Outer Hebrides Community Planning Partnership Stornoway West Locality Plan November 2019 1 Contents Introduction 3 Why focus on Stornoway West? 5 What the data is telling us 8 What we know about the Cearns 14 The story so far 17 What people are telling us 20 Stornoway west action plan 29 Front cover courtesy of Hebdrone (www.hebdrone.co.uk) 2 Introduction Effective community planning brings together the collective talents and resources of local public services and communities, to facilitate positive change on local priorities. This collective effort ensures maximum impact in communities with a particular emphasis on reducing inequalities. Community Planning Partnerships (CPP) are responsible for developing and delivering plans for their respective areas. The Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 places a responsibility on CPPs to produce two types of plan, outlining local priorities, required actions and timescales. The first is the Local Outcomes Improvement Plan (LOIP), which encompasses the entire local authority area. The second type is a Locality Plan and covers smaller areas, usually focusing on the areas requiring most improvement. Each CPP will produce at least one Locality Plan although some produce a few; there is no limit on how many can be produced. As the main aim is to address local needs and ambitions, it is important the views of the community are heard and incorporated into any plans. The Outer Hebrides Community Planning Partnership (OHCPP) have agreed two priority areas, one of which is Stornoway West – with a particular focus on the Cearns within the Stornoway West area. 3 Stornoway West 4 Why focus on Stornoway West The improvement service of the Scottish Government gathers information about the social, economic and health experiences of communities. This ‘community profiling tool’ allows local areas such as Stornoway West to be compared with other areas within the Outer Hebrides and with similar areas in Scotland. The tool displays the outcomes in an area and whether people's lives are improving as well as showing whether inequality is increasing or decreasing over time. It considers outcomes 'in the round' as well as individually, encouraging a focus on vulnerable communities where negative outcomes are clustered. The chart below shows that Stornoway West is experiencing some of the worst outcomes compared to elsewhere and that the rate of improvement over time is slower than those areas 5 In Stornoway West most people enjoy a good quality of life, but 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 people 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, to work with people to tackle things that matter most to them, to improve their livelihood and welfare and to make a positive difference to their lives and communities. We recognise that communities can make positive changes for themselves and so we will increase the level of influence and control that they have over the decisions and services that impact on their lives and communities. If we are to achieve the highest quality of life for all of the people in the Stornoway West area, we need to combat the effects of poverty and inequality. This means targeting our efforts and resources to those in most need and who will benefit most in a way that we haven’t done before, through community projects identified by community and partners. This first locality plan for Stornoway West sets out action we will take 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. There are short (2020), medium (2023) and longer term outcomes (2027). There are associated ambitious proposals for the Regeneration of Stornoway town, including a major Port development, which align with the top priority for the Outer Hebrides identified by the Place Standard: ‘Work and Local Economy’. If implemented, this development will have significant economic benefits and the Locality Plan will identify how this may produce opportunities for Stornoway West. The Place Standard data also identifies ’Facilities, Amenities and Social interaction’ as a particularly high priority 6 for people in the Stornoway West area. In recognition of this priority the Locality Plan will focus attention on the main residential estate in the Stornoway West area - commonly referred to as the Cearns – with a view to addressing these issues. The learning and experience from our initial focus on the Cearns area will then inform our approach to other parts of Stornoway West. The Plan also seeks to connect residents of the Cearns Estate to opportunities that will arise from the wider economic developments being progressed in Stornoway West. 7 What the data is telling us Stornoway West is an Intermediate zone composed of 4 datazones: 1) Marybank to Newvalley; 2) North Manor Park; 3) North Bayhead and 4) Central Stornoway. Stornoway West has an overall population of 3,226. North Manor Park contains 633 people. There are 343 households, with a large proportion of single adults dwellings (152). The birth rate is higher than Stornoway West and the islands. In terms of care needs, there are 108 people with long-term health problems or disability and 42 people in receipt of unpaid care. 8 The age distribution within North Manor Park is slightly different to that of Stornoway West and the islands as a whole, with more people in the younger age ranges and less people in the older age ranges. 9 On the maps below Marybank to Newvalley is the datazone to the west of the map. North Manor Park is the area towards the North East, with North Bayhead below that moving towards Central Stornoway towards the South. North Manor Park is the datazone that includes the Cearns and surrounding area. The Community Profile has identified 6 indicators of health and wellbeing that are easily compared at datazone level. The coloured areas display the variation in outcomes for the population of each of these datazones. The size of the population means that small differences can lead to larger variations at any one time, so we have to be cautious, but the trends are consistent with the data presented below. In terms of income related indicators North Manor Park (24.8%) has double the rate of Child Poverty compared to Marybank and Newvalley. (12%) These rates are well above the rate for the Outer Hebrides. Out of work benefit proportions are also higher with 16.28 % within Manor Park compared to 7.8% in Marybank 10 The proportion of children achieving national grade qualifications is comparable with other areas in the datazone and slightly below the Outer Hebrides. Significantly the percentage of people going into positive destinations falls well below the surrounding datazones and the Outer Hebrides as a whole. (Sty W 82% to OH 98%) 11 The crime rate is higher in North Manor Park than the outer Hebrides as a whole and similar to rates in other surrounding datazones. The rate of emergency admissions has a similar profile being above the Outer Hebrides and comparable to surrounding datazones. The Stornoway West area, generally has poorer outcomes and is improving at a slower rate than other areas in the Outer Hebrides. There are a range of indicators where Stornoway West has outcomes that are significantly worse than the islands as a whole. 12 13 What we know about the Cearns The Cearns comprises 250 units that house approximately 600 residents is a mix of social and privately owned houses. It is semi urban in design, with houses spaced around pedestrian courts. The scheme has a high population density, higher levels of unemployment, a lack of recreational amenities and a uniform, repetitive design. The housing and environment are, however, generally in good condition with some green space and there is a strong sense of community. There is a community association that was formed in 1983. The Cearns Community Association seeks to work with residents and create a safe, nurturing, active community that instils a sense of belonging. It is a voluntary constituted group made up of local representative and nominated office bearers within the Cearns, which has facilitated drop- in sessions for parents and babies, the elderly and the women of the community. A number of initiatives have been instigated, based on feedback from the community. A previous horticultural project utilised unused green space to establish a polytunnel for residents which provided fresh, affordable produce. It is planned for this space to be used for mini-allotments. 14 There is a Resource Centre that is used by partners and work there with the association to help identify community needs and deliver improvements. The Cearns is distinct enough geographically and in terms of population size to have a number of informal social networks. The recruitment of a Community Development Worker has helped to develop such networks, with the project acting as a vehicle for community engagement and a link to agencies/services. There is also a small community hall, the “Tigh Ceilidh” which can be used for meetings and activities. Aspiring communities fund An application was submitted on behalf of the Cearns Community association to the European Social Aspiring Communities Fund and over £53,000 was secured. A Community Development Worker was subsequently employed in May 2019. The post is for a duration of 15 months and the worker is a local resident who has lived in the area all of her life.