Welcome to this first annual report on the Marr Community Plan 2013-16. This summary captures a selection of achievements brought about through collaborative partnership working with local communities and partners during the past year.

Our Plan focuses on 6 key areas for Marr: • Supporting Marr’s Communities to support themselves • Connecting Communities • Older People • Economic Development • A Healthy, Happy Population • Adapting to Change

Priorities for each of the 6 key areas have been identified through community engagement and we believe they are key to improving the quality of life for everyone in Marr.

Janelle Clark Chair of the Marr Community Planning Group

MARR COMMUNITY PLAN ANNUAL REPORT 2013 – 2014 2 www.ouraberdeenshire.org.uk/marr This report is designed to give you an overview of progress on the Marr Community Plan 2013-16 during 2013/14. The Plan is developed and monitored by the Marr Community Planning Group, which comprises representatives of the following:

• Aberdeenshire Council

• Aberdeenshire Voluntary Action

• Marr Area Partnership

• Garioch & North Marr Community Safety Group

• Huntly and District Development Trust

• NHS Grampian

• Police Scotland

• Scottish Fire and Rescue Service

• Cairngorms National Park Authority

MARR COMMUNITY PLAN ANNUAL REPORT Braemar Castle Queen’s View, Tarland, Marr 2013– 2014 www.ouraberdeenshire.org.uk/marr 3 Priority 1: Supporting Marr’s Communities to Support Themselves Communities will be successful, inclusive and resilient with the confidence, capability and capacity to tackle the things that matter to them

• Transitional Exchange Project “Sticks and Stones” took place with the Finnish communities of Joankoski and Nilsia. This included exchange visits between the two communities and was led by Huntly and District Development Trust (HDDT). New friendships were created while drystane dyking, music making and Finnish shelter building skills were shared and exchanged. A greater understanding of both cultures and political systems was developed and there is the potential to develop future projects together. ‘Sticks and Stones’ was supported by the Marr Community Planning Group members and a major commitment by the Huntly CLD team to supporting the youth music strand of the project. The young people’s involvement was further recognised through the Youth Achievement Awards. Please contact [email protected] for more information.

• The Marr Community Ward forums have again been well supported by our communities. The topics for discussion have been wide ranging from changes in Licencing law, to ‘Mensheds’, to project funding and services for older people living in Marr. Please contact [email protected] for more information.

• Braemar and the Lumsden, Kildrummy and Towie areas completed Community Action Plans in 2013. They are now working hard to implement these plans by developing locally led projects. Please contact Marr Area Partnership for more information [email protected]

• During 2013/14 a wide range of projects in all communities across Marr have been supported either financially or through advice and other support given by one or more partners. These include Logie Coldstone and Glenbuchat Hall projects, HDDT for their Green Travel Hub, Braemar Castle and many others. Please contact [email protected] for a full list of MARR projects. COMMUNITY PLAN ANNUAL REPORT 2013 – 2014 4 www.ouraberdeenshire.org.uk/marr Priority 2: Connecting Communities Access to services and broadband in Marr will be improved

• East Cairngorms Learning Centre is being developed for Ballater and the surrounding area in collaboration with the Cairngorms Learning Partnership. It proposes to offer learning opportunities to the Upper Deeside and Donside areas while linking remotely to feeder communities. The project will also link to the Western side of the Cairngorms National Park. A draft development plan is being finalised. Please contact Nick Mardell [email protected] for more information.

• HDDT was supported with a successful Climate Challenge Fund bid to develop a Room to Roam Travel Hub, the total raised was £171,327. This project will include a Car Club, E-Bike Hire, support for the development of Networks of Wellbeing’s Bike Shack bicycle recycling project, promotion of public transport and active travel. It will also provide a public video conferencing suite. Please contact [email protected] for more information.

MARR COMMUNITY PLAN ANNUAL REPORT The Cairngorms Huntly Town Centre 2013– 2014 www.ouraberdeenshire.org.uk/marr 5 Priority 3: Older People Marr’s older residents will live independent, heathier lives for longer in a homely environment, in a community which respects and values them, with informal carers who receive support to continue to care

A Marr Older People’s Action Group (MOPAG) has been set up to look at issues and opportunities that could be developed into projects to support older people living in Marr. An assessment of the needs of older people in Marr was completed. This assessment, which included demographical and statistical information, will be used to inform future projects that will improve the quality of life of older people in Marr. Older People’s forums in Banchory and Huntly have now been set up. These are linked to the ‘Your Voice’ project but will also feed into the work of MOPAG.

Priority 4: Economic Development The economic sustainability of communities in Marr will be enhanced

• Artist team DUFI worked with the Banchory community in the Autumn of 2013 to identify what the town means to them. With this information they developed an arts led reworking of Scott Skinner Square which will include new lighting, new bespoke designed seats and benches and a series of murals. These plans were exhibited in the Town Hall in January 2014 and received a positive response from the community. When these works are MARR being put in place Aberdeenshire Council will also take the opportunity COMMUNITY to tackle issues in the square e.g. levelling areas of paving that have PLAN ANNUAL subsided over the years. This project will greatly improve the usability and REPORT appearance of the square. 2013 – 2014 6 www.ouraberdeenshire.org.uk/marr • As a result of their engagement with the community in Banchory DUFI have also designed a Brand for the town ‘Banchory – the Place to be’ this has been well received by the community and will be rolled out in 2014/15.

• Ballater’s Albert Hall has been successfully renovated to a standard that will make it attractive as a muti-purpose venue for locals and visitors alike. It will be available for local events, weddings and conferences and will generate income to support the running of the Victoria and Albert Hall complex. www.victoriaandalberthalls.co.uk

• Braemar and Kindrochit Castles in Braemar are being renovated in order to improve visitor attractions in the area. The Braemar Castle project is being taken forward by the community and has received funding from Community Planning Partners and the Kindrochit Castle project has been taken forward by Aberdeenshire Council. Please see www.braemarcastle. co.uk or contact [email protected] for more information.

• Huntly Employability Group has set up a joint Job Club programme. The partnership is committed to organising and delivering a six week rolling programme which is then evaluated with the information being used to feed into the next programme, the aim being to be responsive to need and maximise resources in order to support people seeking work or developing employability skills [email protected]

MARR COMMUNITY PLAN ANNUAL REPORT Scott Skinner Square, Banchory 2013– 2014 www.ouraberdeenshire.org.uk/marr 7 Priority 5: A Healthy, Happy Population Marr’s population will be safe, healthy and happy throughout life

• Healthy lifestyle initiatives have been developed in the Rhynie and Lumsden areas. Outreach work through the Community Health Improvement Officer has seen funding accessed to enable the development of Walks to Health groups, drop-in facilities to be utilised for cooking sessions, weight management sessions and closer links with local groups using these services. Local GPs from primary care are referring into these initiatives and are proving to be a great success. [email protected]

• Networks of Wellbeing led a project to plant a Community Orchard in the Meadows in Huntly, they worked with community planning partners to identify a location. [email protected]

• At the request of local communities, community planning partners and residents attended successful community ward forums that focused on the changes to the Alcohol Licensing legislation. Please see www.marrareapartnership.org.uk for more information.

• Alford Health and Wellbeing Group organised an Internet Safety project which consisted of a programme of events in local primary schools. These events covered how to keep yourself, your children, your family and your community safe online. This project was supported by the Garioch and North Marr Community Safety Group. Please contact [email protected] for more information.

MARR COMMUNITY PLAN ANNUAL REPORT Discussions at a Marr Area Forum on changes to alcohol licencing legislation, May 2014 2013 – 2014 8 www.ouraberdeenshire.org.uk/marr Priority 6: Adapting to Change To support Marr’s communities, individuals and families to adapt to change by minimising their living costs and taking action to ensure their communities are sustainable in the long term

• Logie Coldstone, Glenbuchat and Monymusk Halls have been refurbished by their communities as sustainable community venues. Community planning partners supported the process in a variety of ways. Please contact [email protected] for more information.

• Tarland Community Garden was established in April 2013 with the aim of establishing a community garden accessible to all, for the local production of fruit and vegetables. The garden includes a 30ft x 90ft polytunnel, a communal shed and tool store, an accessible composting toilet and communal planting areas. Please see www.tarland.org.uk

Tarland Community Garden • In March 2014 Huntly and District Development Trust purchased Greenmyres Farm with the majority of the funding coming from the Scottish Land Fund. The farm sits next to the Dumuies wind farm and will enable the trust to pursue its ambition of installing a wind turbine for the benefit of the community in addition to other business and wellbeing opportunities. If the application for the wind turbine is successful this will enable HDDT to deliver an action from the Huntly Sustainability Plan. Please see www.huntlydevelopmenttrust.org.uk for more information.

• The community of Monymusk is piloting the development of community resilience plans in the Marr area. The preparedness of local residents in situations of emergency and their ability to asses/harness local capacity will be identified, monitored and used to inspire other communities in the MARR development of similar plans. Please contact [email protected] COMMUNITY for more information. PLAN ANNUAL REPORT

2013– 2014 www.ouraberdeenshire.org.uk/marr 9 What we will be doing in 2014 -15

The Marr Community Plan is a live document and as such actions are added as and when required. Many of the actions we were working on in 2013-14 will continue into 2014-15 and some will be new.

Priority 1: Supporting Marr’s Communities We will:

• Progress our programme for the 2014/15 Community Ward Forums that has been developed with the participation of our local organisations and community councils. These will include our first outdoor forums with a focus on local food and a forum on how to strengthen community resilience.

• Continue to help communities review or develop their Community Action Plans including work about to start in Strathdon on a new Community Action Plan.

Priority 2: Connecting Communities We will:

• Support Huntly Development Trust to deliver the Room to Roam Green Transport Hub and monitor progress to identify if this is an approach that could feed into a wider access/transport project for Marr.

• Monitor progress of the installation of Broadband infrastructure in Marr and identify which areas are unlikely to benefit from the new fibre broadband infrastructure. We will ensure that as much information as possible reaches communities in Marr about the proposed timetables for broadband improvement and the solutions for their communities.

• Explore options to develop an Aberdeenshire Council Customer Service point in Braemar in partnership with the community.

Priority 3: Older People

MARR We will: COMMUNITY • Scope a transport/access project now that transport has been identified as PLAN ANNUAL an ongoing issue. REPORT 2013 – 2014 10 www.ouraberdeenshire.org.uk/marr Priority 4: Economic Development We will:

• Ensure works on Scott Skinner Square will be completed and the Banchory Brand will be launched for use by the community.

• Continue to develop the new Job Club in Huntly.

Priority 5: A Healthy, Happy Population We will:

• Support the development and maintenance of paths:

»» Complete the Deeside way and its companion website

»» Complete the feasibility study on taking the Gordon Way from the Suie Hill to Rhynie

»» Improve paths in Battlehill Woods Huntly

»» Improve an informal route to the new Alford Academy

Priority 6: Adapting to Change We will:

• Set up a pilot oil club with partners, including North East Scotland Credit Union (NESCU), to identify if this will work successfully to help residents in Marr reduce their fuel bills and access affordable credit when necessary.

• Consult with Primary schools in the Aboyne Network to identify if support is required to develop growing projects in the schools. The results of this consultation will be fed into actions for the Marr Community Plan.

• Promote the work of Monymusk in developing their community resilience plan and encourage/support other communities in the development of similar plans (or incorporation into their existing Community Action Plans).

MARR COMMUNITY PLAN ANNUAL REPORT 2013– 2014 www.ouraberdeenshire.org.uk/marr 11 If you would like to receive a copy of the Marr Community Plan or would like to provide feedback or comments please contact [email protected] or by phone on (019755) 64801

MARR COMMUNITY PLAN ANNUAL REPORT 2013 – 2014 www.ouraberdeenshire.org.uk/marr 12 Produced by Aberdeenshire Council GDT21827 September 2014