Agenda item

Consider report by Director – Resilient Communities. (Copy attached.)

There had been circulated copies of a report by the Director – Resilient Communities which provided an update on progress made with Place Making since Council agreed to take a collaborative approach with Area Partnerships to roll-out Place Making across Borders Communities.  In August 2021, Council agreed an approach, working with Area Partnerships, to develop and enable place making activity across Borders communities. The approach was intended to complement the related Place Programme under the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal which focused on the four target towns of Eyemouth, Galashiels, Hawick and Jedburgh.  In practice, all place making activity, whether it’s Borderlands or the wider Area Partnership-led approach, shared the same core characteristic – it was about communities leading on the development and delivery of an action plan for their place which identified local needs and ambitions, and which then prioritised actions and projects to address them.  By taking an inclusive approach open to all communities, the five Area Partnerships had between them, identified over 40 communities that were interested in developing community-led action plans.  Those communities were set out in in the report.  The report highlighted the progress in supporting the development in the overall approach and the practical progress that was being made in communities including the four Borderlands target towns of Eyemouth, Galashiels, Hawick, and Jedburgh.  The report outlined the support for place making from SBC and CPP partner staff and further support which was being put in place in terms of additional capacity and funds that could support communities in the development and delivery of their plans. Place making represented a significant opportunity for communities across the Borders and was increasingly the key to unlocking external funding opportunities by evidencing the need and will of the community through demonstrable inclusive engagement. That also facilitated a community led approach to shaping and informing the planning and delivery of critical public services.  The approach was increasingly built into legislation (e.g. the Page 23 Planning (Scotland), Joint Working (Scotland) and Community Empowerment Acts) and would impact on – and needed to transform – the way both the Council and its Community Planning Partners worked together with communities to understand, support and respond to local needs and ambitions. Over the coming year, the main focus of place making activity would be around three main areas of work: a) Continuing to support all participating communities to progress their plans and ambitions; b) Ensuring that funds, such as the Shared Prosperity Fund, and the Place Based Investment Fund were used to best effect in supporting communities deliver credible investment proposals, built on a body of community led evidence; and c) Ensuring that place making was seen as “the way things get done” – informing service and community planning, the way that projects were identified and developed and the key to accessing external funding – all built on community needs, aspirations and priorities.  It was explained that whilst Selkirk had been highlighted in the report as part of the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal, it was not part of that Deal. Selkirk had been pro-active and had followed the same timeline as the Borderlands towns.  In response to a question regarding capacity within the Communities and Partnerships team, the Director – Resilient Communities explained that a collaborative approach had been developed to ensure that there was capacity across the Council to assist with placemaking, including officers in planning and the economic development team.  It was highlighted that communities were responsible for leading the placemaking process.  Members highlighted that the various funding streams, rules and where to apply could be complex for communities.  The Director – Resilient Communities undertook to update out-of-date infographics which outlined the various sources of funding available to communities and other interested parties in a simplified manner.  In response to a question regarding reporting of what progress each community was making, in order to allow comparisons, the Director confirmed that regular reports would be made to allow communities a sense of timelines and to provide local competition.  Regarding Energise Galashiels, the Director confirmed that it was important not to side-line already established local groups, and that each community would have to incorporate such groups on an individual case-by-case basis. 

DECISION

AGREED:-

(a)        to note the progress that had been made in relation to place making activity across the Borders; and

(b)       that regular progress reports be brought back to the Executive Committee.