Welcome to this first annual report on the Banff and Buchan Community Plan 2013-16. This summary captures what has been achieved by working together and with local communities during the past year. Our Plan focuses on 7 local priorities for the area: • Successful Inclusive Resilient Communities • Children Have the Best Start in Life • Reductions in Inequalities in Health Outcomes • Aberdeenshire is the Safest Place in Scotland • Older People • Transport • Aberdeenshire is Recognised as a Great Place to Live The priorities have been identified through community engagement and we believe that they are key to improving the quality of life for everyone in Banff and Buchan. Margaret-Jane Cardno Chair of the BBCPG Area Manager (Banff & Buchan) Aberdeenshire Council BANFF & BUCHAN COMMUNITY PLAN ANNUAL REPORT 2013 / 2014 2 www.ouraberdeenshire.org.uk/banff-&-buchan This report is designed to give you an overview of progress on the Banff and Buchan Community Plan 2013-16 during 2013/14. The Plan is developed and monitored by the Banff and Buchan Community Planning Group, which comprises representatives of the following: • Aberdeenshire Council • NHS Grampian • Police Scotland • Scottish Fire and Rescue Service • Fraserburgh Older People Forum • Aberdeenshire Alcohol and Drug Partnership • Aberdeenshire Voluntary Services • Banff, Macduff & District Business Association • Banff Business Association • Scottish Enterprise • Banffshire Partnership • Fraserburgh Business Association • Fraserburgh Development Trust • Princess Royal Sports and Community Trust • Community Safety Groups BANFF & BUCHAN COMMUNITY PLAN ANNUAL REPORT 2013 / 2014 3 www.ouraberdeenshire.org.uk/banff-&-buchan Priority 1 Successful, Inclusive, Resilient Communities with the confidence and capability to tackle things that matter Fraserburgh Community Garden Project • Aim - to reduce inequalities in health outcomes between communities. A working group has been established and have been given the task to transform a vacant site into a community garden to help promote health and wellbeing, to improve adult cooking skills, volunteering and upskilling opportunities in the Fraserburgh area. Progress: • A site was identified in Fraserburgh. Funding has been successfully obtained from the Regeneration Strategy Group for fencing, which has now been erected. Additional funding was successfully obtained from the Royal Horticultural Society towards the project, which will help fund tools and resources, and from NHS Grampian, Postcode Lottery and Community Learning and Development. • Recent developments have seen the commencement of a planting program, a disabled area hard cored, paths created and planting areas defined. Fruit trees and bushes are now in place. Two sheds have been bought, cleaned, painted and are in position. Compost bins have been donated by Waste Awareness and are now on site. In addition to the operational programme, a Facebook page has been created and is updated regularly. Partners: • Fraserburgh Development Trust, Social Regeneration Worker, NHS Public Health Co-ordinator, Volunteering Sector (Aberdeen Foyer, People First, Robertson Road Resource Centre, Home-Start NEA, Children 1st, Cair Scotland), Fraserburgh Hospital Mental Health Team, CLD (Community Learning and Development), North School, NESCOL Horticultural Students (including students with disabilities). The skills work will be incorporated within the volunteering linkage. BANFF & BUCHAN COMMUNITY PLAN ANNUAL REPORT 2013 / 2014 4 www.ouraberdeenshire.org.uk/banff-&-buchan Next steps: • Signage for alcohol by-law to be sourced and displayed • Signage for disabled parking and dog fouling to be displayed • Bins to be sourced • Car park edges to be defined • Paths to be compacted with hard-core • Draft LEAP report to be worked on at future meetings with the partnerships • Volunteer packs to be developed • Risk Assessments to be carried out • Community groups to be invited along to view the garden • Rotas for community groups to be developed to enable consistency of work groups Priority 2 Children in Aberdeenshire Have the Best Start in Life through action with Parents and Children pre-birth to 8 years Why is this a Priority? Migrant workers with young families will be more able to access the health, educational, emotional and social support, greater inclusion, equality of opportunity and ant-discrimination, recognising some people need more support to overcome the barriers they face. What Action Has Been Taken? • Fraserburgh CLD have developed a partnership with Homestart working with vulnerable families, where English is their second language. • Fraserburgh CLD have started the recruitment process for new ESOL tutors and their focus will be family learning especially with isolated young mums. The aim will be to work closely with partners such as Children First and primary schools and child care at the JIC community facilities building. BANFF & BUCHAN COMMUNITY PLAN ANNUAL REPORT 2013 / 2014 5 www.ouraberdeenshire.org.uk/banff-&-buchan Priority 3 Reductions in Inequalities in Health Outcomes between Communities and across Banff and Buchan Reducing alcohol related harm among young people in Banff and Buchan Why is this a priority? There are a number of issues relating to antisocial behaviour, alcohol, littering, dog fouling, road and fire safety, a number of actions have been identified by partners which have been included in the Community Plan. What action has been taken? • Police Scotland have recently run operation Rhylstone in the Fraserburgh area to tackle street drinking and anti-social behaviour. It has been running in intervals since November 2013 and successfully targeted various acts of criminality in Fraserburgh and Banff over a series of nights. Phase 2 of Rhylestone was in March and extended into the Easter Holidays, which targeted anti-social behaviour and street drinking. There was also a drop in session held at the Fraserburgh Sports and Community Centre to which the local elected members were invited, along with the public. This was well attended, with a steady flow of people. Next Steps • Operation Sandside was underway in June 2014, tackling assaults and domestic abuse, and developing prevention measures for anti-social behaviour in licensed premises and with licensing officers. • In July 2014, there was a focus on road traffic offences, speed checks and anti-social driving. BANFF & BUCHAN COMMUNITY PLAN ANNUAL REPORT 2013 / 2014 6 www.ouraberdeenshire.org.uk/banff-&-buchan Priority 4 Aberdeenshire is the Safest Place in Scotland Young people in Banff and Buchan who need our help most, will be supported through difficult transitions in their lives Why is this a priority? The need to reduce crime statistics in relation to young people in Banff and Buchan as identified in the Strategic Assessment, this is particularly relevant to Banff and Buchan since there are deprived areas within the Fraserburgh area. What action has been taken? • Fraserburgh Princes Trust team offers young people a supportive group environment and a chance to gain SQA accreditation in Personal Development, Access 4 Communication, REHIS, First Aid, Dynamic Youth Awards and C2C. • CLD and Schools deliver transition group activities in both Banff and Fraserburgh Academy. • Fraserburgh CLD offer a number of youth projects including “Step Up”, “Friday Night Project” and “Music Project”. The music group are now a regular attraction at Super Saturday events and this has had a very positive impact on their confidence. • CLD Banff, in partnership with Skills Development Scotland (SDS), have been offering an employability drop-in for young people aged 16 – 24 who are not in education, training or employment. Here they can share their problems, learn new skills and get support with CV writing and job applications. • All young people are offered a Dynamic Youth Award or a Youth Achievement Award and all young people’s achievements are recognised and recorded using Curriculum for Excellence Experiences and Outcomes. BANFF & BUCHAN COMMUNITY PLAN ANNUAL REPORT 2013 / 2014 7 www.ouraberdeenshire.org.uk/banff-&-buchan Next steps: • Fraserburgh Learning Community Partnership agreed that in its first year the initial focus would be on improving outcomes for young people aged 15-20 in Fraserburgh. They have a clear time line in place with clear outcomes, including analysis of data, to create a needs assessment for planning areas of focus. They are using mapping exercises, needs assessments and self-evaluations to create a draft plan to show how this will be achieved. • Banff Academy Transition work is undergoing a review. Over the next academic year, a number of new transition activities are being introduced. Additional support and information sessions for parents will also be offered. • CLD and SDS are looking at ways of identifying employability needs for young people at a much earlier stage. Plans for next year include CLD staff taking part in PSE classes at Banff Academy and working more closely with guidance staff to ensure the earliest intervention. In Fraserburgh, they are exploring the use of the new benchmarking tool being introduced this academic year. From September 2013, roll out of Clean Dog Walking Initiative (now known as Green Dog Walking Initiative) to community councils and groups throughout Banff and Buchan Clean Dog Walking in Banff and Buchan Community led initiative supported by the Banff and Buchan Local Community Planning Group. It has been running in this area since April 2012. Why is this a priority?