Our Neighbourhood Plan for Fairhill (Annual Progress Report 2021–2022)

Introduction

Fairhill is an area in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, with a population of around 2,800. The housing is a mix of social housing, private rent and owned properties. Fairhill has a number of organisations active in the area who provide social and recreational opportunities for the community.  In November 2019 Fairhill started to develop their neighbourhood plan. A group of local people, organisations active in the area and public sector partners got together to do this.

When the Covid pandemic began, the priorities of the community and the services moved towards making sure that everyone in the area had the support which they needed. Now that things are moving towards a new phase, the time is right to look at getting local people back together and thinking about the longer term changes that they want to make in the Fairhill area.

History

The consultation around the plan started in November 2019 and concluded in February 2020. The plan was due to be launched in the community in April 2020. Due the pandemic an event couldn’t be held as it was not possible to meet in person, but the plan still went live. Priorities changed within the area and resources were needed to make sure everyone was able to eat, receive medication they needed and generally support people where they could.

People were occupied with this work, and along with the difficulties in holding meetings, it was hard for the stakeholders to come together and to develop the actions they want to take. Over the year of 2021/22 the focus was around working with local groups to assist them in recovering after the pandemic. This work is a crucial building block in delivering the neighbourhood plan - the local community must remain in control and decide what is best for their communities alongside their Community Planning partners.

Information

Participatory budgeting is providing local people the opportunity to decide how public money is spent.  These processes are designed and delivered by the Stakeholder Group to ensure that local people govern the process and decide the best way for it to move forward.  Funds have been made available for Fairhill to design and deliver a participatory budgeting process to help with the actions within the neighbourhood plan.  This year there is an opportunity for you to get involved in this and have a say in how the money is spent in your area.

Priority Progress that has been achieved

1 Physical environment

• Everything around you, play parks, grass verges, street furniture, roads, pavements etc.

2 More leisure and social opportunities

• Activities for you to engage in and socialise within your own community.

3 Greater community safety

• How safe you feel in your community whether this be road safety or physical safety from crime.

4 Easier to get about/moving around

• The ability to move in and around your community and access to other local areas.

5 More variety of shops/businesses

• The choice of business in the area and what sectors are available locally.

6 Housing improvements

• The upkeep and presentation of local housing stock.

7 Stronger and better communities

• Feeling connected to your local community and the sense of community spirit.

8 Better financial wellbeing

• Locally available services to assist you to access financial advice and maximise income.

9 Health improvements

• Opportunities within the community to access activities and services to improve health.

10 Better education, training and employment opportunities

• Locally available opportunities around employment and education for all ages. 

Development plans

The main aim over the next year is to re-establish the stakeholders group which is populated by local people (minimum 50%) and community planning partners.  The intention behind this group is to enable local people to stay in control and work in partnership with community planning partners.  It is crucial this group is made up of mainly by local people to ensure that all partners are guided by the expertise local people have and can respond appropriately.

We would like to encourage you to get involved in neighbourhood planning; it’s a way to have your voice heard and get the changes you want to see happening. You will see us out and about in Fairhill looking to talk to you, or use the contact details below to get in touch with us.  We look forward to hearing from you.

“Neighbourhood planning is at the heart of bringing services and citizens together. Local police officers are committed to supporting the community in Fairhill as they deliver the priorities within their plan, which will undoubtedly improve the lives of those who live, work or visit the area.” Andy Thomson Superintendent (Partnerships)

Case Study

Over the next year a catalogue of events are planned to engage with local people around the priorities identified in the neighbourhood plan.  The first step will be to circulate the update plan to every household in the area throughout June 2022 to raise awareness of the neighbourhood plan in the area and engage with local residents around it.

During the summer an information event will be held with the attendance of all partners for residents to discuss their issues and collect information about what’s on in their area. Moving out of summer we will be holding a voting event to allocate the monies from 21/22 and 22/23 through participatory budgeting. Local people will decide how this money is spent through voting for their preferred projects which will be proposed based on the priorities identified in the neighbourhood plan. Finally, after Christmas an update consultation will be carried out to establish the priorities for the following year, this ensures that the stakeholder group are continuing to respond to the current need of the community.

Continuously throughout the year engagement staff will be present in the area talking to residents to establish the stakeholder group which will steer all of the work moving forward. Local people taking control to respond to local priorities is crucial to the success of the neighbourhood plan.

Previous Progress Reports:

Fairhill Progress Report 2020-2021

Want to be involved?

If you would like to get involved please contact 0303 123 1017 or email communities@southlanarkshire.gov.uk