KIRKCONNEL & COMMUNITY ACTION PLAN 2020 CELEBRATING SUCCESS IN KIRKCONNEL & KELLOHOLM

During the term of the Kirkconnel and Kelloholm Community Action Plan 2014- 2019 a lot has been achieved. Much of this progress can be attributed to the local community and voluntary groups who have worked tirelessly and raised/ secured funding to deliver better facilities and services for the local community.

Since the launch of the first Community Action Kirkconnel Parish Heritage Society are delighted Plan in 2014 the community led organisations that in the term of the Community Action have levered over £700k in additional funding to Plan 2014 -2019, they, with the support of benefit the community Kirkconnel and Kelloholm. KKDT and local Wind Farm Developers have been able to acquire a much needed new / Kirkconnel and Kelloholm Development Trust replacement Minibus .This minibus is used by have purchased a community tractor and ground over 30 community organisations and provides maintenance equipment, trained volunteers a lifeline for our more vulnerable members of the and recruited a ground maintenance worker to community to access services and facilities that help maintain the vast amount of open space in otherwise may not be available to them. an around Kirkconnel and Kelloholm to ensure that the community is both safe and attractive With the support of a range of community for residents and visitors, in partnership with organisations and a large number of volunteers, and Galloway. Kirkconnel and Kelloholm are now a designated Distribution Centre for FareShare and have The appearance of the village is important to the developed a range of Food Sharing Initiatives. community. Thanks to the efforts of Brighten Up The ethos of this project is not just around Kirkconnel and Kelloholm volunteers, supported tackling food poverty, rather it aims to improve by a range of community organisations, health and well-being and combat social isolation Kirkconnel and Kelloholm Brighten Up Group and loneliness. It also supports the Climate achieved a Gold Award and Best Small Village Change agenda by reducing the amount of 2019 at the Beautiful Awards 2019. waste sent to landfills.

We want to build on what we have achieved and this revised action plan outlines the work we will be focusing on. We would like to invite you to come and help make our community the best it can be. Kirkconnel & Kelloholm matters to all of us so if you would like to be involved please contact Rose Murdoch - [email protected] to find out how you can get involved.

2 KirkconnelKirkconnel & Kelloholm & Kelloholm Community Community Action Action Plan 2020-2025 Plan 2020 THE PLACE STANDARD

As part of the community engagement process we used a nationally recognised process that explores all aspects of what makes a community work well. The Place Standard asks 14 questions about the physical and social elements of a place. Questions relate to themes, which can be seen around the outer rim of the diagram below. Participants answer by scoring from 1 to 7, where 1 means there is a lot of room for improvement and 7 means there is very little room for improvement. Results are plotted on the diagram: points closer to the centre represent those areas most in need of improvement while those towards the edge are strengths. This output is used to define priorities and actions for local improvements which created this community action plan document. We would like to thanks everyone who took part in the organising of the events and the participants who took time to get involved and share their views The diagram shows the results of the Place Standard Consultation which helped form the Themes & Priorities for Kirkconell & Kelloholm.

Kirkconnel & Kelloholm Community Action Plan 2020 3 THEME 1: COMMUNITY FACILITIES & EVENTS

These are the main strategies and priorities the community has identified and will work towards achieving in partnership with public agencies and other supporters.

Develop and improve outdoor and indoor Create and support opportunities for food/ facilities e.g. recreation/outdoor play plant growing to make use of open spaces space Identify suitable open spaces for growing Carry out community engagement with all space age groups to identify the needs/wants of the Engage with the community to secure support community and volunteers Develop an outdoor & indoor facilities Action Identify suitable funding streams Plan Identify funding streams and potential partners Potential Partners KKDT, Food Sharing Group, Dumfries and Develop and sustain activities, groups and Galloway Council Youth Services, Kirkconnel events for all e.g. Youth Clubs, Community Miner’s Memorial Centre Management Cinema Committee, Kirkconnel Parish Heritage Society, Nithsdale Community Health Identify what groups, events and activities Development Team, The Cabin Management already exist to identify the gaps in provision Committee, Council Promote what already exists through all Leisure and Sport channels Engage with the community for new ideas Identify potential funding streams to set up new groups, activities and events

4 KirkconnelKirkconnel & Kelloholm & Kelloholm Community Community Action Action Plan 2020-2025 Plan 2020 THEME 2: SERVICES & HOUSING

Develop local services to improve quality Development of housing to meet the of life and healthier lifestyles needs of the whole community Work with local Health Centres to encourage Work with appropriate partners to ensure the social prescribing needs of all ages and abilities are met Support and develop local food share/fair share initiatives Redevelop derelict premises to meet local Encourage more signposting and promotion of needs/or improve the area existing services Identify which buildings could be suitable for a Community Asset Transfer Work with partners and appropriate agencies to ensure services are accessible for all Work with the community to identify ideas for use of the buildings Maintain and improve local Develop a business plan communications e.g . KKS News, Websites Identify suitable funding and Social Media Develop a Communications Strategy for the Potential Partners community Nithsdale Community Health Team, NHS Encourage support from local community to (D&G), Upper Nithsdale Group Practice, promote information Dumfries and Galloway Council, Dumfries and Identify a subgroup to implement the strategy Galloway Small Communities Housing Trust, KKDT, Crichton Care Campus, Kirkconnel Parish Heritage Society, Kirkconnel and Kelloholm Community Council Food Sharing Group

Kirkconnel & Kelloholm Community Action Plan 20202020-2025 5 THEME 3: ENVIRONMENT, HERITAGE & TOURISM

Develop and improve paths for walking and cycling routes Carry out mapping exercise to identify what the needs/wants are Work with potential partners/agencies to develop a work plan Identify funding streams to cover costings

Develop & sustain village appearance for local residents and visitors to the area Build on the good work achieved by local community members Encourage local community volunteers

Maintain, preserve and promote the culture, Develop Heritage Museum history and heritage of the local area Visit schools to engage with a younger Identify creative projects that will support this generation priority e.g. Community film Promote museum through all communications to Identify funding streams target bigger audiences Explore opportunities to expand/ create a larger Develop Kirkconnel and Kelloholm as Heritage Museum a tourist destination through events, activities and festivals Potential Partners Set up an events group to take the priority forward Kirkconnel Parish Heritage Society, Brighten Up Kirkconnel and Kelloholm, KKDT, Upper Nithsdale Visit other communities for ideas and inspiration Tourism Partnership, Kelloholm Primary School, Engage with community Academy, Village Pride Furniture Identify funding streams to carry out events Project, Dumfries and Galloway Council, Transport Scotland Maintain and develop open space for community benefit Work with Dumfries & Galloway Council and the community to ensure best use of space for community benefit Build on the partnership with Dumfries & Galloway Council for ground maintenance work

6 Kirkconnel & Kelloholm Community Action Plan 2020 THEME 4: LOCAL THEME 5: ECONOMY & TRANSPORT & JOBS ROADS

Promote, develop & support local Support improvements to local roads and community organisations and volunteers trunk roads Organise an annual networking event to bring Carry out a local mapping exercise to mark organisations and volunteers together to priority areas promote local opportunities Work with Dumfries & Galloway Council to help Identify funding to host the events prioritise the maintenance schedule

Develop local training & learning Improve local bus service, train station opportunities to support employment and access and rail services volunteering Work with transport providers to see what can Carry out a needs analysis to identify training needs be done to improve access and service provision Create a Training Plan Maintain, support & develop community

Work with local partners to deliver training transport initiatives

Identify funding to cover the costs Continue to support local community transport and promote what services are available Create & develop a community learning hub for people of all ages Create & develop infrastructure to Carry out community engagement to build support support new low carbon transport and to identify the needs of all ages and abilities initiatives Work to ensure community make the most of Create & develop support and space for low carbon opportunities existing businesses and to encourage new Promote the need for low carbon businesses into the area Encourage it’s use by having suitable Work with local businesses and agencies to infrastructure in place e.g. charging points identify needs and opportunities Potential Partners Potential Partners KKDT, Kirkconnel Parish Heritage Society, KKDT, Coalfields Regeneration Trust, Third Transport Scotland, Scot Rail, Dumfries and Sector D&G, Dumfries and Galloway College, Galloway Council, Upper Nithsdale Tourism Dumfries and Galloway Council, Brown Brothers Partnership; Kirkconnel and Kelloholm Manufacturing, Buccleuch Estates, SoSEA, Community Council Scottish Enterprise, University of West of Scotland, Business Gateway, Skills Development Scotland, DTAS, TARFF

Kirkconnel & Kelloholm Community Action Plan 2020 7 The Coalfields Regeneration Trust’s overarching priority is to develop community capacity; everything that we do is about supporting coalfield communities. Community-led regeneration is at the heart of regeneration. It is about people taking responsibility by: Identifying issues and opportunities in their local area Deciding what to do about them Making positive changes in their communities

In 2014, with support from Coalfields Regeneration Trust, members of the Kirkconnel & Kelloholm community came together and formed a steering group which worked together to create a 5 year Action Plan. This was done through an extensive process of community engagement carried out by the community for the community. Five years on, a lot has been achieved from the original plan, some priorities are still being worked on and some new priorities have been identified. This revised community action plan was produced, again with support from the Coalfields Regeneration Trust, in partnership with the local community workers and members of the local community.

The Process: A focus group made up of members of the Kirkconnel & Kelloholm community carried out a review of the 2014-2019 community action plan and identified:

what was new which priorities which priorities which priorities and needing had been were still in were not yet added to the completed progress started revised plan

Design: Arken Creative Print: Armstrong Printing (Alloa) Ltd. The Coalfields Regeneration Trust. Registered Charity No. 1074930 in England and Wales. A Charity Registered In Scotland No. SC039277