Outer Community Planning Partnership

North and Locality Plan (DRAFT)

1

Contents

Introduction 3

Why Locality? 3

What’s Happened So Far… 4

Our Vision 5 Themes, Priorities and Drivers 6

What We Know About & Benbecula Area Locality 8 What The Data Is Telling Us 11 What People Are Telling Us 13

Our Priorities And What We Are Going To Do 18

2

INTRODUCTION

Planning for communities and the people of the has previously been carried out through partnership working between organisations and services using their areas of expertise and thinking about the Outer Hebrides as a whole. However, this way of planning is changing with the introduction of Locality Plans prepared on behalf of the Outer Hebrides Community Planning Partnership. This more area based approach has come about after consultation with local residents, community organisations and partner agencies in voluntary, private and public sectors.

We have been actively thinking about what we can all do together to improve the quality of life for people who live here.

The first Locality plan for North Uist and Benbecula will:  explain the reasons for working better together locally  target areas for positive action and the information that led us to these decisions  describe some of the new approaches to working

WHY LOCALITY?

In North Uist and Benbecula most people enjoy a good quality of life. However this isn’t the case for all members of the community and we are committed to change this. Communities should be safe, secure and vibrant where everyone can achieve success and enjoy good physical, mental and emotional health and well being.

To achieve this goal we need people and their communities to be at the centre of our planning and delivery. We will work with people to tackle things that matter most to them and to make a positive difference to their lives and communities. Recognising that communities can make positive changes for themselves we wish to increase the level of influence and control that they have over the decisions and services that impact on their lives and communities

The Outer Hebrides Community Planning Partnership has used Community Profiling to identify two localities which will be the subject of focused planning. North Uist and Benbecula has been identified as one of those localities. By putting localities at the heart of the planning process, we will be able to develop new ways of working focusing less on the public bodies we represent and more on how our collective efforts can make our communities stronger. This will help us to achieve the wider ambitions set out in the Outer Hebrides Local Outcomes Improvement Plan. This is a plan created through a development process led by the Outer Hebrides Community Planning Partnership in

3

partnership with communities. It sets out a number of ambitions for reducing inequalities across the islands and building services around people and communities.

North Uist and Benbecula is made up of distinct communities, however they do not operate in isolation. Our challenge is to recognise the unique nature of these communities, while gaining economies of scale by joint working and pooling resources.

If we are to achieve the highest quality of life for all of the people in the North Uist and Benbecula area, we will also need to combat the effects of poverty and inequality. This means targeting our efforts and resources to those who will benefit most in a way that we haven’t done before. .

For North Uist and Benecula we believe that a locality approach is the right one for us and is consistent with wider research and social and economic policies.

This first locality plan for the North Uist and Benbecula identifies the areas in which we will take action to bring about positive change in the area, based on our understanding of these communities and what matters to the people who live there. It is a plan for the whole community and for all aspects of its development – economic, social and physical.

WHAT’S HAPPENED SO FAR The areas for action which are included in the plan have emerged from a wide range of consultation and engagement activity over the past year. Some of this activity has taken place across the Outer Hebrides. This has helped us to prepare plans and provide services in important areas such as health and social care, housing, services for children and young people, community safety and community learning.

Most of the activity has been local and designed to provide people who live and work in localities with opportunities to tell us what they know about the place, say what matters most to them and come up with ideas and proposals for making the locality a better place for everyone.

The Place Standard tool was used as a method of community engagement to inform the development of the Locality Plan. This is a wide ranging tool that asks people their views on important social, physical and economic factors that affect their perception of where they live. People were given the opportunity to complete the survey online, in paper or by a series of focus groups led by local people and agencies. They were also asked for their views on the priorities for improvement. The findings are described later in the plan with a full locality report available highlighting the main areas for development.

4

OUR VISION FOR THE OUTER HEBRIDES

A PROSPEROUS WELL EDUCATED AND HEALTHY COMMUNITY ENJOYING A GOOD QUALITY OF LIFE

Our vision for the Outer Hebrides is of a place where all people can prosper. This reflects our desire primarily to have a sustainable population where all people, families, businesses and communities do well, succeed and flourish in every aspect. We are seeking an improvement in the age structure of our population by retention and in- migration, the creation of jobs and training opportunities for the younger working age population and the provision of housing to meet the needs of our communities.

To achieve this vision we are committed to achieving an equitable distribution of resources and services which will increase average household income and reduce poverty and health inequalities.

As individual partner organisations we do our best to serve and protect the public. Added value comes from the Outer Hebrides Community Planning Partnership working together as a partnership to test and do things we haven’t done before to deliver real and lasting transformational change for our communities. We will seek to ensure our economic and social resilience by growing our population, boosting local enterprise and welcoming people to work in key sectors.

We are committed to a sustainable future in the global economy and to securing the three vital networks of connectivity which will make this happen: transport, digital and energy transmission. We place a high value on local democracy and self-determination, fairness and social justice.

5

THEMES, PRIORITIES AND DRIVERS

We will achieve our vision through the delivery of three themes: Economy – the achievement of inclusive economic growth; People – Central to this will be retention of our young people and in-migration and Quality of Life – the improvement of wellbeing and health of all of our people.

Under these themes we will focus on three priority areas for strategic partnership working:

 The Outer Hebrides has sustainable economic growth and all our people have access to appropriate employment opportunities  The Outer Hebrides retains and attracts people to ensure a sustainable population  The Outer Hebrides offers attractive opportunities that improve the quality of life, wellbeing and health of all our people.

This plan has been developed in parallel with work with both Scottish and UK Governments on a Deal for the Islands and Scottish Government on the Islands Bill. It is considered that delivery of these aims will be a real time demonstration of island proofing as applied to the Scottish

6

Government’s economic framework. Each of these priority areas will be used to demonstrate how increasing growth and tackling inequality are mutually supportive and will illustrate each of the Framework’s four “Is”: investment, innovation, inclusive growth and internationalisation.

Through the delivery of this locality plan we will push our joint resource investment towards early intervention and prevention to secure the sustainable future of our communities.

7

We see a future for North Uist and Benbecula in which:

 Economy It is an area of innovation and investment which secures a sustainable and vibrant job market with well-paid opportunities. There is a vibrant and innovative SME sector which plays a key role in creating employment and business growth. There is a skilled workforce for the future that provides opportunities for all our people, where there is also expanded childcare to enable parents to access employment, training and education.

 People Housing reflects the needs of a sustainable population by ensuring there is affordable housing. There is strong, positive and consistent promotion of the area, being a top visitor destination, attracting local, national and international visitors. Our young people are knowledgeable about the opportunities they are afforded by remaining on the islands to live, work and learn. The area is connected with high quality, affordable and reliable broadband, mobile networks and transport connections

 Quality of Life Communities have access to a range of innovative transport solutions which reduce isolation and increase access to services. All children and young people have the opportunities to access play and recreational facilities within their communities. There is a quality natural space where our people can experience, enjoy and value opportunities for sport, leisure and recreational activities. All people are socially included.

What we know about North Uist and Benbecula North Uist is the area encompassing the islands of , North Uist and . Benbecula lies between North and . A slightly larger proportion of the 2905 total population live in North Uist. The total population has fallen from 2960 in 2011 to 2905 in 2016.

A number of key services are delivered in the main village/town in Benbecula, , for example – the hospital, the bank, the airport, council offices, health board offices, UCVO office, a supermarket (although they are spread throughout the ) and the accommodation for the Range operations. In many ways Balivanich is a hub and Benbecula is also the home to the only secondary school for the Uists which is located in Lionacleit (circa 5 miles from Balivanich) next to the UHI LCC Uist campus and the HIE data centre and local office.

8

The population for North Uist and Benbecula has fallen significantly over the last 50 years and the current population of North Uist (per the 2011 census) is 1,619 and 1,330 for Benbecula. There is a significant level of social housing in Benbecula, 20% of all houses are socially rented, compared to 15% in North Uist, noting there are significantly more houses in North Uist – 791, compared to 587 in Benbecula.

In terms of economy, 79% of the working age population in Benbecula are economically active, with 47% in full time paid employment, compared to just 70% economically active in North Uist and only 36.5% in full time paid employment. The level of self employment in North Uist is significantly higher at 13% compared to just 8.5% in Benbecula, reflecting the indigenous industries activity such as in North Uist.

The two largest sources of employment in North Uist and Benbecula are, in order, human health and social work activities(22.3%/16.7%) and construction (11.4%/12.7%). In North Uist the next top 3 sources of employment are Argiculture and fishing (10.9%), wholesale, retail trade, repair of motor cars, etc (9.3%) and Education (9.3%). In Benbecula the next top 3 sources of employment are Accomodation and food service (12.4%), Information and communication (11.6%) and wholesale, retail trade, repair of motor cars, etc (11.1%). The largest employer outwith the public sector is QinetiQ who operate an MOD range in Uist and provide employment to the whole of Uists.

Age structure and Population The age structure within the six years between 2011 and 2016 reflects the longer term population decline and aging demographic of the area. Age Structure North Uist and Benbecula

70 63 63 62 61 61 60 60

50 40 30 24 21 21 22 23 23 Percentage 20 16 16 16 16 16 16 10 0 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

% under 16 % working age % 65+

9

Population Projections

National Records Household Projections offer a longer term view to 2026. The population projections show a 5.2% decrease throughout the Outer Hebrides from 27,560 in 2012 to 26,115 in 2026. This represents a 12.9% decrease in Rural area, a 5% increase in , Broadbay and Point area but with the greatest decrease of 16.8% in the Uists and .

Older People and Age Distribution Although overall the population is forecast to age in Western Isles the extent of this varies across the islands. The current population distribution of older people shows greater levels centred in the areas of rural Lewis and Harris relative to Broadbay/Stornoway, Uists and Barra. However, Projections to 2037 suggest the greatest proportionate rises will be in Uists, Barra and Lochs area of Lewis with Harris seeing smaller proportionate increases reflecting the already high proportion of older people in this area. The largest proportionate increase in people over 65 is in Uist at 44.8%

Households

The household projections show a 6.1% increase throughout the Outer Hebrides from 12,749 in 2012 to 13,527 in 2026, representing a 2.4% increase in Rural Lewis and Harris, a 12.6% increase in Stornoway, Broadbay and Point area and a 2.1% decrease in the Uists and Barra.

Single households (38%) are the main household type in North Uist and Benbecula.

10

What is the data telling us?

The Improvement Service at Scottish Government has developed an overarching high-level tool to enable CPPs to assess if the lives of our communities are improving over time. It gives us a consistent basis to profile our local area in relation to core measures of outcomes and inequalities. A small set of core measures reflects key life outcomes across early years, older people, safer/stronger communities, health and wellbeing and employment/economy.

It allows us to identify the overall pattern of outcomes in an area and whether there are communities faring well below the norm for the Outer Hebrides and below that compared to similar areas elsewhere in . Understanding this page My Communities Child Poverty S4 Tariff Score Positive Destinations SELECT CPP Out of Work Benefits ALL Top/bottom 10 Top/bottom 5 Crime Rate Emergency Admissions Eilean Siar Early Mortality Map of my communities Depopulation 78%

OUTCOMES IMPROVEMENT Within Eilean Siar which communities have Compared to other, similar communities, how do Within Eilean Siar which communities have Within Eilean Siar, which communities have the poorest outcomes? those in Eilean Siar fare? (are they better or worse improved the least? improved the least relative to other, similar than expected?) communities?

Most Stornoway West  Benbecula and North Ui Benbecula and North Ui Benbecula and North Ui Least vulnerable Benbecula and North Ui  Stornoway East Northwest Lewis Northwest Lewis Improved Stornoway East  Stornoway West Stornoway West Stornoway West Barra and South Uist  Broadbay Stornoway East Broadbay Northwest Lewis  Barra and South Uist Barra and South Uist Stornoway East South Lewis  Northwest Lewis Broadbay Barra and South Uist Harris  South Lewis South Lewis South Lewis Broadbay  Point Harris Point Point  Harris Point Harris

Least Most vulnerable Improved

11

When we look at eight key characteristics which can be compared across Scotland and apply them to the Outer Hebrides, Benbecula and North Uist is identified as the second most vulnerable area within the islands. When compared to other areas in Scotland with a similar demographic profile it is performing more poorly than expected. When we look at improvement over time it has improved the least internally across the islands and also when compared to other Scottish areas. S4 Tariff Score Community Profile Understanding this page 25 Child Poverty 250 230 SELECT CPP 20 210 Child Poverty Projection S4 Tariff Score 190 Eilean Siar 15 Positive Destinations 170 SELECT COMMUNITY Out of Work Benefits Datazone map of community 10 150 Crime Rate 130 Eilean Siar - Benbecula and North Ui Emergency Admissions 5 110 Early Mortality 90 Depopulation 0 Group description: Remote Rural, Dep - Older People, HH Inc 30-60% 04/05 14/15 20/21 04/05 14/15 20/21 19 other, similar communities in the group All Top/bottom 10 Top/bottom 5 Positive Destinations 100 Out of Work Benefits How does a selected community in Eilean Siar compare to similar How does the improvement rate of a selected community in 20 communities in Scotland? Eilean Siar compare to similar communities in Scotland? 90 80 15 - Seaboard Eilean Siar - Benbecula and North Ui 70 Most 10 Eilean Siar - Benbecula and North Ui & Bute - North Least Vulnerable Improved 60 Highland - Lochlash Highland - North West 5 50 Highland - South Highland - Lochlash 40 0 Argyll & Bute - Cowal North Highland - West 04/05 14/15 20/21 04/05 14/15 20/21 1,000 Crime Rate Highland - East Highland - Ross and Cromarty South West 45,000 Emergency Admissions Argyll & Bute - Cowal South North - Arran 800 40,000 35,000 Argyll & Bute - Whiskey Isles Highland - Sutherland East 600 30,000 Highland - Lochaber East and North Highland - Seaboard 400 25,000 20,000 Highland - Ross and Cromarty North West Argyll & Bute - Cowal South 200 15,000 Least 10,000 - Arran Highland - Caithness South Vulnerable Most 0 Improved 5,000 04/05 14/15 20/21 Highland - Skye North West Highland - Lochaber East and North 0 800 Early Mortality 04/05 14/15 20/21 Islands - Isles Highland - Skye North West 700 Highland - Sutherland North and West Orkney Islands - Isles 600 Eilean Siar - Benbecula and North Ui 500 Highland - Ross and Cromarty South West Argyll & Bute - Whiskey Isles Group (64) Average 400 Highland - and Strathspey North Highland - North 300 Best outcome

Highland - Lochaber West Argyll & Bute - Mull, , and 200 Worst outcome 100 Highland - Sutherland South Highland - Sutherland North and West 0 Most improved 04/05 14/15 20/21 - Cheviot East Scottish Borders - Cheviot East Least improved Depopulation Argyll & Bute - Mull, Iona, Coll and Tiree Highland - Sutherland South 110 Eilean Siar 105 Scotland 100 Select additional community: 95 90 85 80 04/05 14/15 20/21 See datazone data

12

What are People telling us?

HOW GOOD IS OUR PLACE? As part of the development of the Local Outcomes mprovement Plan and Locality Plans, the Outer Hebrides Community Planning Partnership (OHCPP) committed to conducting extensive community engagement. This engagement with communities across the Outer Hebrides, asked people and groups to identify their priorities for improvement using the Place Standard Tool. In addition, people were asked to identify the best things about their communities.

WHY PLACE IS IMPORTANT? Research shows that the places where we spend our time have an important impact on our lives. The way a place looks, functions and feels can influence our health and wellbeing, and the opportunities to which we have access. Improving the quality of places can help to tackle inequalities. Understanding the existing and potential strengths of a place can inform good decision making, allowing resources to be targeted to where they are most needed.

The use of the tool allowed the OHCPP to understand better the issues people wanted to see addressed and also celebrate the good things about our communities, of which there are many.

The tool consists of fourteen questions which cover both the physical and social elements of a place. Prompts are provided to help users answer the questions, which were tailored to reflect the rural and remote context of the Outer Hebrides. The tool allowed participants to rate the need for improvement for an element and also helped users to identify their priorities. Participants were asked to provide a rating on each theme of 1 – 7 (A lot of room for improvement – no room at all for improvement). Participants were also asked to provide comments on why they rated their answers as they did. At the end of the questionnaire participants were asked to rank their top three priorities out of the fourteen areas.

The OHCPP provided access to the survey online, paper copies in public buildings and through focus groups for particularly targeted groups and locality planning areas.

North Uists and Benbecula provided the highest proportion of people responding to the survey from a geographical area: 191 out of 1174 responses

13

The table below shows the average mean score for each theme by postcode To add contrast the table below displays the most commonly chosen score area. which can show more variation from the average score.

Average Rating for the Outer OH N Uist Benbecula Hebrides and HS6 and HS7 Moving around 1 1 3 1: A lot of room for improvement Public Transport 4 1 3 7: No room for improvement Moving Work and local economy 4 1 3 Influence around Facilities and amenities 4 3 4 7 Public and sense of Transport Traffic and parking 4 4 4 control 6 Care and Influence and sense of 5 Traffic and maintenanc parking control 4 4 4 e 4 3 Streets and spaces 4 5 4 Streets and Play and recreation 4 5 4 Feeling safe 2 1 spaces Social interaction 5 5 5 0 Natural space 6 6 5 Identity and Natural Housing and community 6 6 5 belonging space Identity and belonging 6 6 6 Feeling safe 6 6 6 Social Play and Care and maintenance 5 6 6 interaction recreation Facilities Housing and and This is helpful to identify issues that are perhaps unique to a particular area community amenities and highlight the similarities and differences between localities. Work and local Outer Hebrideseconomy HS6 HS7

14

Participants of the Place Standard Survey were also asked “What are the priorities for improvement where you live?”.

Overall in the Outer Hebrides Work and local economy was the first priority with almost 5% more than any of the other categories and more than double 11 of the 14 categories. Facilities and Amenities and Public Transport were also identified as priorities for the CPP to address as was “Play and Recreation”.

LOCALITY PLANNING The OHCPP is focusing on two geographical areas initially with its locality planning - Stornoway West and North Uist and Benbecula. As an overview the charts below give information on the varying priorities between the areas.

15

Locality Priorities 20% 18% 16% 14% 12% 10% 8% 6% 4% 2% 0%

Stornoway West North Uists and Benbecula WI

As indicated work and local economy is an overall priority for all areas.

Stornoway West has a greater emphasis on Facilities and amenities, as well as Social interaction when compared with the overall priorities and the other locality.

North Uist and Benbecula have a greater emphasis on Public Transport, Play and Recreation, and Care and Maintenance.

As the locality area in North Uist and Benbecula covers such a large geographical area the priorities for each island were compared.

16

Priority NU and Benb 25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

North U Benb

The priorities for North Uist and Benbecula are broadly in line with the overall Outer Hebrides’ priorities. However, differences are also noticeable between areas with North Uist having a greater emphasis on Housing and community while Benbecula has an emphasis on Care and maintenance.

17

Our Priorities and what we are going to do

Partnership with the community All the Community Planning Partners will meaningfully engage with the Association of Community Councils in Uist to coordinate and take forward the plan. Other views will be sought and updates will provided to wider community groups and representatives. This Locality Plan will only succeed when the Community Planning Partners are positioned to offer the community the support to co-produce local sustainable solutions.

We will enable local people to take forward action which is important to them and their communities by: • having influence over services, decisions and budgets • delivering services • owning and managing community assets • building stronger community organisation and infra-structure

Building on current activity There are well developed community groups and assets that provide a wealth of activity and development in the area. This ranges from practical support provided by these groups, to existing strategic and development plans. There was extensive community engagement and consultation carried out to develop a regeneration plan for Balivanich. Many of the identified priorities are consistent and complimentary to the aims of the Locality plan and have also informed its development. More recently there has been agreement between CNES and HIE to carry out a Balivanich Masterplan exercise to consolidate and prioritise developments with further community consultation. Similarly, there is a well developed action plan for North Uist supported by the North Uist Development Company.

CPP partners have already identified resources that will have a particular focus on the locality. The new Financial Inclusion Officers will focus on the area helping to address issues such as; reducing child poverty, targeting of families living in poverty and fuel poverty as reflected in the fuel poverty cross agency plan. LEADER the rural community development fund have agreed to prioritise resources towards the locality. Further economic support is offered through HIE’s Account Management approach covering all of North Uist, while there are 5 new commercial units due for completion in Balivanich by the end of 2018. The Local Housing Strategy and Strategic Housing Investment Plan will have a focus on identifying suitable sites for affordable housing in North Uist. There has been agreement to prioritise Balivanich Community Play Park and have further discussions about play space in North Uist with communities and community groups.. '. They will agree next steps, priorities and realistic time frames.

18

Below is our initial Priority Action Plan

Economy Areas for Action Innovation and We will improve innovation and investment which secures a sustainable and vibrant job market investment with well-paid opportunities by:

 Supporting the actions of the Uist Economic Forum  Undertaking a needs assessment that identifies the unique drivers and future infrastructure to develop the Uist economy  Improvement in Amenities through improvements in derelict and underutilised buildings (e.g. Balivanich Old Bakery)  The identification and provision of small business units and offices  Specific applications to LEADER funding  Exploring the establishment of ‘spaceport one’.  Identifying all shared capital pipeline developments within the NU and Benbecula area Skilled workforce We will further develop a skilled workforce for the future that provides opportunities for all our people in the islands by:

 Increasing in the application of foundation, modern and graduate apprenticeships and achievement rate.  locating jobs in the area when appropriate

Inclusive economic We will encourage a vibrant and innovative SME sector which plays a key role in creating growth sustainable employment and economic growth by:

 Establishing a community/public/private partnership approach to prioritise developments related to ‘Build a Better Balivanich’  Providing support to the existing Community Development companies in North Uist based at the Claddach Centre  Assessment of facilities and amenities within Balivanich including wider community use  Provision of more commercial premises  Application to current economic regeneration funds  Supporting existing businesses  Growing new businesses

19

 Supporting the provision and development of Social Enterprises  Explore the future potential within the QinetiQ/MoD West Camp

Children and access We will expand access to childcare to enable parents to access employment, training and to employment education by:

 Increasing access and provision of childcare  Ensuring equity of access to learning and participation opportunities  Removing barriers(cost, transport)  Improving and supporting digital access

People Areas for Action Affordable Housing We will make sure our housing reflects the needs of a sustainable population by ensuring there is affordable housing across the islands by:

 Establishing housing for families and SME business ideas in North Uist, based on West Harris Trust model – lessons learnt in partnership with HHP and community  Exploring new mechanisms for funding construction of houses.  Identifying the areas for affordable housing development in light of the Housing Needs Analysis

Retention and We will ensure our young people are knowledgeable about the opportunities they are afforded attraction of young by remaining on the islands to live, work and learn by: people  Developing educational programmes and workforce skills for current identified sectors and future projections  Creating new opportunities for employment  Developing coordinated and responsive interagency employment services  Identifying, marketing and developing the unique natural, social and cultural aspects of living in the area.

Connected people We will ensure our islands are connected with high quality, affordable and reliable broadband, mobile networks and transport connections by:

20

 Increasing the reach of mainstream broadband services  Pursuing the development of services and infrastructure  Improving the use of sustainable transport solutions including community fuel and charging stations

Quality of Life Areas for Action Opportunities for play We will ensure all children and young people have the opportunities to access to play and and recreation recreational within their communities by:

 Working with the community to provide play areas  Exploring opportunities for indoor recreation, e.g soft play  Identifying road safety and traffic calming measures around schools and play areas.  Developing cycle routes and pathways to play and recreational facilities

Natural environment We will provide a quality natural space where our people can experience, enjoy and value opportunities for sport, leisure and recreational activities by:

 Identifying opportunities available through marine tourism, beach access and use of the natural green space for the benefit of the local population throughout the year.  Working with the community to improve the environment  Addressing fly tipping

Social isolation We will address factors contributing to social isolation by:

 Utilising and expanding the Community/social navigator pilot to include interagency assessment, vulnerability assessment and safety in households.  Encouraging and developing intergenerational projects Innovative transport We will ensure that communities will have access to a range of innovative transport solutions which reduce isolation and increase access to services by:

 Identifying the learning from the participatory budgeting exercise in Uists.

 Establishing a Rural Community Transport Partnership to drive positive change through

21

the promotion and provision of community led accessible and affordable transport services.

22