Formartine

Local Community Plan

2016-2019

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Cover photograph © Council.

Local Community Plan 2016 -2019

Contents

Foreword ...... 2

Executive Summary ...... 3

The Formartine Area ...... 5

Looking Ahead ...... 8

Priority 1 Stronger Empowered Communities ...... 11

Priority 2 Safer Communities ...... 14

Priority 3 Tackling Inequalities ...... 17

Priority 4 Transport and Connectivity ...... 20

Contact Us ...... 23

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Foreword

Welcome to the Formartine Community Plan. Formartine is already a great place to live and work and contains a number of active and thriving communities. Many of them benefit from local people who devote much of their spare time on local activities and projects, working together to improve the area. We have a unique opportunity to make it even better and continue our working partnerships to create a place for the future, to the benefit of all our residents and businesses. Work is already underway to harness exciting opportunities, through delivery of the strategies and projects. This plan sets out the future priorities and actions in relation to strengthening and empowering our communities, safer communities, tackling inequalities and improve transport and connectivity and builds on the priorities in the previous Community Plan and the Single Outcome Agreement. Bringing the new Community Plan and the Scottish Government’s National Outcomes together gives the Formartine Community Planning Partnership the opportunity to create an even stronger, integrated approach for Formartine’s people, their aspirations for their places and their priorities which have been identified through ongoing community engagement over the life of the last plan. The Community Plan provides a framework, priorities and outcomes for organisations in the Formartine area with a clear record of working in partnership with the community. The Plan is the way forward and focuses on the issues and concerns of local people and concentrates on achieving the things that we cannot achieve in isolation. Success in doing so will mean an improved quality of life for residents, both now and in the future, in the Formartine area.

Elaine Brown

Chair of the Formartine Community Planning Group

Formartine Area Manager

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Executive Summary

The Formartine Community Plan 2016-2019 brings together input from our Community Planning Partners, Elected Members and most importantly the local community.

There has been regular interaction with Community Councils and community based forums and other community engagement community action planning and Citizens’ Panel surveys capturing information and views of people about their place and their priorities informing this plan.

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As a result and following various workshops it was agreed we should focus on 4 key priorities for Formartine. These priorities are: • Stronger empowered communities • Safer communities • Tackling inequalities • Transport and connectivity

The Plan has been developed to provide our strategy for delivering partnership projects or activities across the Formartine area in response to local issues highlighted. We have to thank the solid working partnership that has developed by the Formartine Community Planning Partnership throughout the life of previous Formartine Community Plan to deliver better services and actively engaging in community engagement that has seen the development of this new Plan. There have been many successes, much groundwork on identifying the challenges we champion on behalf of our communities and the work will continue in partnership.

Each of the priorities has had an outcome set against it in order to measure impact and the difference made to communities. Several actions have been developed to help deliver each outcome and some are already underway.

The plan covers a three year period until 2019, which gives opportunity to develop longer term aspirations. The plan will be reviewed each year and will be updated as and when actions are completed.

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The Formartine Area

With an estimated population of 43,169 people, the residents of Formartine make up 16.7% of Aberdeenshire’s total estimated population (257,740). Formartine’s population continues to increase and has risen gradually over the past decade.

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Population Data

Year 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

Children 7706 7677 7816 7858 7985 8050 8132 8180 8155 8068 8098 8103

Working 24588 25168 25837 26385 26834 27239 27568 27796 28135 28249 28124 28039 Age

Pensionable 4778 4958 5151 5361 5525 5660 5842 6017 6219 6435 6777 7027 Age

TOTAL 37072 37803 38804 39604 40344 40949 41542 41993 42509 42752 42999 43169

Source: National Records of Scotland Mid-Year Estimates (Revised on 2011 Census)

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The demographics of the population have shifted over the past decade:

• The total working age population has steadily increased since 2002 and is beginning to plateau and feel slightly between 2011-2013. • The number of children (15 and under) is 5.2% higher than in 2002, but is beginning to show signs of declining. • The number of pensionable age individuals is 47.1% higher than in 2002 and continues to increase. • If the demographic trends continue it can be expected that older people will outnumber children within the next 5-10 years.

Across Formartine, the life expectancy of the majority of communities is better than the Scottish average. Females continue to have a higher life expectancy at birth than males but the gap is lessening in the decade up to 2013.

Formartine residents perceive Aberdeenshire to be a safe or very safe place to live and were least likely to consider crime a problem and least likely to say fear of crime had an impact on their lives. Despite this positive outlook and limited fear of crime, Formartine residents were neither more nor less likely than residents elsewhere in Aberdeenshire to have experienced or witnessed crime in the previous year. However for certain issues, such as antisocial driving, Formartine residents report higher experience of this issue than elsewhere.

Emergency hospital admission rates per 100,000 are lower in Formartine for all ages compared to elsewhere in Aberdeenshire and have been decreasing almost yearly between 2008 and 2012. 97% of Formartine resident citizens’ panel respondents agreed that initiatives to reduce avoidable admissions to hospital initiatives were important.

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Looking Ahead

In 2015 a series of horizon scanning (PESTELO) exercises were carried out to identify current and potential pressures within the Formartine area over the next few years. Horizon scanning is a method of analysing real and potential pressures placed on a partnership and helps highlight where a partnerships strengths and weaknesses lie. These sessions were held with the Formartine Community Planning Group, Formartine Area Committee, Aberdeenshire Council’s Formartine Area Management Team, and consultation across Formartine various Community Forums.

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The issues identified through the PESTELO process have been used to inform our priority outcomes for Formartine and those to which we could add value by working together have been included within this plan.

Priority Formartine Outcomes National Outcomes

Stronger 1. Communities are empowered and 1. We live in a Scotland that is the Empowered supported to develop and most attractive place for doing Communities deliver a vision for their local area business in Europe.

2. Communities are well informed, 2. We realise our full economic involved in decision-making and potential with more and better take a responsibility in delivery of employment opportunities for our local actions and priorities. people. 3. We live in well-designed, 3. Stronger local resilient communities through the sustainable places where we are contribution of volunteers. able to access the amenities and services we need

4. We have strong, resilient and supportive communities where people take responsibility for their own actions and how they affect others 5. We value and enjoy our built and natural environment and protect it and enhance it for future generations 6. We take pride in a strong, fair and inclusive national identity

Safer 1. Fewer Formartine residents are 1. We live our lives safe from crime, Communities injured or killed as a result of disorder and danger. preventable accidents, particularly in relation to road collisions, accidental dwelling fires and deliberate and non-domestic fires. 2. Formartine communities experience fewer instances of antisocial behaviour and residents experience a better quality of life, particularly in relation to vandalism and perceptions of safety. 3. Greater awareness of individuals, families and the vulnerable within our communities to be safe from harm ( cyber safe) while online

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Priority Formartine Outcomes National Outcomes

Tackling 1. Reduction in inequalities in health 1. Our children have the best start in Inequalities outcomes between identified life and are ready to succeed. communities across 2. We live longer, healthier lives. Aberdeenshire. 3. We have tackled the significant 2. Equality of access to early inequalities in Scottish society. intervention and prevention 4. Our people are able to maintain creating healthier and active their independence as they get lifestyle choices, especially for older and are able to access older people and the vulnerable appropriate support when they need it (new outcome). 3. Individuals and families are 5. We have improved the life chances enabled to make small changes for children, young people and that have long lasting positive families at risk. impacts for themselves, their families and the community they live in 4. Children living in families who are vulnerable are identified and offered early support.

Transport 1. Demand responsive transport and 1. Our public services are high and supported bus network serving quality, continually improving, Connectivity Formartine. efficient and responsive to local 2. An improved transport provision people's needs.

to access healthcare and 2. Our people are able to maintain wellbeing activities to address their independence as they get challenges of inequality, social older and are able to access exclusion, rural isolation and appropriate support when they vulnerability. need it (new outcome).

3. Greater opportunity to encourage 3. We reduce the local and global sustainable travel in the area for environmental impact of our 30% of people covering shorter consumption and production. distances, to either walk or cycle all or part of their journeys.

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Priority 1 Stronger Empowered Communities

Successful, inclusive, resilient communities with the confidence, capability and capacity to tackle the things that matter to them.

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Why is this a priority for Formartine? • The Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 will help empower community bodies through the ownership of land and buildings, and by strengthening their voices in the decisions that matter to them. It will also provide opportunities for communities to participate and have their say in the delivery of services and by improving the process of community planning will ensure that local service providers work together even more closely with communities to meet the needs of the people who use them. We need to ensure that Formartine’s communities are fully informed, equipped and supported to realise their potential in the spirit of the Act. • Community Action Plans help implement change in local areas by identifying local priorities, what actions will be taken and who will take them forward. They also provide the vehicle to give community groups’ ownership over what they wish to achieve. Some communities across Formartine are in the early stages of forming a plan, with several communities being proactive in gathering evidence through initiatives, such as conducting town surveys or planning for real engagement exercises • Formartine, along with other areas of Aberdeenshire and indeed Scotland, experienced unprecedented flooding in early January 2016. The response from the wider community in supporting those affected was, and continues to be, tremendous and several of our communities are already taking steps to develop resilience plans to enable them to be in the best possible position should such an emergency arise again. • Getting people involved in contributing to their local communities can be achieved through volunteering. In 2013, citizens’ panel respondents indicated a high proportion of volunteering in Formartine, the joint highest in Aberdeenshire.

Already underway • Community Forums and Health and Social Care Integration Community Engagement events are held to gather views of local communities and their needs and aspirations are captured through Community Action Planning. • We have enhanced membership of the Formartine Community Planning Group (FCPG) with additional community council representation (3 in total) • We are developing a platform for local communities and the FCPG to improve the effectiveness of community planning at a very local level through ‘Making It Real’ Forums. It is open to community councils, community planning partners, local groups and organisations and provides opportunities for networking, information sharing, further community engagement, project development and delivery, and training.

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• The communities of Parish; ; , Inverkeithny and Fisherford; ; Newburgh; Udny Parish; and District; , Bourtie and Daviot have all either produced, or are currently engaging with their communities to develop their Community Action Plans. • Signposting to appropriate funding sources to support community groups and their projects

Outcomes 1. Communities are empowered and supported to develop and deliver a vision for their local area. 2. Communities are well informed, involved in decision-making and take a responsibility in delivery of local actions and priorities. 3. Stronger local resilient communities through the contribution of volunteers.

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Priority 2 Safer Communities

Aberdeenshire is the safest place in Scotland.

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Why is this a priority for Formartine?

1. Formartine is a relatively safe area in the context of Scotland and recorded crime levels (per head of the population) are at their lowest across all of Aberdeenshire. 2. Road safety is likely to remain a key issue in the foreseeable future and is consistently highlighted as a priority in public surveys. This is despite a downward trend in road traffic incidents in the area. Police Scotland Public Consultation Survey 2014 at Ward level indicated speeding motorists and antisocial driving behaviours as main priorities for members of the public across Formartine. In 2015, 53% of local citizens’ panel respondents were worried about road safety which was the highest rating in Aberdeenshire. Road safety is also a priority in Community Action Plans delivered in the last four years and also identified through ongoing community engagement work with other communities across Formartine. 3. We cannot discount the younger road user given that they tend to account for the greatest proportion of casualties over any given year. 4. Although there were no fatalities in 2013/14 in Formartine, there were 7 non- fatal casualties as a result of an accidental dwelling fire – the highest figure in five years. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) increased the number of Home Fire Safety Visits in Aberdeenshire from 283 to 910 in 2013/2014 and this remains a priority. 5. Although technological platforms increase engagement opportunities, concerns were raised during the horizon scanning phase around the potentially negative impact that social media can have on young people (cyberbullying, self-esteem). The internet and social media platforms can create a strong online community and offer many social and educational benefits, however, there are potential mental health, wellbeing and child safeguarding issues around the rapidly increasing culture of online sharing and information access that could be harmful to current and future generations. 6. Priority issues include: road safety; road traffic offences/antisocial driving; violence and disorder (i.e. antisocial behaviour); and promoting positive outcomes for young people. 7. Issues to keep an eye on over the next year or so include : youth disorder; accidental dwelling fires; and antisocial behaviour related driving.

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Already underway  Education of road safety to young people – Pass Plus, Safe Drive Stay Alive; Crash Live.  Police Scotland liaison with community councils on issues around speeding and parking in towns and villages.  Funding for a mobile speed detection unit by the Formartine Community Planning Group and Formartine Community Safety Group 2013-2016.  Increased home fire safety visits and awareness raising by SFRS.  Multi agency approach to dealing with incidences of antisocial behaviour.

Outcomes 1. Fewer Formartine residents are injured or killed as a result of preventable accidents, particularly in relation to road collisions, accidental dwelling fires and deliberate and non-domestic fires. 2. Formartine communities experience fewer instances of anti-social behaviour and residents experience a better quality of life, particularly in relation to vandalism and perceptions of safety. 3. Greater awareness of individuals, families and the vulnerable within our communities to be safe from harm ( cyber safe) while online.

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Priority 3 Tackling Inequalities

Aberdeenshire will be recognised as a great place to live and work - fairness, equality of opportunity for all.

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Why is this a priority for Formartine?

1. The local Community Planning Group has been working in partnership prioritising resources to take forward the themes of early interventions and prevention. 2. Across Formartine, the life expectancy of the majority of communities is better than the Scottish average. Females continue to have a higher life expectancy at birth than males but the gap is lessening in the decade up to 2013. 3. Emergency hospital admission rates per 100,000 are lower in Formartine for all ages compared to elsewhere in Aberdeenshire and have been decreasing almost yearly between 2008 and 2012. In 2015, citizens’ panel respondents in Formartine (97%) agreed initiatives to reduce avoidable admissions to hospital initiatives were important. In Formartine in 2014, 40.6% of people with intensive care needs were able to receive care at home. 4. Formartine is better than the national average for the number of alcohol related hospital admissions, and a number of communities are significantly better than the Scottish average. SALSUS Survey results suggest that Aberdeenshire adolescents drink more alcohol than those elsewhere in Scotland but do so less frequently. That being said they are more likely to have seen a doctor or stayed off school as a result of drinking alcohol than those elsewhere in Scotland. However Citizens’ Panel responses would indicate that Formartine is less than likely than other areas of Aberdeenshire to witness underage drinking. 5. Mental health and wellbeing impacts on quality of life, the prevalence of poor mental health / illness can put pressure on health and care services. Poor mental health can also lead to premature job loss. This is detrimental for both individuals and for the economy. Effective support through a joined-up approach between health and employment and supportive action by employers can help those both in and out of work. Until now, the quality and amount of information about mental health has lagged behind that about physical health. 6. Aberdeenshire contains five datazones that are classified as making up Scotland’s 15% most deprived datazones – none of these are in Formartine. Aberdeenshire has a total of 301 datazones as of the 2012 SIMD release. 45 datazones make up the 15% most relatively deprived areas in Aberdeenshire and of these, only one is located in Formartine. This datazone is located in Ellon (SO1000431). 7. The greatest proportion of benefit claimants in Formartine are in receipt of Employment Support Allowance of Incapacity Benefit, suggesting that those reliant on benefits may be unable to work for health reasons rather than due to a lack of employment opportunities. 8. Child poverty estimates in Formartine suggest that approximately 12% of children are estimated to be in poverty after housing costs, suggesting that a proportion of children in the area start life in poverty in the area. The Ward area with the highest estimates of child poverty is in Turriff and District.

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Already underway • A new structure to manage children’s services within Aberdeenshire ‘Getting it Right For Every Child in Aberdeenshire’ is under development. This multiagency structure will include local GIRFEC practice groups which will integrate local delivery of children’s services, target interventions and align closely with the six Local Community Planning Groups. • Local health and wellbeing forums and Make It Real Forums undertake various health and wellbeing initiatives in Formartine. • Ellon Men’s Shed opened in 2015 to encourage social interaction of men, particularly those who are retired or underemployed. The initiative is now also taking off in Turriff. • Health Walk groups set up across Formartine and walk leaders trained • Ellon Wellbeing Festival held in May 2016 promoting mental health and wellbeing. • Conversation Cafes held in Turriff and Ellon encouraging social interaction • A Welfare Reform forum set up during the last Formartine Community Plan 2013-2016. • The Aberdeenshire North (Alcohol and Drug Partnership) Community Forum has begun to reach out to the more rural areas by holding the forum meetings in different places across the North.

Outcomes 1. Reduction in inequalities in health outcomes between identified communities across Aberdeenshire. 2. Equality of access to early intervention and prevention creating healthier and active lifestyle choices, especially for older people and the vulnerable 3. Individuals and families are enabled to make small changes that have long lasting positive impacts for themselves, their families and the community they live in. 4. Children living in families who are vulnerable are identified and offered early support.

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Priority 4 Transport and Connectivity

Aberdeenshire will be recognised as a great place to live, work, visit and invest in, with effective transport links and connectivity.

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Why is this a priority for Formartine? • Transport and connectivity are important for most communities in Formartine and have also been highlighted by other areas of Aberdeenshire. While acknowledging the impact of the current economic environment and the fact that additional services may not be available, better timetabling may be a step towards helping communities and their needs. • Access to services across Formartine is good, on average, with it taking fewer than 6 minutes average drive time to reach a GP and 4.2 minutes average drive time to a post office for those for those in major towns. This journey is, on average, three times as long when taking public transport. Sometimes community transport can assist an individual where there is no suitable bus services, e.g. by offering transport on a dial-a-bus service or a volunteer car scheme. However such services are not always available, with the main factors limiting the growth of community transport being the lack of funding and the shortage of volunteers. • Older people are at risk of social isolation due to reduced mobility and the possibility that friends and family have relocated or are deceased. This is particularly so for those isolated within their homes in more rural areas, with limited transport opportunities to activities. • The majority of people in Formartine travel to work or study as either a driver or passenger of a car or van, 6.5% walk to work and 0.4% cycle. 4.3% travel to work by train, bus, taxi, motorcycle or bicycle combined. The high proportion of those walking is likely to be linked to the urban nature of smaller and larger villages, where individuals are able to walk to work and school and are therefore travelling smaller distances. Half the population of Formartine travel between 6 miles and 18 miles to their place of work or study, with only 30% having to travel less than 6 miles. This suggests a greater opportunity to encourage sustainable travel in the area for 30% of people covering shorter distances, to either walk or cycle all or part of their journeys. • The development of technology continues at a rapid pace and this has several implications for the local delivery of services and for communities in Formartine.

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Already underway • Formartine Area Bus Forum meetings are held twice a year as a means for the council and bus operators to consult with bus users and local communities. • There are a network of bus services, operated either commercially by bus operators or supported by Aberdeenshire Council. • The council operates ‘A2B Dial-a-Bus’ services in the Ellon and Turriff areas • There is some community transport, e.g. the RVS operates a volunteer car scheme and the ‘DAB T4U’ service and Partnership may be able to help some Formartine residents. • The Transport to Healthcare Information Centre (THInC) provides practical transport advice to people who have difficulty getting to and from medical appointments locally. • The council’s ‘TaxiCard’ scheme provides discounted taxi travel for disabled people. • Stagecoach Bluebird and Bain's Coaches are working in partnership with Aberdeenshire Council to offer discounted multi journey tickets to some younger Aberdeenshire residents, available on Routes 35 and 35A and 305. • New walks and cycle path maps of Ellon have been developed, published and promoted. • Meldrum Paths Group Flagship Project – Meldrum Meg Way (Oldmeldrum to ) and Udny ( and ). • Ythan Trial applying for funding to construct the first section – one mile long connection between existing paths will then provide an eight mile continuous footpath from the east end of Haddo Estate to the finish at Forest. • Integrated Travel Masterplan for Ellon is being developed in 2016. • Broadband connectivity is often raised by communities and Aberdeenshire Council recently invested £18 million towards the capital cost of broadband infrastructure improvements and is championing a better deal for residents and businesses in the area.

Outcomes 1. Demand responsive transport and supported bus network serving Formartine. 2. An improved transport provision to access healthcare and wellbeing activities to address challenges of inequality, social exclusion, rural isolation and vulnerability. 3. Greater opportunity to encourage sustainable travel in the area for 30% of people covering shorter distances, to either walk or cycle all or part of their journeys.

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Contact Us

Formartine Community Planning Officer Aberdeenshire Council 29 Bridge Street Aberdeenshire AB41 9AA Tel: 01358 726406 E-mail: [email protected]

Useful Websites: www.formartinecommunitycouncils.co.uk www.ouraberdeenshire.org.uk www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk www.scotland.police.uk www.firescotland.gov.uk www.nhsgrampian.org www.formartinepartnership.org.uk www.avashire.org.uk www.aberdeenshirecommunitysafety.org.uk

Design: jonodesign.co.uk

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