Issue - meetings

The Board will receive a presentation on proposals to develop vibrant Communities in our priority neighbourhoods, using strength-based approaches in partnership with our communities’.

Cat McMillan, Head of Community Engagement at BCP Council, gave a presentation focussed on proposals to develop vibrant Communities in priority neighbourhoods, using strength-based approaches in partnership with communities.  The Board was advised that part of this involved a culture shift in the language used moving away for phrases such as tackling deprivation and regeneration with a focus on deficits inside communities to develop vibrant communities and highlighting what was strong not what was wrong.

The Board was advised that key communities the Council want work with, in a vibrant way, have been identified.  The next stage was how to engage with communities and work with them to identify strength-based approaches. The Board was advised that services were already delivered in a vibrant and dynamic way eg innovative parks, large impactive festivals and award-winning behaviour changing services which helped people across the area to make lifestyle changes to improve their wellbeing.  Cat explained that there was considerable evidence that public services that were delivered in partnership with the communities provided more sustainable and better outcomes for residents.  This was apparent during the presentation given earlier in the year by Cormac Russell who was a world-renowned expert in asset-based community development or ABCD.  The issue to consider was are partners going far enough to give communities enough ownership in the decisions that affect their lives. 

The Board was advised of the outcomes that had been achieved by East Ayrshire in Scotland which had transformed the way in which they work with their communities including the process they adopted eg through community events to engage with residents.  Cat explained the fundamental change which was the shift of power from the Local Authority to communities, that ABCD had been embedded throughout the Council and that the Local Authority’s role was to serve the communities. The Board was informed of the development of the community led action plan which the local community then delivered in partnership with the Council and wider partners. Cat outlined the ABCD model and the various stages. The Board was advised that this approach was used to work with the priority neighbourhoods across BCP those that were within the 20% most deprived under the indices of deprivation.  Cat outlined the development of the strategies that would support this approach, the future for vibrant communities beyond area action plans and the evaluation of the model. The Board was advised of the work streams and the structure for the development of the model for priority neighbourhoods in the BCP Council area and the associated timelines.

Steve Place, Community Action Network, welcomed the proposal, the detail that underpinned the approach and the time taken by the Council to consider this initiative. He highlighted the expected long-term improvements and reported that there were plenty of communities of interest that suffer disadvantages and asked how their needs would be addressed.  Mr Place also referred to neighbourhood plans that were supported as part of the planning system which would be an option within the ABCD approach  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11