alvah & forglen community action plan · 2015. 10. 29. · alvah parish hall, linhead. forglen...

Alvah & ForglenCommunityAction Plan

May 2015

2

Community Action PlanLocation Map

3

Community Action Plan

This is the Community Action Plan for the rural community of Alvah & Forglen. It has been developed by Banffshire Partnership Ltd following a community engagement event held at the Alvah Parish Hall, Linhead on Thursday 28th May 2015. This is the first Community Action Plan for the recently re-formed Alvah & Forglen Community Council.

The event was attended by individual local residents and representatives of local community groups. Local councillors and officials from Aberdeenshire Council were also present as observers.

During the evening the residents and community group representatives put forward many ideas in six specific categories. Subsequent to the event analysis showed that there were many ideas concerning the Alvah and Forglen halls, therefore it was decided to create an additional category specifically for the halls. The vast majority of all the ideas have been distilled into those listed in the table at the end of this document.

This information can now be used to guide the community and the Community Planning Partners in compiling detailed action plans to take forward the top priorities, as well as addressing the other issues which have been identified.

Introduction

For each priority, or issue, this will involve agreeing who needs to be involved, what resources will be required and target dates set for completion.

All the ideas in this booklet came from the community. The table at the back shows those ideas that can be taken forward by the community on its own, those which require help from an external partner and those which can only be taken forward by one or more external agencies, which can provide encouragement, technical and possibly financial support.

It is recommended that this Action Plan has a maximum lifespan of three years. Some projects may be completed quickly whilst others may take much longer but all should be reviewed regularly to ensure that they are still relevant.

It is important that this booklet is seen by all interested parties, both within the local community and the other partners that may be able to assist with the implementation of any actions set out in the table.

Banffshire Partnership Limited is one of a number of rural partnerships in Aberdeenshire that run the Community Action Plan initiatives which are sponsored by Aberdeenshire Community Planning Partnership.

Community Engagement Event.

Community Engagement Event.

Banff and Buchan Area Manager and the Secretary of the Community Council discuss the meeting.

4

Community Action PlanHistory & Development

The two inland parishes that form the area served by the Alvah & Forglen Community Council lie along the west bank of the river Deveron from just south of Banff to just north of Turriff. They originally formed a single large parish; then in the mid 17th century, however, they were split in two to form the Foreglen and the Backglen, which remained named Alvah.

This is a rich agricultural area that has never known industry apart from the mills that ground the grain and the occasional illicit still. There were also many smithies, now long gone, that shoed the horses and serviced the farm machinery.

People have lived in this area for millennia. There are ancient burial mounds on the Hill of Alvah and a mysterious carved granite ball was found at the farm of Auchenbadie on an artificial mound above the river. There were kist graves and stone circles in both Alvah and Forglen but they were mostly removed when the modern fields were created in the 18th and 19th centuries.

There had been places of worship in Alvah and Forglen for over 1000 years. But both of the “modern” churches, which once held congregations of up to 500 people, are now disused. The existing church at Forglen was built in 1806, replacing an ancient church dedicated to a Celtic saint. The famous Monymusk Reliquary, a carved bronze box which contained the relics, possibly some of the bones, of St Columba, was kept for many years at Forglen old church. Robert the Bruce summoned it from there to be carried before the army at the battle of Bannockburn, for luck. It is now in the National Museum in Edinburgh.

The kirk at Alvah was originally dedicated to St Colm, possibly Columcille - St Columba - himself. The current kirk was rebuilt in 1792 on the site of an older church and the old bell and belfry, which was dated 1645, were reused.

River Deveron.

Hill of Alvah.

Forglen Old Church.

5

Community Action PlanTop Six Priorities

Alvah & Forglen Community Action Plan 2015-2018 The ideas put forward at the community engagement event were initially grouped into six categories. Following analysis of data it was decided to create an additional separate category for the halls, making seven categories.

These are listed below together with the number of “ideas” for each shown in brackets:-

• Buildings & the Physical Environment (12)

• Alvah and Forglen Halls (9)• Community Activities (1)• Roads, Paths & Transportation

(12) • Crime & Safety (3)• Health & Housing (3)• Jobs & the Economy (3)

At the event there were a number of issues/actions put forward that were similar. Where appropriate, these have been amalgamated with their scores into generic issues/actions. There were also a number of issues where the scores were very low and these have been excluded from the final plan.

The top priority issue concerned the proliferation of wind turbines in the area, often in close proximity to houses. The suggestion that emanated from the community engagement event was “No more wind turbines/noisy turbines”. This has been turned into the action “Review all wind turbine applications that come before the Community Council”

The Community Council, as a statutory consultee, will always comment on applications for wind turbines.

The Community Council will consider each application on its merits and will object to any application which, on examination, clearly does not comply with the Local Development Plan, Planning Policies and Guidelines or would impact on the amenity of residents of the area.

The top six priorities to emerge from the community engagement event were, in brief:-

• The proliferation of wind turbines

• Improve broadband• Preserve the unique beauty of

the area• Restore derelict properties• Introduce community policing/

start-up a Neighbourhood Watch scheme

• Make greater use of the halls

Virtually all the ideas put forward have been classified as either capable of being taken forward by the community themselves, or progressed by the community in association with an external partner or partners, or projects that can only be undertaken by external partners.

Wind Turbines.

Alvah Parish Hall, Linhead.

Forglen Hall.

6

Community Action PlanTop Six Priorities

The top six issues are spread across all three sections are:-

Projects which will require action by the community:

The top priority in this section was the proliferation of wind turbines (Category - “Buildings & the Physical Environment”).

In this section was another one of the top six priorities. This was an amalgamation of related suggestions. “Make greater use of the halls by holding regular social events/activities for residents of all ages”. (Category - “Alvah and Forglen Halls”).

Projects which will require action by the community in association with an external partner:

Community safety was also in the top six. This was the amalgamation of a number of similar issues and was distilled into “Introduce community policing or occasional police patrols augmented by the introduction of a Neighbourhood Watch scheme”. (Category - “Crime & Safety”).

Preserving the natural beauty of the area was also in the top six. Again this was the amalgamation of a number of similar issues which were combined into “Preserve the unique beauty of the area by stopping fly tipping, collecting rubbish, putting out more roadside bins and planting more flowers”. (Category - “Buildings & the Physical Environment”).

Projects which will require action by an external partner:-

Another one of the other top priority issues was to improve the broadband coverage in the area. (Category - “Jobs & the Economy”).

One of the priority issues raised was to restore derelict properties, including the old Mountblairy Arms and the Kirkton of Alvah Church. (Category - “Buildings & the Physical Environment”).

At the other end of the scale there was one “idea” that received a substantial negative vote. This was to “Change the Alvah Parish Hall sign to Alvah Parish Hall, Linhead”.

This suggestion does not appear in the table.

Kirkton of Alvah Church.

Kirkton of Alvah Church.

Flower Tubs planted by the Community Council.

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Community Action PlanOther Issues

Alvah & Forglen Community Action Plan 2015-2018

Many other issues received positive support and these are listed below under the seven category headings.

Community Activities

No ideas in this category made the final cut. Instead some were taken into the following category.

Alvah and Forglen Halls

Projects which the community can take forward independently:

Outside the top six ideas, the top scoring suggestion in this category came in at number eight and was to:

• Erect notice boards and provide more and better information on activities in the halls.

Other ideas that were put forward were:-

• Establish an occasional “Farmers’ Market” or “Barter Market”

• Source funding for the halls/community buildings

• Establish a drop-in café

Roads, Paths & Transportation

Projects which the community can take forward independently:

There was one idea in this category:-

• Provide a clearer definition of public rights of way, especially on ploughed land.


There are three ideas in this section. The first came in as the sixth priority and the second as the seventh priority:

• Encourage community members to report road and environmental faults

• Improve the bus service especially for working people possibly by allowing fare paying passengers on school buses or setting up a community transport service

The other suggestion was:-

• Raise awareness of public footpaths to improve health

Projects which will require action by an external agency:

There were two ideas in this section:-

• Establish traffic calming measures at Deveron Bridge

• Review visibility at Forglen Hall junction

Alvah Parish Hall, Linhead.

Forglen Hall.

Increase Neighbourhood Watch schemes.

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Health & Housing


One suggestion came in this section:-

• Build affordable housing for young families

Crime & Safety

Projects which will require action by an external partner:

The only issue in this section concerns road safety. It came at number nine on the overall list of priorities:-

“Install traffic calming measures and improve the sightline at the Scotstoun junction on the B9025 to Bogton.”

Forglen Old Church Cemetery.

Deveron Valley.

Forglen Landscape view.

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Buildings & The Physical Environment


There were also two suggestions in this section:-

• Replace the beech trees on Turriff Road

• Review the road infrastructure in the Bogton area prior to any further housing development

Jobs & the Economy


At number eleven in the list of overall priorities was the following suggestion:-

• Improve knowledge and awareness of small rural businesses

Projects which will require action by an external agency:

At number ten in the list of overall priorities was the following suggestion:-

• Improve mobile phone coverage

Notes

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Community Action PlanAction Plan Summary

In

depe

nden

t Pa

rtne

rshi

p E

xter

nal A

genc

y

C

omm

unit

y A

ctiv

itie

s

A

lvah

and

For

glen

Hal

ls

Mak

e gr

eate

r us

e of

the

hal

ls b

y ho

ldin

g

re

gula

r so

cial

eve

nts/

activ

ities

for

resi

dent

s of

all

ages

Erec

t no

tice

boar

ds a

nd p

rovi

de m

ore

and

bett

er in

form

atio

n on

act

iviti

es in

the

ha

lls

Esta

blis

h an

occ

asio

nal “

Farm

ers’

Mar

ket”

or

“Ba

rter

Mar

ket”

Sour

ce fu

ndin

g fo

r ha

lls/c

omm

unity

bu

ildin

gs

Esta

blis

h a

drop

-in c

afe

R

oads

, Pat

hs &

Tra

nspo

rtat

ion

Prov

ide

a cl

eare

r de

finiti

on o

f pub

lic

Enco

urag

e co

mm

unity

mem

bers

to

Esta

blis

h tr

affic

cal

min

g m

easu

res

at

ri

ghts

of w

ay e

spec

ially

on

plou

ghed

land

re

port

roa

d an

d en

viro

nmen

tal f

aults

D

ever

on B

ridg

e

Im

prov

e bu

s se

rvic

e es

peci

ally

for

R

evie

w v

isib

ility

at

Forg

len

Hal

l jun

ctio

n

wor

king

peo

ple

poss

ibly

by

allo

win

g fa

re

pa

ying

pas

seng

ers

on s

choo

l bus

es o

r

sett

ing

up a

com

mun

ity t

rans

port

ser

vice

R

aise

aw

aren

ess

of p

ublic

foot

path

s

to im

prov

e he

alth

H

ealt

h &

Hou

sing

Build

affo

rdab

le h

ousi

ng fo

r yo

ung

fam

ilies

C

rim

e &

Saf

ety

In

trod

uce

com

mun

ity p

olic

ing

or

Inst

all t

raffi

c ca

lmin

g m

easu

res

and

oc

casi

onal

pol

ice

patr

ols

augm

ente

d by

im

prov

e si

ghtli

ne a

t Sc

otst

oun

junc

tion

th

e in

trod

uctio

n of

a N

eigh

bour

hood

on

B90

25 t

o Bo

gton

W

atch

sch

eme

B

uild

ings

& T

he P

hysi

cal

Rev

iew

all

win

d tu

rbin

e ap

plic

atio

ns t

hat

Pres

erve

the

uni

que

beau

ty o

f the

are

a R

esto

re d

erel

ict

prop

ertie

s in

clud

ing

the

E

nvir

onm

ent

com

e be

fore

the

Com

mun

ity C

ounc

il an

d by

sto

ppin

g fly

-tip

ping

, col

lect

ing

rubb

ish,

ol

d M

ount

blai

ry A

rms

and

Kir

kton

of

obje

ct t

o ap

plic

atio

ns t

hat

fail

to c

ompl

y pu

ttin

g ou

t m

ore

road

side

bin

s an

d

Alv

ah C

hurc

h

w

ith t

he lo

cal d

evel

opm

ent

plan

, pol

icie

s,

plan

ting

mor

e flo

wer

s

gu

idel

ines

or

wou

ld im

pact

upo

n th

e

am

enity

of t

he a

rea

Rep

lace

bee

ch t

rees

on

Turr

iff R

oad

R

evie

w r

oad

infr

astr

uctu

re in

the

Bog

ton

ar

ea p

rior

to

any

furt

her

hous

ing

de

velo

pmen

t

Jo

bs &

The

Eco

nom

y

Impr

ove

know

ledg

e an

d aw

aren

ess

of

sm

all r

ural

bus

ines

ses

En

cour

age

and

lobb

y lo

cal c

ounc

il an

d

prov

ider

s to

impr

ove

broa

dban

d sp

eed

Enco

urag

e an

d lo

bby

prov

ider

s to

impr

ove

mob

ile p

hone

cov

erag

e

11

Community Action PlanAction Plan Summary

Inde

pend

ent

Part

ners

hip

Ext

erna

l Age

ncy

C

omm

unit

y A

ctiv

itie

s

A

lvah

and

For

glen

Hal

ls

Mak

e gr

eate

r us

e of

the

hal

ls b

y ho

ldin

g

re

gula

r so

cial

eve

nts/

activ

ities

for

resi

dent

s of

all

ages

Erec

t no

tice

boar

ds a

nd p

rovi

de m

ore

and

bett

er in

form

atio

n on

act

iviti

es in

the

ha

lls

Esta

blis

h an

occ

asio

nal “

Farm

ers’

Mar

ket”

or

“Ba

rter

Mar

ket”

Sour

ce fu

ndin

g fo

r ha

lls/c

omm

unity

bu

ildin

gs

Esta

blis

h a

drop

-in c

afe

R

oads

, Pat

hs &

Tra

nspo

rtat

ion

Prov

ide

a cl

eare

r de

finiti

on o

f pub

lic

Enco

urag

e co

mm

unity

mem

bers

to

Esta

blis

h tr

affic

cal

min

g m

easu

res

at

ri

ghts

of w

ay e

spec

ially

on

plou

ghed

land

re

port

roa

d an

d en

viro

nmen

tal f

aults

D

ever

on B

ridg

e

Im

prov

e bu

s se

rvic

e es

peci

ally

for

R

evie

w v

isib

ility

at

Forg

len

Hal

l jun

ctio

n

wor

king

peo

ple

poss

ibly

by

allo

win

g fa

re

pa

ying

pas

seng

ers

on s

choo

l bus

es o

r

sett

ing

up a

com

mun

ity t

rans

port

ser

vice

R

aise

aw

aren

ess

of p

ublic

foot

path

s

to im

prov

e he

alth

H

ealt

h &

Hou

sing

Build

affo

rdab

le h

ousi

ng fo

r yo

ung

fam

ilies

C

rim

e &

Saf

ety

In

trod

uce

com

mun

ity p

olic

ing

or

Inst

all t

raffi

c ca

lmin

g m

easu

res

and

oc

casi

onal

pol

ice

patr

ols

augm

ente

d by

im

prov

e si

ghtli

ne a

t Sc

otst

oun

junc

tion

th

e in

trod

uctio

n of

a N

eigh

bour

hood

on

B90

25 t

o Bo

gton

W

atch

sch

eme

B

uild

ings

& T

he P

hysi

cal

Rev

iew

all

win

d tu

rbin

e ap

plic

atio

ns t

hat

Pres

erve

the

uni

que

beau

ty o

f the

are

a R

esto

re d

erel

ict

prop

ertie

s in

clud

ing

the

E

nvir

onm

ent

com

e be

fore

the

Com

mun

ity C

ounc

il an

d by

sto

ppin

g fly

-tip

ping

, col

lect

ing

rubb

ish,

ol

d M

ount

blai

ry A

rms

and

Kir

kton

of

obje

ct t

o ap

plic

atio

ns t

hat

fail

to c

ompl

y pu

ttin

g ou

t m

ore

road

side

bin

s an

d

Alv

ah C

hurc

h

w

ith t

he lo

cal d

evel

opm

ent

plan

, pol

icie

s,

plan

ting

mor

e flo

wer

s

gu

idel

ines

or

wou

ld im

pact

upo

n th

e

am

enity

of t

he a

rea

Rep

lace

bee

ch t

rees

on

Turr

iff R

oad

R

evie

w r

oad

infr

astr

uctu

re in

the

Bog

ton

ar

ea p

rior

to

any

furt

her

hous

ing

de

velo

pmen

t

Jo

bs &

The

Eco

nom

y

Impr

ove

know

ledg

e an

d aw

aren

ess

of

sm

all r

ural

bus

ines

ses

En

cour

age

and

lobb

y lo

cal c

ounc

il an

d

prov

ider

s to

impr

ove

broa

dban

d sp

eed

Enco

urag

e an

d lo

bby

prov

ider

s to

impr

ove

mob

ile p

hone

cov

erag

e

12

Community Action PlanMaking It Real

www.ouraberdeenshire.org.uk

This booklet is one of a series produced by Local Rural Partnerships for a number of communities in Aberdeenshire.

This initiative is sponsored by Aberdeenshire Community Planning Partnership and run by Aberdeenshire Local Rural Partnerships. The aim is to provide community action plans in an attractive, easy to read, professionally printed format.

BANFFSHIRE PARTNERSHIP DEvEloPINg CoMMuNITIESThe Old School • Boyndie • Banff • AB45 2JTT & F: 01261 843598 • E: [email protected]

This information can now guide the community and Community Planning Partners in drawing up detailed action plans to implement the top priorities as well as addressing the other issues which have been identified. For each priority or issue this will involve agreeing who should be involved, what resources will be needed and target dates for completion. It is hoped that this process will be driven by representatives of the community with support - moral, technical and financial - from the relevant Partners.

It is important that this booklet is seen by all concerned as an account of the community’s views at the time of the latest consultation, and that it will have to be regularly reviewed and updated. As some projects are completed, other issues will arise and take their place in future versions of the community plan.

We recommend that this Plan has a maximum life of three years.

Thanks are due to the members of Alvah & Forglen

Community Council for help in organising the

community engagement event, the catering at

the event and providing background information on

the community.

Des

ign

by

May

201

5

Community Action Plan

alvah & forglen community action plan · 2015. 10. 29. · alvah parish hall, linhead. forglen...

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