Angus Community Planning

Rural Angus

Photograph of Aberlemno Stone

Background Information

Angus covers an area of some 2,200 sq km with a population of over 108,000 living in a network of interrelated communities including seven towns, and a large number of villages and smaller settlements set in a varied and diverse countryside - in fact, over 25% of people in Angus live in rural areas.

There is a strong interdependence among the towns, villages and countryside which together give Angus its mainly rural character. The quality of life enjoyed in Angus is influenced by a range of factors and this is particularly evident in rural Angus where the availability of services and facilities is especially important.

Rural Angus is not a single homogenous area, but ranges across the Angus Glens and upland area, the lowland area of Strathmore, the Sidlaw Hills and the coastal plain. It varies significantly in character, land use, population levels, and access to a range of services and facilities.

Issues in rural Angus are not independent, but are interrelated and arise from far reaching changes which have weakened the economic and social fabric of some rural areas. Changes in one rural activity have a knock-on effect with other activities in the surrounding area. For example, the provision and accessibility of health services cannot be considered in isolation from a rural public transport system, rural housing or providing opportunities for the diversification of the rural economy.

Addressing the issue of rural disadvantage requires the implementation of measures for improving the delivery, accessibility and range of local services alongside local development which supports the population and services maintaining viable rural communities.

Enabling local communities to take an active part in decision-making is, therefore, paramount to achieving a more inclusive and integrated approach to sustainable rural development in Angus.

Local Community Planning

As detailed earlier, there have been a number of initiatives in rural Angus, which have introduced communities to the community planning process, both in the Angus glens and Sidlaw / Newtyle area. More recently these areas have been represented on local area partnerships centred on Brechin, Kirriemuir and Monifieth.

In the latter half of 2008 and into 2009, the Angus Rural and Environment Partnership will be considering the possibility of introducing new local community planning arrangements in these rural areas, building on the issues and actions identified in the seminars, to agree small-scale, targeted development plans with communities in rural Angus.

Current Issues

There are numerous ongoing issues in rural Angus which are currently being dealt with including: