Four housing and community organisations have collaborated to produce a booklet showcasing six examples of community led place making.

Produced by Development Trusts Association Scotland, Glasgow and West of Scotland Forum of Housing Associations, Highlands Small Communities Housing Trust and Scottish Federation of Housing Association, the booklet was produced as an action under the Joint Housing Delivery Plan – a collaboration between the Scottish Government and partner bodies from the housing and related sectors.

Five of the six case studies centre around new housing and one around a community woodland area:

In the booklet’s foreword, the four bodies say that on top of the long-established role of community led development by local housing associations, current policy direction – including community empowerment and land reform legislation – has been hugely encouraging for people who want to influence how their community develops as a place to live.

But, they say, there can sometimes be barriers too:

“Community empowerment tools have been put in place, but so too have many other policies which sit outside the direct community development sphere, and they have the potential to create a contradiction which can conflict with and constrain community-led place making within the planning system.

“If the relationship and level of priority between all the relevant policies are unclear, community led or community supported development will suffer and risk being lost in bureaucracy.”

Looking to the future the document strikes a positive note, saying that if policies are pro-development and have sufficient priority within the planning system, sitting alongside a strong support network that works effectively with planners and policy makers, Scotland can create the stronger and more viable communities which are essential for the country’s future prosperity.

See the document here.