South Ayrshire Community Activity Julia WhitakerAilsa Horizons Joan O’SullivanAlan Jones Associates

South Ayrshire Communities Our Communities 1.Annbank 2.Coylton 3.Loans 4.Dundonald 5.Symington 6.Craigie 7.Minishant 8.Maybole 9.Crosshill 10.Kirkmichael 11.Straiton 12.Dunure Why 12 Communities and not 7? South Ayrshire already has 12 communities who have gone through local level action planning. Completion of the 12 remaining rural communities will mean that all SA rural communities have plans to take forward

“We want more affordable houses for our young people so they can afford to stay in Symington.” “We want to make sure our older residents can stay here in Symington living confidently and independently” What are people saying? “Our Symington Park Project will provide our community with better sports facilities” “Loans needs more volunteers to help make things happen” “ Village hall could close unless we get more help” “We want to encourage visitors to the castle to come into the village and see what else we have to offer.” “great young farmers activities” “strong and well run community council” “we will work hard to make sure we get a bypass” There is good community spirit in Coylton “We will work hard to get our new sports facilities installed” “Saving our Harbour and Light Tower and opening it out to the public will bring in more visitors ” South Ayrshire Communities

Who have we spoken with to express opinion?  We are collecting the views of at least 50 individuals in each community to build a picture of what they feel about where they live and their local services and facilities.  We are speaking to community groups and organisations to build a picture of the diverse range of organisations and activities available in each community  We have mapped the community and noted the services within each community  We are talking to other key organisations and stakeholders, to map their activities in local communities  We have taken account of any current and recent consultations and other research carried out within communities to inform the action plans  Local primary school children are taking part in consultations in the school  South Ayrshire Youth Forum members Had the opportunity to express their opinions during their 2013 conference and Young Scot events  We are holding coffee mornings to encourage more people to come and talk to us and each other in a more social setting – “We bring the cake and you bring the chat ” South Ayrshire Communities

What are the emerging priorities in our Communities?  Maybole want Town Centre improvements and a new A77 bypass  Bring together Sporting Groups in Dundonald  Improve and create more walking trails around Kirkmichael  Hall improvements needed in Dunure and Loans  Symington community concerned that new housing developments will change the character of village  Annbank parents concerned about Primary School refurbishments  Children in Minishant are frightened to walk or cycle to the shop because of the traffic on the A77  Crosshill residents concerned about the state of the roads  Straiton residents have concerns regarding wind farm developments  Coylton are working with South Ayrshire Council to create a new sports area next to school grounds  Craigie Community are considering a wind turbine to generate revenue to support community projects South Ayrshire Communities

Some common themes between all communities  Litter and Dog Fouling – our children have told us this  More activities for young people in particular  Many of the communities want better sports and play park facilities  Many of the communities want to have better communications  Many of the communities want to make the most of our heritage and culture to maximise our tourism offer South Ayrshire Communities

Have we had any difficulties?  Making initial contacts in some communities  Long times between community council meetings  Other community issues more important in some communities so difficult to engage with people  Many of the communities have little volunteer capacity or time  Many volunteers work during the day  Many people cannot give any more time to support Ayrshire 21 as they have more than enough to do with their own activities  Getting people together to talk  Catching people in at home during the day  Gaining peoples trust South Ayrshire Communities

Completing the Project  We are preparing draft action plans  Talk to partners and agencies to gain their support and enlist their help to support actions within the plan  Keep communities informed and obtain opinion and support to turn drafts into adopted plans  Print final plans and distribute within the community and also to those partnering with communities to turn ideas and aspirations into real and lasting change  We will continue to work with communities to deliver these actions with communities South Ayrshire Communities

Strengthening Our Communities What's Next? Colette McGarva Community Engagement Officer South Ayrshire Council

Strengthening Our Communities Outputs  Implement community development /asset based approaches to strengthen communities in order to unlock potential  Easi4Communities programme- Teams from Ailsa Horizons, Voluntary Action South Ayrshire, Housing, Community Safety, CLD (youth & adult based learning) and Community Engagement working together  Strengthening Communities Programme- implemented in various parts of South Ayrshire  Further roll out of training to CPP senior managers in community engagement and VOiCE ( Visioning Outcomes in Community Engagement)

Strengthening Our Communities Single Outcome Agreement- Outcomes Overview Partnership priorities:-  Safer and Stronger Communities What we want to achieve in 10 years:-  Communities in South Ayrshire are stronger and safer Long term outcomes ( 5-10 years)  Communities are more confident and empowered to address the issues that matter to them

Strengthening Our Communities Inputs  Communities  Community Councils  Social Enterprises ( including Ailsa Horizons) & South Ayrshire Social Enterprise Network  Voluntary Action South Ayrshire  NHS  South Ayrshire Council  Police Scotland  Scottish Fire and Rescue Service  University of West of Scotland  Ayrshire College  Scottish Rural College

Strengthening Our Communities Next Steps  Present findings to Community Planning Partnerships and mirrored thematic groups  Liaise with locality partnerships including North Carrick CLD partnership and Carrick Community Councils Forum/Carrick & Kyle Rural Forum  inform Carrick /Kyle Development Strategy  Further development of Strengthening Communities programme  Bring key stakeholders together who can support the process and implementation of action plans