Deeside Donside Development Project is supported by the Cairngorms National Park Authority and Aberdeenshire Council, plus LEADER funding, to provide practical support to the Marr Area of the National Park. We helped set up the DDDP in 2010, recruit a Development Manager and work closely with him and the Steering Group to support development and projects in their communities.
Tarland Youth Project: We are working with a group of young people from Tarland, members of Tarland Development Group and Community Learning and Development staff to consult with the community to develop youth facilities and projects in the village, for which some funding is available.
Community action planning is a process which is used to establish the needs and aspirations of local people to improve services and facilities within their own community. It has great potential to enable communities to take ownership of issues and get something done about them. It also enables them to complement and inform the planning that statutory agencies undertake. For a summary of what Community Action Plans are and how you can go about doing one in your community you can read our briefing paper or go to the Our Aberdeenshire web site.
Marr Area Partnership has supported groups in Tarland, Ballater, Banchory and Alford to develop their own community action plans and we have recently worked with communities in Aboyne and Torphins. We can work with communities of all sizes on these plans, adapting the process and timescale according to the size of the community. Contact us if you would like to discuss doing a Community Action Plan in your community.
Marr Area Partnership was the lead partner in the production of a manual used by village halls to assist in their management and development. The manual was developed in response to problems experienced by hall committees in relation to new regulatory requirements introduced by the Public Entertainments Licence. The ‘Your Hall Manual’ was launched in February 2009 and is being widely used across Marr. We provide support and advice to hall committees as well as updating the manual when necessary. If you would like to receive a copy of the manual or would like to get advice or help with managing your hall, please contact us. We also continue to work closely with Aberdeenshire Council and Hall Committees to facilitate understanding and application of the licencing process.
Huntly Development Trust: We were a member of the steering group for Huntly Aberdeenshire Town Partnership (ATP), which was set up to create a strategic plan for the long-term and sustainable development of the town. The Huntly community achieved a great deal during the ATP period, but when this came to an end during 2009, the evolution to the creation of Huntly Development Trust was supported through process facilitation and specialist advice. We continue to work closely with them.
Representatives of the Marr Area Partnership are very active members of the Marr Community Planning Group as well as being part of the Aberdeenshire Community Planning Partnership (ACPP) Board and the ACPP “Developing our Partnership” Theme Group. You can find out more about the work of the Marr Community Planning Group on the Our Aberdeenshire web site. As part of our role on the Marr Community Planning Group we work closely with colleagues from other organisations on a range of projects:
Marr Community Plan: Marr Area Partnership took the lead role in the research and community engagement elements of the review process to produce a revised ‘Marr Community Plan for 2010-2014’. This involved collecting the views of the community through developing and distributing questionnaires, telephone discussions and specially- tailored Community Ward Forums. We are currently involved in a similar role working on the review to develop the Marr Community Plan 2012-2016.
Community Planning Newsletter: We were involved in the development of a pilot newsletter in the Marr and Banff & Buchan areas, containing Aberdeenshire-wide and local information about Community Planning in action. The pilot was deemed a success and has been rolled out across Aberdeenshire. We continue to contribute to the Marr section of the quarterly newsletter.
Youth Issues Action Plan for Marr: In 2008 and 2009 we worked closely with Youth Forums in Marr and Community Learning & Development teams to produce a Youth Issues Action Plan. The Plan set out issues and concerns that young people raised and the results of discussions with the wider community and planning partners in relation to possible solutions. In 2010 we produced an update which set out the progress that had been made on the issues raised. We are currently working with the same partners on updating the Plan.
Community Engagement: We are currently working with Community Learning and Development to provide support to Grampian Police on youth engagement issues.
On behalf of the Marr Community Planning Group we are responsible for running the Community Ward Forums. These are quarterly events, held in each of the three wards of Marr, to which community councils and other community based organisations are invited to discuss local issues with each other and service providers and agencies. The forums aim to do the following:
• Ensure that the views of communities and community organisations are fed into the formal community planning process
• Provide an opportunity for ongoing, two way communication between the service providers and the community
• Keep communities up to date with new developments which may affect them
• Support the development of Community Councils and other community organisations by providing training and information
• Provide excellent opportunity for informal learning, networking with other community organisations/representatives and sharing information and experiences
If you think that your group may benefit from attending, please contact us. You can find out more about the forums in our briefing paper. Copies of all presentations given at previous forums, as well as future venues and forum dates, can be found on the Our Aberdeenshire web site.
Working with the diverse communities of Marr to encourage and enable their economic, environmental and social futures