City of Dunfermline Local
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CITY OF DUNFERMLINE LOCAL STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT 2016 Fife Council Research Team 1. Overview The Local Strategic Assessment provides an overview of how a Local Area is doing. It collates a wide range of information and, through facilitated sessions with a range of individuals involved in the Local Community Planning process, provides a key input for the refresh of Local Community Plans and an input into the wider Fife-wide Strategic Assessment. The current Dunfermline Local Community Plan is structured around three main themes. These are: 1. Promoting business and tourism 2. Increasing employability and skillsets 3. Health, wellbeing and environment The Local Strategic Assessment process indicates that these issues remain key priorities for the area. Within the theme of Promoting business and tourism , the challenges facing the local economy include the need to maintain a vibrant town centre and to improve transport links. This includes a need for increased town centre parking and better co-ordination of public transport between the eastern expansion and other areas of Dunfermline. The promotion of Dunfermline as a tourist destination is viewed as an important aspiration, building on the proximity to Edinburgh and Rosyth port, and potentially tying into opportunities linked to the Edinburgh festivals. There are concerns about employment opportunities in the local area, and the high proportion of jobs that are low income or based on temporary contracts. Linked to this are concerns about the training available to young people in the area and the potential impact that lack of suitable training opportunities Dunfermline Area Workshop, City Chambers, Dunfermline, 27 June 2016 can have on their life choices. It was noted that there has been a reduction in extra-curricular activities at school, along with a reduction in college places and the range of courses offered. Facilitated sessions allowed us to combine analysis with local expertise. Four sessions focussed on Place, People, Community and Horizons were held. An ageing population, particularly the challenge this poses for primary care services, is an important issue for the area. The aspiration to become a World Health Organisation ‘age friendly city’ was viewed Above, one of the groups of people involved in Local Community Planning engaged in a horizon as being a key part of the response to this challenge. Another challenge is how to ensure that the scanning exercise in Dunfermline. area’s strong community spirit is maintained as Dunfermline continues to expand. There is a perception that areas of housing expansion, with large number of newcomers to the area, are more disconnected from the town than other areas. Engaging with families in need of support, and ensuring that issues are not merely displaced when areas are regenerated, is also considered to be important. While there is a general desire to increase the attractiveness of the area through investment residents, visitors and businesses often have different views on how this could best be achieved. The theme of Community involvement and cohesion was highlighted. This includes: the growing REPORT CONTACT: importance of volunteering and the need to expand the volunteering base; how to foster community Fife Council Research Team identity and increase civic pride; how to make community councils more representative; and how to Fife House, Glenrothes. enable communities to take advantage of opportunities through new initiatives, such as participatory budgeting and community empowerment). Contact- Dr William Penrice, Research Manager [email protected] 1 2. Local Assessment Findings 2 3. Profile POPULATION AREA The City of Dunfermline sits a few miles to the north of the Firth of Forth in the south west of Fife. The city has a long history stretching back nearly 1,000 years, with strong links to its royal and religious heritage. Dunfermline is now the largest settlement in Fife and is a major centre for large- 37.3 SQ KM scale retail and leisure facilities. Over the last two decades it has experienced substantial growth, 55,451 with substantial development taking place within its eastern expansion area. 2.7% of Area of Fife 29% INCREASE expected by 2036 15.1% of Fife’s population In the City of Dunfermline area, local people identify the major issues as NHS / hospitals / healthcare, and Funding for public services. CHILDREN WORKING AGE OLDER PEOPLE This is followed by issues relating to Increasing elderly population, and the Economy. 10,733 35,782 8,936 26% INCREASE 20% INCREASE 69% INCREASE expected by 20 36 expected by 2036 expected by 2036 HOUSEHOLDS 77% owner occupied 18% social rented 24,607 4% private rented 77.4% with at least one car/van 30.6% live alone £363 median weekly income (after housing) 9.6% in low income 24.2% in fuel poverty 12.7% children in poverty ECONOMY MAIN EMPLOYMENT AREAS 25.5% Finance & Professional 73.3% Economically active of which 21.5% Education & Health 61.2% Employed Full Time 17.8% Wholesale Retail and Transport 19.8% Employed Part Time 8.3% Manufacturing Figure 1 – Community perceptions of what is a major issue in the area (Fife People’s Panel, Survey 24, 2015) WELFARE AND BENEFITS 2.4% Job Seekers Allowance WELFARE REFORM CHANGES: EXPECTED LOSS TO LOCAL ECONOMY 2.0% JSA (16 to 24 year olds) £12.7 million per year 9.3% Employment deprivation £358 per working age adult 3 4. Place Place is an important element of Local Community Planning. Using the national Place Standard tool, local people were asked to consider aspects of the physical and social environment where they live The Place Standard facilitated sessions identified the following improvement areas: and to paint a picture of the place and what needs to improve. Transport –better connections between the bus station and the train station, better co-ordination of timetabling and better integration between the eastern expansion and more traditional areas by linking routes.. A park and ride facility similar to the existing one at Halbeath is needed for the west of Dunfermline to encourage greater public transport use to Stirling and Glasgow. There is insufficient parking, particularly long stay parking, in the town centre, and more modern payment methods should be considered. Cycle paths should be better connected in order to encourage more people to cycle, for example, by encouraging children to cycle to school rather than using the school bus. Tourism – the area needs to do more to exploit its tourism potential, for example, through better signage from the motorway, and better offerings from cafes, bars and entertainment venues in the town. Economy – better integration of the night-time economy, particularly between the retail park and the town centre, would greatly benefit the area and create more opportunities for local businesses. Street scene and neighbourhoods – there is a need for investment to improve the attractiveness of the area by improving shop fronts, greenspaces, play park equipment, and facilities to attract more visitors. However, residents, visitors and businesses have different views on how this could best be achieved. Figure 2 – Community perceptions of where improvement is needed in the area using the Place Standard. The outer part of the diagram (score 7) means little room for improvement, while the inner part (score 1) represents most need for improvement (Fife People’s Panel, Survey 26, 2016) People living in Dunfermline identify that there is slightly less of a need for improvement compared with residents of Fife as a whole. The areas where people identified the least need for improvement were: • Natural space and • Feeling safe. The areas where it was considered there was the greatest need for improvement were: • Work and local economy, and • Traffic and parking. 4 5. People All people are different, and simply looking at where they live only gives part of the picture. How well The facilitated sessions identified the following issues: different groups of people are doing compared to others in the area and throughout Scotland allowed the following insights to be identified through a facilitated session. Perception of the area Those living in Dunfermline’s suburbs account for a sizeable proportion of people in the area, and The area has a diverse population, yet the general perception is of an area with well integrated people in this group are doing most well This is around the average for similar types of people living communities. Areas traditionally considered as being deprived are considered to have challenges in elsewhere in Scotland. Urbanites are also doing comparatively well in Dunfermline, but are doing changing mind-sets and attitudes, while more affluent areas have differing problems relating to people slightly less well than similar people living in other parts of Scotland. living above their means. Hard-pressed households are doing less well, and less well than similar people elsewhere in Scotland. However, some people in this group are doing better than similar people living elsewhere Housing in Scotland. With the expansion of Dunfermline in recent years, there is now considered to be more of a divide in the area. Issues exist around how and where families are located, and how the regeneration of one Those in the constrained city type are doing less well and in comparison to similar household types area can displace problems to other areas. Proximity to Edinburgh has resulted in a large buy to rent in other parts of Scotland. private sector. Cosmopolitans are a small group, who are doing well, both within the area and relative to similar people elsewhere in Scotland. Work Rural residents are in the minority, and although they are doing well in the area, they are doing less Matching jobs and skillsets in the area presents a challenge. There are employment opportunities in well when compared to similar people in other parts of Scotland.