The Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 details a range of ways in which local communities can get more involved in the design and delivery of services in their local areas.

West Dunbartonshire Plan for Place

The Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 details a range of ways in which local communities can get more involved in the design and delivery of services in their local areas. The Act also details how Community Planning Partnerships will work to support this empowerment agenda – including the requirement to develop a Local Outcome Improvement Plan for the area.

In West Dunbartonshire this plan is known as the Plan for Place 2017-2027, replacing the Single Outcome Agreement 2014-2017. The aspiration of Scottish Government, detailed in the Act, is that each community planning partnership will put in place a document which details local priorities, informed by evidenced need and strong local engagement and involvement.

The Community Planning West Dunbartonshire Plan for Place details 5 key priorities, endorsed through local engagement activity. These priorities will ensure the partnership works towards:

  • A Flourishing West Dunbartonshire
  • An Independent West Dunbartonshire
  • A Nurtured West Dunbartonshire
  • An Empowered West Dunbartonshire
  • A Safe West Dunbartonshire

To help inform the Plan for Place and ensure that CPWD understands the profile of the area, a detailed partnership area profile and needs assessment was prepared. This uses data available from local partners and national publications, setting the context for outcome delivery in West Dunbartonshire.

The Plan for Place is a strategic vision document, setting out the long term aspiration for West Dunbartonshire. The delivery of the aspirations and vision as detailed in the plan sits with the thematic Delivery & Improvement Groups, with work underway on action plans in each area.

Locality Planning

The Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act also requires each Community Planning Partnership to develop plans at a locality level, targeting interventions to those communities most in need. For West Dunbartonshire these localities will broadly follow the three main settlement areas of Clydebank, Dumbarton and Vale of Leven, building on the local profiles developed at a neighbourhood level.

The locality plans are being developed based on the strategic needs assessment and local data on outcomes, which allows the partnership to identify which neighbourhood in each settlement requires prioritised interventions. It is important to recognise however that activities will continue in every neighbourhood, with additional detail in locality plans showing targeted areas with the highest levels of identified need.

Locality plans will build on the strong local arrangements already in place through Your Community and the recent Your Place, Your Plan activities. They will detail the long term aspirations for the area, as outlined in the Plan for Place and the priorities for the local areas as identified through data and local engagement. They will include details of how services and the community will work together to tackle inequality, address need and deliver on local aspirations.