To listen to the chair of the Our Community in Cove & Kilcreggan (OC) project, Euan Wright, talk about the OC project, please go to https://www.coveandkilcreggancommunity.com/news/in-conversation-with-euan-wright-chair-our-community-project

1. Why have a local plan at all?

Since 2019 the Scottish government has been asking all communities to express their views to local authorities and decision makers by creating local plans.  Currently, over 300 communities across Scotland have created, or are in the process of, creating a plan.

All Councils across Scotland create development plans for each community within their boundary. Those plans can be influenced by our local plan. When development and change happens in Cove and Kilcreggan our local plan can express our preferences and opinions.

No one knows our local needs, challenges and aspirations better than those who live here. 

In Cove and Kilcreggan there are some who want change and there are some who like it just the way it is. All views can be expressed in the local plan and must be considered in the design and implementation of development in our area.

Within the current development plan for our area (LDP 2) Cove and Kilcreggan are within the ‘Helensburgh and Lomond Growth Area’. Argyll and Bute also have repopulation policies and initiatives across the area. Change is coming, whether we like it or not. If we do not express our vision and preferences for our villages, unregulated development and housing by government and public and/or private contractors taking little or no cognisance of local feeling, will be  encouraged by Argyll & Bute Council. 

Local plans are currently the only way for us to express our wider and longer terms aspirations to decision makers, in addition to the normal planning process. This includes expressing preference for what we do not want to change as well.

It is far better for our views to be heard, so that we can work with the council productively for a sustainable future. 

2. What difference will a Local Plan make?

The Local Place Plan (LPP) document is about communicating the vision and aspirations of the Cove & Kilcreggan community to Argyll & Bute Council and other relevant authorities and decision makers.  The plan also supports future funding initiatives by showing community backing,  engagement and support. These plans are the first step to meaningful change towards a sustainable future for the villages. 

The LPP reflects our views about the Cove and Kilcreggan we want to see in 10 years time or longer. The plan can include things like supporting businesses to thrive, protection of the environment, building conservation, parking provision, housing needs, transport services, sports and leisure facilities and tourism. The plan can also address smaller, more immediate projects and initiatives. 

Proposals set out in the Local Place Plan do not automatically turn into actions. They are a set of aspirations to influence and support the change we want (or not). They are not a set of planning applications. 

3.  Why is it taking the Our Community in Cove & Kilcreggan so long to develop a local place plan? 

We have been very lucky to receive funding, not every community has been given that opportunity. 

The more thorough we can be at this stage, using those funds, the more impact the plan can have, and the more it will represent as many views as possible.  

We have chosen to do a deep dive into understanding the challenges and opportunities that are in front of us. This means that we have to hold consultations, again and again, in different ways, times and places to make sure as many people as possible have been given the opportunity to participate. Representative democracy is a slow process, but it is the only way to ensure everyone has been given a choice and a chance to participate.

A volunteer group is currently facilitating this consultation process in an effort to give residents of the villages a chance to voice their opinions, listen to the ideas of others and try to come to some kind of agreement and solutions. We have enlisted the services of various consultants to help distil ideas into plans and ensure an objective approach. This takes time.

Each community will take a different amount of time to produce their plan depending on the challenges they face, the levels of community engagement, funding and so on. 

4. Who is paying for all this work of the Our Community in Cove & Kilcreggan? Is this a waste of money?

The funding to develop the Local Place Plan (LPP) comes from the Scottish Government. It is issued and monitored by CEiS (Community Enterprise in Scotland). This funding is only to support the consultative process, research and production of the Local Place Plan; it cannot be used for projects such as buying land, buildings or improving the roads and we sadly have no control over that. 

Some do feel it is a waste of public money, yes. Others feel it is important we have a say in our future, for those that live here now, and for future generations. The project team acknowledge all views and wish to reassure everyone that all spends are carefully considered and signed off through multiple checks and pre agreed processes.  

To learn more about how we got funding, please go to https://www.coveandkilcreggancommunity.com/community-project. It takes you to the website of the Our Community in Cove & Kilcreggan project page that explains and describes the process of securing these funds & those who were involved in this process. 

You can also find more detailed information in our ‘Documents’ section. You will find the grant letter with all the details of what the money is allocated for: https://www.coveandkilcreggancommunity.com/our-community-work-plans-timelines

You can also find all documents for the past 3 years of the minutes, processes, financial spend and reports of consultations carried out through the grant on ‘Our Documents’ page on the website: https://www.coveandkilcreggancommunity.com/our-document

5. What are the checks and measures in place for spending the grant money?

Careful thought has been given to decision making, transparency and representation. 

We took 4 months in 2022 setting up procedures as to how the money can be spent and who makes the final decisions.  

There are three layers of checks and balances. The Rosneath Peninsula West Community Development Trust Board, together with the Community Council, appointed  a steering group made up of Community Councillors and Trust Board Members. This group signs off all spends and in addition they interrogate, support, challenge and encourage a separate Management team who run the daily tasks of the project. 

The Management team has 8 members at any one time and is made up of members of various Trust members, Community Councillors and Volunteers. The team's role is to set up the process for community input and engagement. 

The Management Team have meetings every two weeks and monthly meetings with CEiS. The steering group meets every 3 months. A project update is submitted to the Community Council prior to public meetings. All spends and project finances are published on the Our Community Website. 

The Cove and Kilcreggan Community have steered the inputs throughout the project. 

6. What are the maps that are being made public through the various consultations processes? What changes will I see on the ground/ in the villages?

The maps you see on our facebook page and on our website are ideas from the community. They are ideas from your neighbours, family and friends and are part of an open discussion between community members.  They are ideas shown in a visual form and are not actionable plans. None of the ideas in these visual diagrams could be implemented without further discussion, agreement, funding or due process. 

The ideas will be distilled further, based on community feedback, and be inputted into the aspirations laid out in the LPP. 

7.  What happens after the LPP (Local Place Plan) submission to the Our Community in Cove & Kilcreggan group?

Our Community in Cove & Kilcreggan was set up by Rosneath Peninsula West Community Development Trust to facilitate the creation of a Local Place Plan. It is a group that believes in community consultations, providing assistance to procure funding, encouraging volunteers within the community, making connections and learning from the experience of others. It is a voluntary group that believes in and supports community empowerment.

To this end,  it has supported the creation of various community interest groups who are contributing careful thoughts and project ideas as part of the Local Place Plan Process. You may wish to join one of these groups, which can be done by going to the link to our website (https://www.coveandkilcreggancommunity.com/). It has also appointed a Development Officer with skills, knowledge and experience to assist the community groups to develop their projects ideas.

We will be continuing in this facilitation role after the submission of the Local Place Plan in March 2025, using the plan and the momentum gathered through this process. 

8. What are the terminologies that I will come across repeatedly on the Our Community in Cove & Kilcreggan page?

• Rosneath Peninsula West Community Development Trust: A local development Trust, set up in 2009 to promote community development. 

• Community Council: The local representation into local government. The CC represents the views of the community into local authorities on planning, licencing and other statutory matters and can promote local initiatives. 

• Local Place Plan: The government implemented system for gathering & understanding a community voice & vision for their own areas.

• Local Development Plan: The Argyll & Bute Council’s development plan for our area.

• Action plan: A mapped plan of expert consultations which is intended to be taken forward for realisation. 

• Ideas map: A consolidation of views expressed by the community mapped in a visual format.

• Community consultation: A meeting to ask for views of the residents in Cove & Kilcreggan/ a brain storm involving the Cove & Kilcreggan community.

• Community negotiation: A community meeting that involves residents of the villages looking through the ideas put forward by the community in earlier meetings, and taking decisions as a community on which ones need to be prioritised or taken forward towards actions.

• Facilitation: The task of facilitation is to enable community brainstorming and decision making. It does not involve decision-making for the community.