Annual Report 2012/2013

Tarland Community Garden members help to sift soil at the first working party, June 2013

Chairman's Report

During this year communication has been a recurrent theme for MAP, whether by good old fashioned face to face networking meetings or modern digital media. Community Action Plans (CAP) have continued to be ideal vehicles for engaging local com-munities and providing Community Planning Partners with valuable evidence of need. Many new initiatives have resulted from CAP’s including the summer bus service from Deeside to Perthshire which was suggested by residents in Braemar. The residents of Kildrummy, Lumsden and Towie will gain benefits from wind farm community benefit funds in their area and the CAP process has given them a means to communicate their needs and aspirations. The Community Forums are well attended informal meetings where community groups, indi-viduals and Community Planning Partners can meet to discuss issues relevant to each Ward area. The value of meeting face to face with the local Council Representative, Police Officer or Health Workers has been recognised as they do go back to their managers and officers and report local concerns. During the spring a series of Social Media Workshops were held which has created many new communication networks within and between communities. Now tweeting and chatting, many community groups have found a new audience and a means of engaging with people who have not previously participated in their communities. The wide range of applications for the Initiative Grants is evidence of how well communica-tion networks are reaching many more groups and residents of the Marr Area. The small pot of money can support many groups and often leads to the reward of greater grants as in Tarland and Huntly this year. The Development Officers and present Directors have continued to work hard this year and made great progress in many communities. With additional funding this coming year, MAP will continue to support local community groups. However there is one way in which you could help us! We need additional Directors to guide and support the work of the organisa-tion. With wider geographical representation and a “voice” from every Community Council area, MAP could facilitate discussions and support the development of many more commu-nity led initiatives. And finally…we welcome requests from communities for support and advice so please con-tact one of the Directors or Development Officers and we will help support your community and project in any way we can.

Jean Henretty, Chair of Marr Area Partnership

Treasurers Report - April 2012 to March 2013

This finance report relates to the annual accounts for the Marr Area Partnership (MAP) for the financial year 1st April 2012 - 31st March 2013. The office of treasurer is held by Nigel Healey and Mike Powell provided support as part of his Development Officer duties. MAP registered with Companies House, as a company limited by guarantee on 10th Feb 2011. The first accounting period for the company was to 31st March 2012. As a registered charity MAP is also accountable to the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) and submits an annual return and annual accounts. The income of MAP during the financial year 2012-2013 was principally from three sources;

1. Core funding, and Initiative Grant Scheme, from Aberdeenshire Council

2. Service level agreement (SLA) funding from the Marr Community Planning Group

3. Funding from the Cairngorms National Park Authority

A summary of the income and expenditure for the year is given in the table below. The full annual accounts will be available at the AGM and thereafter on the MAP website at www.marrareapartnership.org.uk. Copies of both SLAs (see below) are also on the website. The funding from Aberdeenshire Council is partly from Community Economic Development and partly from the Marr Area Committee. Both provide core funding for the organisation, are the subject of a Service Level Agreement (SLA) and are treated as unrestricted funds. Another SLA is for project work MAP does for Marr Community Planning Group (MCPG). Funding from the Cairngorms National Park Authority is for supporting communities in the Park and liaison between them and the CNPA. Funding for specific projects is treated as restricted funds and is accounted for, within the annual accounts, separately. Summary of Income and Expenditure for 2012/2013 (with 2011/2012 for comparison)

The total funds held by the Marr Area Partnership as at 31st March 2013, as per the balance sheet) were £42,586; comprising £39,147 unrestricted funds and £3,439 restricted funds. The annual accounts have been compiled, independently examined, and confirmed as com-plying with the Charity Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006, by: AC Howat, Chartered Ac-countant, 50 Raemoir Road, Banchory, AB31 5XP

Income 2012/2013 2011/2012

Core/SLA funding from Aberdeenshire Council/MCPG £37,076 £37,320

Initiative Grant Scheme funds from Aberdeenshire Council £8,500 £8,500

Cairngorms National Park Authority £2,841 £6,438

Bank interest £287 £309

Other income £6,866 £2,000

Total Income £55,570 £54,567

Expenditure

Staff employment costs £34,211 £34,326

Staff and Trustees expenses £3,061 £5,299

Administrative costs £4,388 £2,457

Meetings, advertising and exhibitions £2,037 £1,159

Depreciation on equipment £348 £352

Initiative Grant Scheme - grants paid £14,824 £9,719

Total Expenditure £58,869 £53,312

Surplus (Deficit) for the year (£3,299) £1,255

Social Media Workshops Introductory social media training was of-fered at the community ward forums in No-vember 2012. They were really popular and many people said they would benefit from more training. Lizzy organised five work-shops, ranging from beginners to advanced in spring 2013, in Tarland, Dinnet, Lumsden and Braemar. They were well attended and many new community facebook pages have been set up as a result.

Braemar Community Action Plan In May 2013, Braemar launched their Com-munity Action Plan and over 90 people at-tended the event. This was the result of al-most a year’s work by the Steering Group, which was supported throughout the process by Mike and involved extensive consultation with local people. There have already been some positive outcomes including; the crea-tion of a youth club; provision of a bus ser-vice to Blairgowrie; and setting up of a coor-dinating group for delivery of the action plan.

Social Audit Natasha has spent the last year doing a social audit of the community planning work of MAP e.g. the community ward forums, membership of the Marr Community Planning Group and support for village halls. This has allowed MAP to review and benchmark our work. Claire Ross from the Cairngorms National Park Authority and Morna Harper from Aberdeen-shire Council were on the panel reviewing the audit which has now been finalised and will be published shortly.

Development Officers Report Development Officers report to the Marr Area Partnership Board at their bi-monthly meet-ings and work with a wide range of community groups, individuals and partner organisations to support, enable and advocate for the sustainable development of communities in Marr. In response to specific requests, Natasha, Mike and Lizzy have supported projects of all sizes with advice on planning, management/governance, attracting funding or community engagement. They have also been busy on a number of other major initiatives, some of which are described in the following case studies:

Community Ward Forums Over the last year Lizzy (on behalf of the Marr Community Planning Group) has organ-ised 12 forums throughout Marr on a wide range of topics including: Walking to Health, community path developments; workshops on effective grant applications, common problems faced by community groups and possible solutions and using social media; discussion groups with Grampian Police, as well as presentations on local projects such as the Tobacco Buddy project and the Ban-chory King George V project. We also con-sulted on input to the new Marr Community Plan. Attendance has been good and feed-back extremely positive.

Tarland Community Garden Tarland Development Group, after a couple of years in the planning stages, have re-cently established a community garden where local people can grow fruit and veg throughout the year in a large polytunnel. Lizzy has given advice and support through-out the process on a range of matters includ-ing community consultation, lease negotia-tion, funding applications, risk assessment, recruitment of a project manager etc. The community garden is thriving and raised beds in the polytunnel are already oversub-scribed.

Public Entertainment Licence The conditions and requirements of Public Entertainment Licences (PELs) for commu-nity halls were identified as being onerous and unworkable for volunteer hall committee members. In response to problems raised Mike undertook a review of the conditions attached to the licences, in consultation with hall committees, and in collaboration with the licensing authority (Aberdeenshire Council). This included research, consultation and pro-posal of a simpler, much reduced and facili-tative, rather than prescriptive, proposed set of conditions. The project has taken two and a half years to complete and it is hoped that results will be implemented this year.

IGS Grants Awarded

Project

Applicant Group

Grant Awarded

Marr Wildlife Identification Workshops N. E. Scotland Biological Records Centre £ 400

Active Aboyne Outdoor Festival 2012 Mid Deeside Ltd £ 400

Youth Industries Projects Banchory and District Initiative £ 500

Tarland Way Booklet Tarland Development Group £1000

Squirrel Bridge Ballater and Crathie Community Council £ 200

Air Source Heating Glenbuchat Hall Committee £ 500

Harvest Folk Festival Birseland Media £1000

Ballater Brochure Ballater Business Association £ 700

Home Insulation Scheme Gordon Rural Action £ 696

Bee Happy Festival Huntly Mental Health £ 500

Braemar Arts Centre Feasibility Scottish Redundant Churches Trust £1000

Craft Group Development Huntly Mental Health £ 350

Talking Wall – Food Sustainability Scottish Sculpture Workshop £1000

Tarland Community Garden Tarland Development Group £1000

Hall Stage Extension Strachan Hall Committee £ 900

'The Big Blaw' - Braemar Braemar Piping Association £ 900

Fèisean a’ Mhonaidh Ruaidh Fèis Spè Ltd £1000

Craigievar Playground Development Craigievar School PTA £1000

Alford Clock Refurbishment Donside Community Council £ 560

Dalmochie Forestry Tourism Project Ballater (RD) Ltd £ 600

Dancing for fun, fitness and friendship Castleton Dancers of Braemar £1000

Life Saving Skills Education Project Tarland Area First Responders £ 800

£16,006

Total Grants Awarded

Marr Area Partnership awards grants of up to £1,000 to support community projects in Marr. The money is provided by Aberdeenshire Council’s Marr Area Committee. Grants can be used for project start-up costs or to help groups develop a project idea. Involvement in the grant scheme enables us to give advice, support and help with the development of project aims and/or management. Over the last 10 years we have helped to fund a wide range of projects, including: transport initiatives, information directories, environmental improvement schemes, cultural and historical projects and tourism projects. For an application form and guidance notes please contact us or look on our web site. We can also provide information on other funding sources and support where required. The awards granted from April 2012 to March 2013 are listed below and some case studies are provided on the opposite page:

St Margaret's Braemar The aim of the project is to bring economic and social benefit to Braemar by creating a vibrant arts and culture scene centred on the now disused St Margaret’s Episcopal Church in the village. This Category A listed building is of national significance and is considered to be the masterpiece of noted ecclesiastical architect Sir John Comper. The Scottish Re-dundant Churches Trust, which now has ownership of the church, has commissioned an options appraisal (part funded by the IGS grant) to identify how St Margaret's can be adapted sensitively into a centre for the arts.

Scottish Sculpture Workshop Two artists in residence came to Scottish Sculpture Workshop in Lumsden to engage resi-dents, both young and old, in an imaginative exploration of how the way we live our lives shapes/sculpts the world we live within. Workshops held with schools and groups also intro-duced printmaking methods and the use of creative tools in the exploration of ideas. The material was developed into a series of large-scale prints, which have transformed the outer wall of SSW into a ‘Talking Wall’, where words and forms are giving public voice to the thoughts, hopes and concerns of Lumsden residents. The Talking Wall can announce birth-days, anniversaries, community events – or even a favourite quotation or poetry that relates to the themes of community, sustainability, or the natural world.

Craigievar Playground Craigievar School Parent Teachers Associa-tion received a grant to improve the facilities in the school playing field e.g. wooden ga-zebo, activity tables, football goals, games and playground storage. These new facili-ties are being used by school pupils, older children, and also other groups such as Young Farmers and adult sports teams. The project is giving people the chance to try out new activities & learn new skills, as well as providing opportunities for volunteering.

Tarland Area First Responders Tarland First Responders received a grant to run a British Heart Foundation Skills for Life course for people in the Tarland area (including local community members and pri-mary and secondary school pupils) using lo-cal venues and halls. The benefits are that there will be more people to help respond to local medical emergencies; local people will be trained in basic first aid to help support the ‘chain of survival’; and hopefully more people will become first responders.

Who’s Who

Directors Chair: Jean Henretty, Banchory and District Initiative/Banchory Community Council Treasurer: Nigel Healey, Cromar Community Council George Wordie, Strathbogie Community Council Nick Mardall, Deeside Donside Development Project Patricia Fraser, Crathie Community Donald Boyd, Development Manager, Huntly Development Trust Ruth Sim, Ballater and Crathie Community Council, West Aberdeenshire Access Panel – June 2102 to March 2013 Other partners who have attended board meetings during the year and made a valuable contribution to MAP: Les Allan, representative of Aberdeenshire Council and Cllr John Latham, nominee of the Marr Area Committee If you are interested in becoming a member of MAP or contributing to our work by becoming a Board Member, please email lizzy@marrareapartnership.org.uk or have a word with us.

Staff: Development Officers Natasha Pawlukiewicz Mike Powell, OBE Lizzy Shepherd MAP is grateful for support from the following organisations:

26th August 2013 If you require a larger print version of this document please contact: lizzy@marrareapartnership.org.uk