|
Rural Angus details:
Your area:
|
Background
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.
Initial Developments
Angus Rural Partnership was established in 1996 and was registered under the Scottish Rural Partnership Fund. The Partnership drew its representation from a range of public sector and voluntary agencies and was committed to an integrated approach to developing policies and programmes to enhance the health, social, economic and environmental well being of rural communities throughout Angus. The Partnership was also given responsibility for developing and supporting the implementation of an Angus Rural Strategy.
The legislative duties relating to local community planning in rural areas were clearly linked to the work of the Angus Rural Partnership. Angus Rural Partnership was one of the Angus Community Planning Partners and in Spring 2004, the line management for the Development Officer employed through the Angus Rural Partnership was transferred to the Angus Community Planning Team.
This facilitated the integration of the work of the Angus Rural Partnership into the community planning process in Angus. As part of the programme of seminars developed by the Angus Community Planning Partnership, ‘Focus on Sidlaw and Newtyle’ was held in November 2004 and ‘Focus on the Angus Glens’ in August 2005. This brought together representatives from partner organisations, workers from the local area and representatives from Kirriemuir and the Glens Partnership, community and voluntary groups. The seminar provided the opportunity to identify and discuss the local issues of the area with a view to identifying and reaching agreement on priorities for the rural area. These priorities were agreed and taken forward up to the local government elections in May 2007.
Recent Developments
The Angus Rural Strategy was developed through a series of one-to-one and group consultations, culminating in an Action Planning Event which was held in June 2007. This event was well attended by colleagues from across the Community Planning Partnership, other agencies with an interest in rural affairs and community members. The event focused on the themes of Enhancing, Learning, Living, Playing, Visiting and Working in rural Angus and the resulting discussions and debate lead to the development of an action plan.
The action plan was supplemented by a strong narrative, which together became the Angus Rural Strategy for 2007-2013. The Strategy shares common themes with the Angus Community Plan, with a focus on the economy, lifelong learning, healthy, safe and caring communities and the environment. Actions to be taken forward cover a wide range of issues including local community planning; engagement between public sector agencies and land based industries; green travel plans; rural housing; and biodiversity enhancement.
The Strategy and Action Plan was approved by the Angus Community Planning Partnership in January 2008 and now forms the focus of community planning efforts in rural Angus. Prior to the agreement on the Strategy, community planning partners had acknowledged that the existing Angus Rural Partnership and Angus Environment Forum who had been taking forward the rural and environmental agenda in Angus were not functioning as well as was hoped. As a result, a new group, the Angus Rural and Environment Partnership is being formed (first meeting in June 2008) to take forward the actions identified in the Angus Rural Strategy and other actions identified in the Angus Community Plan and Single Outcome Agreement.
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:
For further information on community planning activity in rural Angus contact: Community Planning Team, Angus Community Planning Partnership, Angus House, Orchardbank Business Park, Forfar, DD8 1AX. Tel: 01307 476107, Fax: 01307 476140, Email: communityplanning@angus.gov.uk
|
