Moffat and Beattock Community Action Plan

9 April 2017 | blog, small towns, villages, working with communities

Community Action Plan: Moffat Place Standard at the Sheep Races
We were commissioned by Moffat and District Community Council and Kirkpatrick Juxta Community Council as part of a team led by Nick Wright Planning to produce a Community Action Plan for both communities. Icecream Architecture and 4-Consulting were also part of the team.

The team produced this Plan through comprehensive community engagement in the second half of 2016. The Plan creates a framework for community action over the next decade and describes a vision for each community together with game-changers with which to turn those visions into reality. The Plan can and be used by:

  • community organisations and businesses to pitch for resources and work collaboratively with each other and public authorities
  • the local authority and other public services to better understand community aspirations and target their services and policies accordingly, from health care to public transport and land-use planning
  • external funders and investors to maximise the positive impacts of their investments

Importantly, the Plan is about how people and organisations work together for common cause. Delivering the visions will not be achieved by one organisation on its own. It will require collaborative action by community groups, businesses, landowners, residents, the local authority and other public / third sector agencies. In short, everyone who has an interest in the future of the communities, working together in genuine partnership.
Moffat Proposal - new High Street crossing
To deliver the vision for each community, a number of game-changers are identified in the Plan: eleven for Moffat, and five for Beattock. Each game-changer is rooted in aspirations expressed by the local communities. They will all be challenging to deliver and may take a number of years.  The details should be regarded as flexible and adaptable to changing circumstances.

MOFFAT GAME-CHANGERS

  1. Local people leading
  2. Scotland’s best High Street
  3. New life for Ladyknowe and Station Park
  4. South-west Scotland’s outdoor capital
  5. Sport and play
  6. Arts and culture for everyone
  7. A great place to do business
  8. Education at the heart of the community
  9. Homes and health
  10. Tell the world!
  11. Re-open Beattock station

BEATTOCK GAME-CHANGERS

  1. Re-open the railway station
  2. Revitalise the Heritage Park
  3. Sports and recreation
  4. Improve the cycle path to Moffa
  5. Quality of life

Each of these game-changers comprises a number of actions. These are explained in the full version of the Plan, with graphics. The Plan can be immediately put to good use by community groups, the public sector and funders, as described above.

To achieve the bigger visions described in the Plan, the Community Councils cannot do everything on their own.  The graphic below shows some of the organisations who will need to be involved. Forging productive working relationships amongst community groups, and between the local community and the local authority / Community Planning Partnership, will be particularly important.

Moffat organisations

It is important that the Plan is used and doesn’t gather dust. The community has invested much time and effort in its preparation; what’s needed now is action. The first step should be a discussion specifically to agree on priorities for action and to commit to initial steps over the ensuing six months. This should involve all those organisations mentioned above and the discussion should decide on leading, monitoring and implementation. This may involve establishing a new community organisation or structure.

The hard work involved in turning the plan into reality should not be underestimated. It will rely on continued hard work, persistence, dedication and forward thinking by the Community Councils, community groups, businesses, other local people and partners.

Moffat Proposals