Coalfields Community Futures

Coalfields Community Futures is an approach to local community planning and sustainable community development that aims to encourage active citizenship and build local democracy.

Coalfield Community Futures has become our flagship project in Scotland and the approach helps us identify community needs, whilst at the same time achieving the results that CRT believes are necessary locally.

CRT recognises that some communities have found it difficult to secure a fair share of the funding that has been channelled through it and other grantmakers during the last 10 years. CRT and other funders have found that in these ‘cold spots’, community leadership, participation, structures, networks and group activity is relatively weak.

This process is about ‘Cultural Planning’ which is about building on local assets and strengths to deliver sustainable community regeneration strategies and services.

Our place-based approach to planning and development, includes identifying and leveraging a community’s cultural resources, strengthening the management of those resources, and integrating those resources across all facets of local planning and decision making.

Following the credit crunch, consistent messages from Scottish Government policy advisers emphasised the importance of developing imaginative and creative, locally rooted community regeneration efforts in response to severe financial constraints on public spending.

Key Activities:

This programme involved identifying three multiply deprived ex-mining communities that have not benefited substantially from external funding from the Trust and partner funders. In these areas, we have:

•   Built on existing processes of community action research to identify local needs and priorities, using residents as co-researchers
•   Worked with local residents and groups to develop a common sense of purpose and a deliverable community action plan
•   Made use of a Participatory Budget fund of £20k for each area, which through a participatory budgeting process was allocated by residents to initiate small-scale improvements
•   Provided tailored capacity building support, working with local residents and groups to establish skills/structures and secure external funding for agreed projects
•   Where possible supported the development of a new community ‘anchor’ organisations to provide a focus or hub for continued community regeneration
•   Helped organisations to ‘make the right connections’ by facilitating them to develop relationships with other successful organisations to encourage learning, pooling of resources and ongoing mentoring and support

Participatory Planning

The process has encouraged widespread participation of local people in preparing a Community Action Plan for their community.

The Community Action Plans contain:

•   A vision for the future of the community
•   Views on the community now
•   The identification of the main strategies for community development
•   Priorities for action

The Coalfields Community Futures Programme has resulted in nearly 50 five year action plans (which you can download below) being prepared following an extensive participatory process in communities which includes:

•   Stakeholder focus group interviews
•   Community Views Household Surveys
•   Preparation of a Community Profile
•   Convening of a Community Futures Workshop

In each of the areas the process has been managed by a local Steering Group that brought together representatives from a cross section of the community.

Coalfields Community Futures Evaluation – Social Value Lab
Coalfields Community Futures Learning Document – Social Value Lab

Clackmannanshire
Clackmannanshire
Bowmar (Alloa)
Clackmannan Community Action Plan 2015 -2020_Page_01
Tullibody Community Action Plan 2018 - 2023_Page_01
Dumfries & Galloway
Dumfries & Galloway
Kirkconnel & Kelloholm Community Action Plan 2014 -2019_Page_01
Sanquhar Community Action Plan 2015 -2020_Page_01
Kirkconnell
East Ayrshire
East Ayrshire
Auchinleck Community Action Plan 2019-2024_Page_01
Dalmellington Community Action Plan 2018_Page_1
East Dumbartonshire
East Dumbartonshire
Twechar Community Action Plan 2017 - 2022_Page_01
Waterside Community Action Plan 2019-2024_Page_01
East Lothian
East Lothian
Macmerry and Gladsmuir Community Action Plan 2015 - 2020_Page_01
Prestonpans Community Action Plan 2016 - 2021_Page_01
Tranent & Elphinstone Community Action Plan 2014 - 2019_Page_01
Falkirk
Falkirk
Bo'ness & Blackness Action Plan 2013 -2018_Page_01
Bo'ness Community Action Plan 2018_Page_1
California Front Page
Shieldhill Front Cover
Whitecross Community Action Plan 2014 - 2019_Page_01
Fife
Fife
Abbeyview Community Action Plan 2018-2023_Page_01
Cowdenbeath Community Action Plan 2019 -2024_Page_01
Kincardine Community Action Plan 2014 - 2019_Page_01
Saline Front Page
Benarty Community Action Plan 2014 -2019_Page_01
Crossgates Community Action Plan 2016 -2021_Page_01
Kinglassie Community Action Plan 2015 -2020_Page_01
Torryburn and Newmills Community Action Plan 2018 -2023_Page_01
Benarty Front Cover
East Wemyss and Macduff Community Action Plan 2019 to 2024_Page_01
Kingseat Front Cover
Touch Community Action Plan 2018 - 2023_Page_01
Blairhall Community Action Plan 2017 - 2022_Page_01
Hill of Beath Community Action Plan 2017 - 2022_Page_01
Lumphinnans Community Action Plan 2018 -2023_Page_01
Brucefields Front Cover
Kelty Community Action Plan 2016 - 2021_Page_01
Methil Methilhill Community Action Plan Action Plan 2016 - 2021_Page_01
Cardenden Community Action Plan 2018_Page_1
Kennoway Community Action Plan 2018-2023_Page_01
Oakley and Comrie Community Action Plan 2019 -2022_Page_1
Mid Lothian
Mid Lothian
North Lanarkshire
North Lanarkshire
South Lanarkshire
South Lanarkshire
Blantyre Community Action Plan 2019 - 2024_Page_01
Forth Community Action Plan 2015 - 2020_Page_01
Rigside and Douglas Water Community Action Plan 2018 - 2023_Page_01
West Lothian
West Lothian
Addiewell & Loganlea Community Plan
Blackridge & District Community Action Plan 2017 -2022_Page_01
West Calder & Harburn Community Action Plan 2013 -2018_Page_01 edit
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