Community Consultation

We want to ensure that our community’s views are incorporated into a Community Action Plan which will ensure that our income is spent on schemes which have widespread support over the years ahead.

Our consultation over the Summer and early Autumn 2022 was designed to reach those who live within our boundaries, those who visit here and those who work here. Whilst the chosen projects may well bring advantages to all these groups, there will be a clear priority for schemes which benefit our residents. Other Community Action Plans across Scotland cover periods from three to ten years. We have chosen the five years 2023-27.

To ensure as wide a reach as possible, we consulted in three ways:

1. Community Survey (closed 30 September):

• A flyer was sent by mail to each residential and business address inviting an on-line questionnaire response via our website.
• For those who prefer a hard copy, a telephone number and email was given to request a hand-delivered paper version of the questionnaire. This could be returned by post or dropped off at the Woollen Mill or Glen Roy Cafe for convenience.
• Blank copies could also be collected from the Woollen Mill or the Glen Roy Cafe
• Posters on community noticeboards at Spean Bridge, Roy Bridge, Gairlochy and Achnacarry invited a response on-line and gave contact details for a hard copy.
• Clear links to completing the questionnaire on our website and Facebook pages
• A press release promoted the consultation exercise, signposting to our website and clarifying the deadline for returns.

The questionnaire also included an optional section to allow participants to join the SCIO or to indicate any skills or expertise they might be willing to offer, including if they wish to host their own fundraising events.

Responses were invited by 30 September.

The link to completing the Community Questionnaire was: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Spean_Community_Survey

2. Community Engagement:

• Drop-in sessions over afternoon and early evenings – one each at Roy Bridge Memorial Hall, Achnacarry Village Hall, Spean Bridge Community Centre and at Kilmonivaig Church Hall. The session at Kilmonivaig was specific to small business owners. Sessions were promoted on noticeboards and on our website and Facebook pages. These sessions clarified our aims, sought views and were designed to supplement the questionnaire for those who prefer to meet face-to face.
• Focus groups meetings with community groups – Community Council, Kirk Sessions and other Church or faith groups, guilds, youth groups, sporting bodies including the shinty club and the golf club.
• Spean Bridge Primary School – a brief presentation and then a chance for school children to have their say in a simpler format to the questionnaire in the Community Survey. We will look at “good things about the local area”, “not such good things” and “what would you like to see”.

3. Stakeholder Meetings to encourage ideas and to identify willing sponsors:

• Estates – including Achnacarry, Corrour, Killiechonate (Jahama), Glenfintaig and Glen Roy
• Existing Funding Partners – SSE, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Koehler, Green Highland Renewables
• Local Businesses – including construction firms and haulage operators, retail firms, visitor attractions and restaurants/cafes
• Accommodation providers – hotels, guest houses, caravan parks and campsites
• Public Bodies and Agencies – including Highland Council, Visit Scotland, Forestry and Land Scotland, Linnhe Community Alliance, John Muir Trust, West Highland Community Rail Partnership

Community Action Plan

The Community Consultation is designed to directly inform the Community Action Plan.

The Plan will:

• provide a snapshot of our community
• lay out its challenges
• summarise the consultation exercise and specify the extent of the response
• identify and score both those ideas which were suggested and those which emerged
• set out an implementation plan with target timelines

The Community Action Plan will be designed and printed professionally and distributed to active participants in the Community Engagement and Stakeholder Consultation. Any resident may request a copy, and a digital version will be readable and downloadable from our website.

This website will allow for easy monitoring of progress with the selected projects, with regular updates.

Having a completed Consultation and Action Plan will not rule out support for other proposals which may arise later, so long as there is a fit with the community’s stated preferences. Things evolve, and new ideas will always emerge

Moy Bridge on the Caledonian Canal