Examples of community regeneration highlighted at events
Housing and regeneration
(March Glasgow)
Housing and regeneration – it’s all change Alasdair MacKinlay of the Scottish Government will explain in the light of the abolition of Communities Scotland how the Scottish Government will be handling Housing and Regeneration. Click here for presentation.
Housing and regeneration – networking opportunities Anne Cook will explain about the regional networks of registered tenant organisations which are being established across Scotland to provide a practical engagement structure for involvement in national policy between the tenants’ movement and the Scottish Government. Click here for presentation.
Regenerating Communities - Getting the housing mix right. Wilma Duncan, resident of Hilltown , Dundee and Nigel McDowell, Urban Design Planner Dundee City Council
Wlima Duncan lives in Hilltown, a community near the centre of Dundee which is earmarked for huge physical regeneration. For the last three years the community in Hilltown has been involved in discussions with the Council over the types of housing which should replace the current high-rise blocks, and about how much should be reserved for social housing. Some of the community have argued to maintain the number of socially rented houses in the area. Residents, like Wilma are concerned that property developers will capitalise on the central location of Hilltown and build housing that is out of the price range of local people who want to stay in the area. Nigel McDowell is an urban design planner with Dundee City Council who pulled together ideas for the future of Hilltown. Although Wilma and Nigel get on well they disagree on the future tenure of Hilltown.
Developing new facilities through a Community Development Trust. Elizabeth Carr, Petersburn Development Trust, Evelyn Beck, Petersburn Development Trust and Annette Warren, Stronger Communities Project, North Lanarkshire Council
The face of Petersburn has changed as a result of a programme of housing redevelopment in the area. It seemed that everything in the community was looking good. However it wasn't long before old problems of vandalism, anti-social behaviour and youth disturbances started to resurface. The community recognised that the area needed more that just new houses and wanted to ensure that services and facilities (especially to meet the needs of young people) were developed at the same time as the physical regeneration that was taking place. Evelyn Beck and Elizabeth Carr are local residents who have been involved in setting up the Petersburn Development Trust – a community owned trust which has developed a local facility and new services for young people in the area. This workshop will explain how the Petersburn Development Trust is contributing to the regeneration of the area by developing new community owned facilities and improving services for young people in the area.
Beyond Housing: Building better communities. Louise Christie, Director, Ayrshire Initiatives
While good quality housing is an essential component of a successful community, houses are just buildings. It is people who make communities. Changes in social housing in the last 20 years have often resulted in increasing concentrations of vulnerable and problematic households in certain areas. As a result, residents can find their area in a downward spiral of high turnover, voids, abandoned tenancies, litter, fly-tipping, antisocial behaviour and all the other issues that follow. Ayrshire Initiatives is taking direct action to build better communities for tenants in some of the most disadvantaged communities in South Ayrshire. It’s Tenant Welcome Programme uses home improvements to work with the most vulnerable and problematic tenants with the intention of increasing pride in and responsibility for their home and neighbourhood. This workshop will look at the design and delivery of the Tenant Welcome Programme in its first year, the impact it has had on tenants and neighbourhoods and lessons for future regeneration. Louise Christie is the Director of Ayrshire Initiatives, a social enterprise based in Ayr which is part of the Ayrshire Housing Group. Ayrshire Initiatives activities include housing support, literacy support, community development and construction jobs, click here to see her presentation.
Beyond stock transfer: the journey to community ownership. Hugh Corrigan, Balmore LHO and John McVicar, Maryhill LHO
In 2003, tenants in Glasgow voted to transfer ownership of all City Council Housing stock to Glasgow Housing Association (GHA). One of the original stock transfer commitments was that the Glasgow Housing Association Ltd (GHA) would transfer its houses into community ownership across the city through second stage transfers. GHA manages its houses and many of its services through a network of Local Housing Organisations (LHOs). John McVicar and Hugh Corrigan are local residents who have been involved in their Local Housing Organisations (LHO). As committee members of the LHO, John and Hugh have been involved in running the LHO in their areas and have been in control of an investment programme of over £30m in the last 5 years. The LHOs have also been involved in the wider regeneration of their areas, through the development of new projects and initiatives - community janitors, new play areas, development of a multi purpose games courts and more. However, the journey towards community ownership of the houses, via second stage transfer has taken longer than first thought and has at times, been a complex and frustrating process. At the moment John’s LHO cannot agree a deal with Glasgow Housing Association whilst Hugh’s LHO is currently involved in discussions about second stage transfer.
Workshops from the networking event
(June Glasgow)
Timebanks - Building community involvement
Steve Byrne, Timebank volunteer, Campbeltown, Argyll and Tam Cassidy, Director of Time Banks UK ( Scotland).
Steve Byrne is volunteer in his local Time Bank in Campbeltown, a small town in Argyll. Steve and Tam Cassidy Time Banks UK(Scotland)will explain what a Time Bank is and how they can help to rebuild neighborhood networks and strengthen communities. At its most basic level, Time Banking is simply about spending an hour doing something for somebody in your community. That hour goes into the Time Bank. Then you have a ‘credit’ to spend on having someone doing something for you. Time Banking is about local individuals helping each other out, one-on-one or through community projects. Time Banks are a proven method to harness the skills and time of the people in your community. They offer a unique and practical way to help people develop the support networks that build healthy communities.
Improving Community Safety in South East Glasgow
Emilie Devlin, Vice Chair and community representative, Langside and Linn Community Safety Forum
Emilie Devlin has been involved in community activity in South East Glasgow for over 34 years. She is on the management committee member of her local housing association, is the chair of her local Community Centre, and has been involved for many years in community organisations in Castlemilk. Emilie is currently a community representative on the Langside and Linn Community Safety Forum, which identifies and responds to local safety issues. Come and find out how the community in the South East of Glasgow is working in partnership with other agencies to improve community safety in the area.
Getting young people into work – engaging the hardest to reach.
Willie Murray and Agnes McCrimmond, the Bambury Regeneration Centre, Glasgow.
Willie Murray and Agnes McCrimmond are members of the Board of Directors of the Bambury Regeneration Centre in the East End of Glasgow. The Bambury is a community-owned and community-run facility which provides a range of activities to support the local community, including a community café, childcare, a broadcasting project which allows local people to learn new skills and a whole range of other training opportunities for local people. Recognising that there were a lot of young people in the area who didn’t have the skills, motivation or support to get into work, the Bambury Centre is now delivering a successful ‘Lifeskills Course’ aimed at 16-18 year olds to help them on the pathway to finding a job.
Using media as a vehicle for community regeneration
Peter Thomson, Station House Media Unit, Aberdeen
Peter Thomson is a resident of the Woodside area of Aberdeen and is involved as a volunteer in the Station House Media Project. The Station House Media Project or SHMU is a community managed project, which contributes to social, economic and digital inclusion in the six regeneration areas of North & Central Aberdeen by encouraging local people to get involved in Community Media (radio and video production, and paper-based and on-line publications). Starting as a small local project in the Woodside area, Station House Media Project is now a nationally recognised centre for excellence and has developed examples of good practice in using community media to build community capacity; for personal and community development, for adult and family literacy and numeracy; and for digital inclusion and regeneration.
Regenerating Communities - the policy and the practice
Edinburgh ( March 2007)
Getting people into work – tackling transport as a barrier
Liz Kennedy, Deputy Manager, Trans Fife Community Transport
Getting people into work - engaging the hardest to reach
Martin Furby and Bert Craig, Working Links
Engaging young people in community regeneration
Melissa Byrne, The Citadel Youth Centre, Leith
The Auchinleck Community Development Initiative
Sandra Sussman-Bryden, British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV)
The South Edinburgh Partnership approach
Madelaine Traynor, South Edinburgh Partnership Team
Getting people back to work
Glasgow (February 2007)
Getting people back to work – what’s the issue?
Workshop A – Local development, local jobs presentation by Sandra Inrig, Managing Director, EQUIP
© PZA 2006
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