DATA LABEL: PUBLIC

LIVINGSTON NORTH LOCAL AREA COMMITTEE

WEST LOTHIAN YOUTH ACTION PROJECT – UPDATE ON WARD ACTIVITIES

REPORT BY YOUTH ACTION PROJECT

A. PURPOSE OF REPORT

The purpose of this report is to update members on the progress of specific work carried out in the Livingston North Ward by West Lothian Youth Action Project (WLYAP). These areas were and .

B. RECOMMENDATION

It is recommended that the Local Area Committee notes the content of the report and the findings from the consultations undertaken during the specific work in Livingston Village and Eliburn.

C. SUMMARY OF IMPLICATIONS

I Council Values None

II Policy and Legal (including None Strategic Environmental Assessment, Equality Issues, Health or Risk Assessment)

III Implications for Scheme of None. Delegations to Officers

IV Impact on performance and Ward action plans contain measures to indicate performance Indicators progress towards outcomes.

V Relevance to Single We live in resilient, cohesive and safe Outcome Agreement communities.

We live longer, healthier lives and have reduced health inequalities.

1 VI Resources - (Financial, Activities will be delivered within partners’ Staffing and Property) existing community planning resources, along with the Alcohol Diversion Fund.

VII Consideration at PDSP Not applicable.

VIII Other consultations Engaging communities in Livingston Village and the Eliburn.

D. TERMS OF REPORT

D. 1 BACKGROUND

WLYAP were requested to carry out a piece of work to assess the concerns expressed around the Buchanan House premises in Livingston village following discussions that took place in the Local Area Committee (LAC) meeting in November/December 2013.

WLYAP forwarded a funding application to the Strategy for Underage Drinking to secure funding to put additional work into this area. The key aspects were to:

x Assess the Buchanan House premises x How many and why do young people gather at the premises? x Who are the young people and where do they come from? x Engage with local adults and young people to assess their knowledge and views of Buchanan House x To work with the Police and Council analysts to assess the number of calls to this premises/area x An additional issue arose during WLYAP’s work in the area during the funding timescale. The Kirkton Business Centre became vacant which attracted adults who removed any items of value from the premises. This act contributed to an insecure building that attracted youths to congregate within.

WLYAP were also invited to apply for funding through the Tackling Underage Drinking Fund to assess the facilities in the Eliburn area of Livingston North. The project agreed to engage with young people from the Eliburn area either during streetwork sessions or within the local High Schools to identify what facilities they use currently, what they do with their leisure time and the potential idea for development.

D. 2 ACTIVITY

Livingston Village – Buchanan House

The funding period ran from 13 January 2014 to 31 March 2014. Due to the concerns that WLYAP staff expressed regarding both Buchanan House and

2 Kirkton Business Centre, WLYAP continued to give intensive attention to the area through the streetwork team during April 2014.

The work that was included in this project consisted of streetwork sessions in the area, observing any activity and antisocial behaviour, the majority of the sessions were delivered on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings. Additional sessions were carried out by the Youth Work team who were able to gain access into the building to carry out a risk assessment and to remove a group of youths safely.

The work in the area also involved carrying out a questionnaire based consultation with local residents including young people and school children. From the consultation local people have expressed concerns about the risks that the buildings present and the antisocial behaviour surrounding them.

Appendix one shows the number of visits to the area and findings during the period from 13 January to 25 April 2014.

Appendix two provides the results and key findings from the consultation that was carried out by local residents.

Appendix three is a copy of the Consultation form for Livingston Village – Buchanan House.

Eliburn Consultation Project

The funding period for the Eliburn Project ran from January 2014 to April 2014. Young people were engaged with during streetwork sessions and also within the Local High Schools.

Appendix four shows the findings of the consultation.

Appendix five is a copy of the Consultation form for Eilburn.

Further information is attached in Appendix six that shows, and highlights the streetwork carried out by WLYAP from January 2014 to April 2014.

E. CONCLUSION

This report provides information relating to the specific work carried out by WLYAP in and around the area of Livingston Village as requested by the Local Area Committee. The consultation results will be able to be utilised by WLYAP and partners to look into the needs of the local community and young people.

F. BACKGROUND REFERENCES

None

Appendices/Attachments: Six

3 Appendix One: Table of findings Livingston Village.

Appendix Two: Consultation results and key findings.

Appendix Three: Consultation form Livingston Village – Buchanan House.

Appendix Four: Eliburn Consultation results and key findings.

Appendix Five: Consultation form Eliburn

Appendix Six: WLYAP – Street Report for Livingston North ward area January – April 2014.

Contact Person: Helen Davis, WLYAP Tel: 07719716913 Email: [email protected]

Date of meeting: 12 June 2014

4 APPENDIX ONE

FINDINGS LIVINGSTON VILLAGE

DATE DETAILS 06/02/14 Large group of youths found in Buchanan House. 28/02/14 No young people evident at either property. The team spoke to a couple who were walking their dog in the area at 21:10 who stated they had not heard of young people in the surrounding area that evening. 01/03/14 The team spoke to 3 young people who were walking along the main road through Livingston village. The young people stated that they were aware of the property and that some young people do go into the building for a laugh particularly around Halloween and they had seen comments on Facebook about this. 06/03/14 A door knocking process was undertaken for 3 hours in the vicinity. Responses that were provided have been collated into a report (appendix 2). 07/03/14 Very quiet, no real contacts on the street that evening. 08/03/14 No sign of any young people in the area. General conversation with 5 local residents walking through the village. 13/03/14 No visible presence of young people in the area. Locations checked were Kirkton Business Centre, Mansfield Court, Kirkfield East, near Livingston Inn and Buchanan House. 14/03/14 The team spoke to 2 young people who were walking in the area on their way to The Centre. The young people stated that some of their pals were going to a party in Howden so the area was dead locally. They also stated they didn’t think people still went in Buchanan House as it is ‘skanky’. 15/03/14 This was an afternoon visit to the area. Only family members going to and from houses, people waling dogs and 3 young children riding bikes. No issues around the identified buildings. 18/03/14 This was an afternoon visit at the end of school time. The team spoke to 6 young people who were walking home. These young people said they were quite happy living in Livingston village and were not worried about not having a local facility for young people as they go to The Centre to meet friends. They did make further comments about wanting a meeting place within The Centre to hang out with friends. These young people knew that damage was happening to Kirkton building but said was inevitable if it’s lying empty with easy access and most felt it was young people from other areas including Howden, Ladywell accessing the building. They said that Buchanan House is a mess and it’s annoying that it is still there. Comments from 7 adults were also gathered. 5 21/03/14 Very wet – no one seen in the area. 22/03/14 Quiet – no young people seen in the area. No obvious damage to boards on Kirkton Building, no sign at Buchanan House. 28/03/14 3 young people walking along the street, on route to McDonalds at The Centre. Spoke to by workers and they mentioned that they wanted somewhere they could play music/jam together and to have a café/club near The Centre where everyone could meet without being hassled. No sign of young people in the building. 29/03/14 No young people seen – very quiet. 04/04/14 Very quiet. 05/04/14 Very quiet. 10/04/14 Only adults in the area x 2 walking dogs and x2 single males. 17/04/14 No young people visible but a lot of concerns from staff – contact made with project director to report concerns of the condition of Kirkton Business Centre – boarding had been pulled off and a lot of smashed glass from the windows, doors wide open – this was reported to the analyst’s incident raised with the police. Team remained in the area all evening no young people attended the area. 19/04/14 Quiet – team reported to the project director again that the Kirkton Business Centre remained in the same unsafe condition as reported on 17/04/14. Information reported again. Only younger children and parents in the park and a couple walking a dog were in the area. These were spoke to by staff, the people stated they are fed up with the buildings in the area being such an eyesore and asked staff when something would be done, staff said they could only report their concerns which they would do. 24/04/14 Kirkton building still not boarded, more damage seen, smashed bottles in the area, not evident on previous visit, therefore evidence that someone had been using the area for drinking, from Saturday to Thursday. Photographs taken of the area. 25/03/14 No young people in the area but concerns from staff re Kirkton – broken windows one with very lose glass, very dangerous if someone was to try to gain access. Information received from pupils from Inveralmond High School that a group of pupils who had left school that day were going to go to the Kirkton building to drink and celebrate leaving school. The team spent 2 hours + in and around the area but no sign – a very wet night which could of changed their plans. The Buchanan House are appeared to be quiet through March/April. The majority of issues reported to the police and the evidence from the streetwork team was that the issues around anti-social behaviour in Livingston village were mainly in the Kirkton Business park area. WLYAP still patrol this area whenever our rota allows during May. There have been 6 visits carried out in May.

6 APPENDIX TWO

CONSULATION RESULTS AND KEY FINDINGS

Buchanan House – Police Calls

You can see for the table below that has there has been 13 calls to the building during the project funding period.

January February March April Total

0 6 4 3 13

The calls received are consistently reporting persons within the building however it has not been possible to locate any specific young people in relation to the calls. Passing attention is given to the building on a regular basis and when calls are received.

Kirkton North – Police Calls

During the period there were a total of 5 calls relating to the Kirkton Business Centre location/building. Vandalism to windows and youths on the roof has been reported by people who have called the police. Youths as young as primary school age have made off on police attendance.

Outcomes

There has been one occasion during the period from January to end of April when young people have been found in Buchanan House.

There was little fresh evidence of alcohol or drug paraphernalia in the vicinity of Buchanan House, however, evidence was found on several occasions at Kirkton Business Centre in March and April. It was obvious from damage and litter found that young people did gather and damage this premises but on no occasion did the streetwork team catch the young people within the building, suggesting that the damage was caused predominantly after 10pm at night.

Consultations

The consultations were completed either during sessions on the street, door knocking or in St Margaret’s School and Inveralmond Community High School. Livingston Village Primary School was reluctant for WLYAP staff to speak to Primary 6 and 7 pupils, therefore no answers were gained from anyone under the age of 12 years.

The questionnaire was developed to gather evidence relating to Buchanan House, which is the area that was initially funded for through the Alcohol Diversionary Fund. The consultation forms were stopped during the middle of March due to issues raised with the questions on the form. 7 Questionnaires Completed Total

Males 25 Females 39 Breakdown of Ages: 12 – 18 years 28 18 – 30 years 8 30 – 45 years 10 45 – 60 years 13 60 + years 5

Questions Sample of Responses

Do you have concerns about this building?  It attracts young people to gather from other areas.  The police have been called a few times. Are you aware of any antisocial behaviour around this  People have stripped the building for scrap. facility?  There are constant problems with youths in the building and pathways that are carrying out vandalism.  Police are called continually for youths trespassing.  It is bad for local business and not a good look for visitors to the area.  I have spoken to my Councillor on a few occasions, something should be done.  I have to walk past the building at night after work and I don’t feel safe.  Gangs congregating and police called regular.  It’s a health and safety issue.  Unsightly, bad for the area.

8  Noise from kids vandalising the building, particularly in the summer months.  Its derelict and horrible to look at, it’s an eyesore. The above answers reflect the general comments from all age groups. All age groups also viewed the premises as a risk and bad for the area. All respondents stated that the building should be demolished as soon as possible. What services do you use in the Livingston Village area?  The Post Office  The Library to access computers Only 18 people completed this question.  The Primary School and Community Rooms  Village Pub  Local Shop Are there any gaps in service provision?  Decent shops (10)  Café Facility (4)  Better bus service (4)  A youth Centre/things for young people to do (4)  A decent play park (2)  A more affordable food store (2)  A place to play music/jam (2)

9 APPENDIX THREE

CONSULTATION – LIVINGSTON VILLAGE

10 APPENDIX FOUR

CONSULATION RESULTS AND KEY FINDINGS

Eliburn Project

A total of 172 questionnaires were completed by young people during the consultation period.

Consultations

Questionnaires Completed Total

Males 82 Females 90 Breakdown of Ages: 12 21 13 33 14 22 15 20 16 37 17 37 18 2

There was not a great variety of responses given for the facilities used in the Eliburn area. The top 4 responses: Eliburn Park 68 None 59 Local Shops 56 Football pitches/Peel Primary kick pitch 38 A selection of other responses was provided; these are not in Eliburn or in significant numbers. Sample: The Cinema Noted most expensive The Skatepark The Centre YAP music Club The Vennie Delux Night Club 7 responses, concerning as from underage young people. The highest response to other facilities requested: A Youth Facility 92 Further requests were for:  A dance club  Swimming pool  Tennis courts  Ice rink  Safe setting

11 Requirements:  Somewhere to meet friends  Socialise  Cheap food and drinks  Music  Space for local bands to play  Gaming equipment  Gym for young people There was 102 responses for the location for a facility, some young people suggested more than one: Livingston Centre or close proximity to The Centre 78 Eliburn Park 46 Peel Primary School/Community Centre 14 Costa Del Park 9 The Ferns/Ladywell 6 Newyearfield Farm 3

Outcomes

A positive relationship has been developed between WLYAP youth workers and the young people who tool par in the survey. WLYAP have also established a good working relationship with Inveralmond High School and St Margaret’s Academy.

A total of 46 participants provided their contact details for future contact and involvement if a facility or project was to be established.

A core group of young people have been met with on one occasion to discuss the key issues for young people in the Eliburn and surrounding areas. A further meeting date has not been set as yet due to the exam period, however a meeting is to be scheduled for June. The group were happy for the Council Community Regeneration Officer to attend in order to look at possible ways forward and design of a potential project. The group are also willing to prepare a presentation on the consultation findings for the Local Area Committee members.

12 APPENDIX FIVE

CONSULTATION – ELIBURN

13 APPENDIX SIX

WLYAP – Streetwork Report for Livingston North ward area Jan- April 2014

Number of session carried out in the ward within a 17 week period – 24

An average of 1-2 streetwork sessions per week, these are carried out predominantly on Thursday, Friday or Saturday evenings but can vary in response to specific issues, for example if the daily tasking document issued from the Council analysts detail a problem in an area repeating on other days of the week. For example there were a few issues occurring on a Wednesday evening in March, therefore we put a team on the streets for 2 consecutive weeks, we are not always able to respond on the day problems are reported due to other work commitments but we do our best, particularly if we know local police officers are on rest days.

These are in addition to the sessions carried out in the Livingston village/ Buchanan House area, as that was a specific piece of work funded in addition to our core budget.

Number of young people engaged through streetwork during this period – 54

Contact numbers are generally lower in the first quarter of the month than throughout the remainder of the year, for no other reason than poor weather conditions; we have had some very wet weather resulting in very few young people being on the streets. However, when contact is made with young people they are generally the higher tariff individuals with more complex needs than those just congregating with friends on sunny summer evenings.

The following details relate to the number of youth calls to the police during the same timeframe.

Livingston North – Jan 2014 – Apr 2014

Call Breakdown

% Month 2013 2014 change

Jan 14 17 21%

Feb 26 16 -38%

Mar 12 36 200%

Apr 26 26 0%

Grand 78 95 22% Total

Calls in the ward are distributed throughout the week with peaks seen on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The majority are received between 8pm and 9 pm and almost all youth calls in Livingston North are received out with school hours. Calls to the building generally report 14 stone throwing and vandalism to the remaining windows as well as youths climbing on the roof of the building.

Hotspot areas

The Knightsridge area features as the highest tariff area for youth activity in the ward – particular streets are Cameron Way, Fergusson Way and Sutherland Way. One property in Atholl way reported youths throwing stones three times in one weekend in March.

Scaffolding at Mosswood Community Centre also resulted in several calls reporting youths climbing on it in March.

The derelict building Buchanan House, on the outskirts of Livingston Village, continues to generate youth calls however youths within are seldom witnessed despite the property being a priority location for patrols across the partnership.

Deanswood Park has seen an increase in youth ASB over the past few months. This is predominantly due to the targeting of one particular property in the street by youths. It is unclear why the elderly couple who reside at the address are being targeted however its location near to a pathway may be part of the reason. The group have been banging on the door of the property before running off and are relatively young – described as aged 12- 14yrs.

Deans South has seen a number of youth ASB incidents reported along with several motorcycle calls to the area. The majority of buildings in the area are now empty as a result of issues with the buildings. Those still remaining and nearby tenants are now reporting youths climbing on the empty buildings, throwing stones etc.

The majority of contacts made with young people in the North area ward correspond to the police reports – with Knightsridge and Deans being the highest, particularly during March.

Outcomes

Positive engagement with local young people

Accurate information re youth issues reported to Council analysts/police and other agencies as required

A responsive service provided to the community

WLYAP will be a key contributor to the Livingston North Youth Providers meeting where plans for the area are discussed and an action plan developed.

15