAP could better support them in their strategic aspirations. We want everyone to be able to see their priorities reflected in the new CAP.

The work that Becca collates over the winter will then feed into a tender for a next-stage researcher, who will draw all the inputs together to create a first-draft Glenkens Community Action Plan. This will then go out for review by the whole community, feedback will be incorporated, and we would hope to have a final issue of the CAP in summer 2026.

The existing Community Action Plan and Land Use Vision have proved invaluable over the last few years in getting regional and national organisations to take our priorities and ambitions seriously.

We look forward to seeing what the community wants and needs from the second iteration of this important community resource.

Robert McTurk, Chair, CAPSG