Wir Community wir choice
A Community PB Project based in the North Staney Hill Area of Lerwick to distribute £40,000, undertaken in 2010.
The aim of the project was to:
- Address community safety and anti-social behaviour issues.
A steering group was formed by the Commuity Assocation and Shetland Islands Council staff. Community members accessed national training before undertaking a community consulation exercise to determine community issues, needs and establish community priorities for the PB event. Community groups were invited and supported to develop projects which met the community prioriites identified and submit a bid for funding. Successful applicants were invited to a Voting Day to present their project – a 3 minute presentation each with the Community voting for the projects they wanted to receive funding. The money was allocated, projects were delivered, monitored and evaluated.
90 people, many of whom have not been seen at other community events, turned out to vote. Many of these people subsequently attended meeting of the local community association and have joined in with other events, eg: bulb planting, games nights, music nights.
The community gave the highest priority to projects that will have a lasting impact in the community; projects that involved bringing the community together; and projects that provided support to some of the most vulnerable in the community.
The community consultation enabled the local community association, the Council and a range of other organisations to better understand the needs of residents in the area. Local people were directly involved in setting the local priorities for their community. It demonstrated a different way for the Council and other agencies to work with residents/communities, which gives local people a real choice.
The community association were able to deliver projects that would not have progressed otherwise.
The community are now involved in trying to develop solutions for some of the other issues that came up through PB. The community association members have increased their confidence, skills and capacity as individuals and as an organisation.
There has been improved communication between a range of services as a result. The project highlighted what is good about the community and created a more positive image in an area which has suffered stigma in the past. Many of the negative assumptions held about the area have been broken down. There was a 20% reduction in the number of calls to the Police (and requiring a response) during the same six month period from within the area before and after PB.
Of the 14 projects funded, 10 were successfully completed, 1 did not happen due to a change in the organisations circumstances, and 3 were delivered but using less funding than originally anticipated. Unspent funds were returned to the Steering Group and reallocated to another PB project in Shetland.
The community association continues to plant bulbs along the roadsides on an annual basis. They have gone on to tackle a number of issues raised by the community via the consultation, eg: road safety including speeding cars in the area, dog mess, housing developments and learning opportunities.