Maud Resource Centre Present
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Buchan Local Community Planning Group Note of Meeting 10th October 2018 – Maud Resource Centre Present: Chris White (Chair) Area Manager (Buchan), Aberdeenshire Council Martin Danziger Creative Director, MODO Rhona Davidson Development Officer, Aberdeenshire Voluntary Action Andrea Gilmartin Senior Public Health Practitioner, NHS Grampian Arran Marshall Admin Assistant, Aberdeenshire Council Insp. Martin McDougall Police Scotland Robert McGregor Area Project Officer, Aberdeenshire Council Hannah Morris Work Placement Pupil, Ellon Academy Sandra Ross Senior Community Learning Worker, Aberdeenshire Council Brian Shand Principal Landscapes Officer, Aberdeenshire Council Craig Shand Station Manager (Peterhead), Scottish Fire & Rescue Service Cllr Stephen Smith Ward 6 Peterhead South and Cruden Cllr Norman Smith Ward 4 Central Buchan Jill Smith North Public Health Co-ordinator, NHS Grampian Maureen Stephen Community Planning Officer, Aberdeenshire Council Steph Swales Community Planning Officer, Aberdeenshire Council Diane Tait Development Officer, Buchan Development Partnership Apologies: Cllr Marion Buchan Ward 4, Central Buchan Cllr Jim Ingram Ward 4, Central Buchan Aileen Grant CHiP Officer, Aberdeenshire Voluntary Action Margo Paterson Community Learning & Dev. Worker, Aberdeenshire Council Cllr Anne Simpson Ward 4, Central Buchan 1. Welcome and Apologies Chris welcomed everyone to the meeting and introductions were made. Apologies received are noted above. The purpose of the LCPG was summarised for new partners – the partnership is a mix of the third sector, public sector and community representatives coming together to focus on issues affecting the Buchan area with each meeting taking place in different areas in the three wards. Hannah’s student placement with Tackling Poverty & Inequalities was also highlighted as she will be preparing a report on Child Poverty in the area for school – if partners have information or research which would be beneficial, please forward it onto Annette Johnston to be forwarded to Hannah. 2. Minute of 29th August & Outstanding Actions The minute of 29th August was approved – Rhona asked that Item 9 AOCB be amended. 3. Focus on priorities for Central Buchan – Discussion for Partners and Elected Members Chris outlined to partners the opportunity to have a focus on Central Buchan with input from all partners around the table based on their knowledge and experience and to link that with what communities tell us. It was noted that the LCPG meetings take place in a ward by ward basis and also welcome the attendance of the relevant elected members for these areas. Chris began the discussion with an overview of Maud Resource Centre making the following key points: The Maud Mart used to be the largest one day fatstock market, however, changes in the supply chain and other issues finally led to the closure of the Mart, and in 2002 the Maud Village Trust purchased the site with an intention to develop the site for the benefit of the community. In 2006 the Trust was approached by NHS to build a Medical Resource Centre in Central Buchan and it was agreed that it would be built on the Mart site with secured funding from the Scottish Government and the NHS. As part of the funding agreement, the build had to be in the ownership of a community group and therefore the NHS handed to over to Maud Village Trust. A Community Service Centre was built in 2006 and opened in 2007, and included local services - Buchan IT and Learning Services (Bites) and Buchan Dial-a-Community Bus. The Old Mart Cafe was incorporated into one of the community units and opened in 2010. Unfortunately Bites closed due to lack of funding in 2011. The building was named The Old Mart Community Resource Centre, designed to facilitate a multi-agency support network for vulnerable people in the community and a range of activities and services which will benefit the overall health and wellbeing of the local community. The Resource Centre offers health services such as occupational therapists, mental health teams, midwife services, a bi-weekly doctor’s surgery, health visitors and a massage therapist. There are also recreational activities such as singing groups, floral art groups, pop up conversation cafes, book clubs, gym classes and social evenings. The Service Centre includes the Old Mart Café, Dial-A-Community-Bus, Buchan Agricultural Consultants, JM Style Photography, Venture Support & Care, and Scott Cassie Video. The Resource & Service Centre and Maud Village Trust were praised as a leading example of communities taking the lead, investing in their area and delivering local benefits. The Group noted that Maud and Central Buchan are affected by the same issues as other areas - struggles in funding and budgets despite the needs of 20,000+ residents staying the same. Partners highlighted the impacts on their group/organisation, how they are working around it and their links to Central Buchan. Roads, Landscape and Waste Services – Brian Shand Landscape Services teams continue to work with rural Buchan communities to maintain and improve a variety of open spaces such as Maud Community Garden, Strichen Community Park, Aden Country Park, various playparks and playing fields. Brian noted that Landscape Services are looking at utilising their resources more effectively e.g. the amount of potted plants which are distributed each year. There will be a bigger emphasis on cost-effective projects whilst also being eco-friendly and improving the environment, such as looking to replace some bedding plants with wildflower mixes and trying to steer communities towards them. It was also noted that the buy-in and participation from rural communities and Central Buchan were far higher than those in other wards. As a result, Landscape Services have been trying to do more joint projects with the fringe areas such as Crimond, where they have been in consultation with the Housing Service and local residents to encourage more volunteers to join and maintain projects. Brian also noted that he would like to link in more with the Buchan in Bloom competition and would take notes back from the Formartine in Bloom meeting taking place on 11th October 2018. Community Learning & Development – Sandra Ross CLD has been focusing on more concentrated areas of residents to effectively use the resources they have available. They are aiming to go into more rural communities to work with groups, however there is a challenge in getting to rural communities on a regular basis. Part of this will be looking at transport links and how to get people to engage and participate e.g. looking at external funding or staff members using their own cars to transport residents and people back and forth. Buchan Development Partnership – Diane Tait BDP continues to work with rural communities and groups and agreed that transport links continue to be one of the biggest challenges to face – not just for recreation but for essentials, especially health related venues such as doctor’s surgeries, pharmacies, opticians and dentists as well as access to services in general. Feedback from BDP’s work shows there is a big desire for activities for older people, and more employability opportunities/events in the rural areas. Partners agreed that transport was a major, if not the most, difficult challenge for rural communities. At the end of 2016, officers from Aberdeenshire Council completed the Place Standard exercise for the communities in Buchan and transport was rated one of the most significant challenges. Another Place Standard exercise undertaken by Piers Blaxter and the Local Development Plan Team in conjunction with Community Councils, wielded similar results. The second issue was housing and the third was employment. Looking back at the place standards, the results are still an accurate reflection of the current issues being raised today. Aberdeenshire Voluntary Action – Rhona Davidson Rhona agreed with partner comments. She noted that people in Buchan are very self-driven and that there is a need to draw the community in to drive something forward. There are lots of individuals and groups wanting to start projects and initiatives but face difficulties around a lack of funding among other issues. Another issue in rural communities is English as a Second Language (ESOL), with limited resources in places like Peterhead and Fraserburgh. MODO – Martin Danziger One of the biggest differences impacting MODO’s work between rural Buchan and towns like Peterhead is travel and the associated expenses. Working with young people from rural areas means hiring Dial-A-Community-Bus or other methods to pick them up and then drop them off at the end of the day, which can mean an hour plus round trip and racking up expenses of £70+ just for travel. Martin also advised that this is only a temporary fix and doesn’t solve the issue of being able to engage with those who are disadvantaged or can’t travel. Police Scotland – Insp. Martin McDougall From a criminal statistics perspective, Central Buchan is one of the better areas in Aberdeenshire. Serious environmental and rural crime in general is down which is positive, but there has been issues with substance misuse in a lot of communities, urban and rural. These types of issues impact on the local community and services e.g. retailers, pharmacies and health centres, education and housing. Cuckooing in particular is becoming more of an issue and Martin provided an overview of how this is affecting people in communities as well as some of the proactive work being done to target this. Martin also highlighted some of the work which is undertaken to identify emerging issues within Academies. NHS Grampian – Jill Smith / Andrea Gilmartin In the North Locality Plan under the Buchan section, rural communities, access to care and transport to connectivity are some of the main challenges in the area. This links to the Peterhead Locality Plan as partners and community engagement feedback have also identified access to transport and to services as a key concern.