Community Councils to take over NICE?

We reported just before Christmas how NICE is aiming for Development Trust Status to pro-actively take forward town centre issues. Interestingly at the West CC meeting last week Jimmy Ferguson, during discussion on regaining democratic control of the Common Good Fund, asserted that NICE was moving in a direction where they might seek to take ownership of community assets. He went further and indicated that, “the three Community Councils need to take ownership of NICE.”

It does seem a very sensible move to this observer, maybe this is the drift of current thinking within NICE?

Community Councils, first up in 2012...

Will be the West CC. They have a meeting in the Community Centre on Wednesday the 4th at 7.30 p.m. The Westies will be talking about the Sandown Lands, Traffic Lights, Bus Routes and the Town Centre.
Obviously the West are not confining their discussions to their own patch and their advert also invites residents of any part of Nairn to attend. This observer would anticipate NICEafarian input on the subject of the Town Centre. It should be an interesting meeting.

"Scotland's community council network 'dying' "

"Scotland's network of community councils could be "dead" within 10 years, the president of the charity that represents the bodies has warned.

Vincent Waters said the councils would cease to exist "by default" unless younger members became involved.

A fifth of Scotland's 1,514 community councils are currently suspended because of a lack of interest, research by the BBC has found.

Of the active ones, nine out of 10 are formed without elections." And there's more here on the BBC site.

Things here in Nairn aren't as bad as the general picture in Scotland but Nairnshire East Community Council couldn't find enough people to continue and in the town the ballot papers will be counted this week to see who is elected for Suburban and West Community Councils. Under the old rules River CC would have had an election if there were over five candidates but Highland Council recently moved the goalposts and the number of candidates triggering an election was upped to 11, thus there being only nine people wishing to stand there was no election. This observer stood for the community council and must admit wondering if there is any value in proceeding as an community councillor who got in with 0 votes - in effect self-appointed really and perhaps the following paragraph/comment from the BBC report could stick hard and fast if thrown enough times - similar comments have been made to me personally:

"And then you can have a community council next door where it's half a dozen or so of the weel kent local worthies whose interests are their own interests."

wee update: Decided not to participate when the new River CC is constituted by the Returning Officer on 13th December. I just feel it inappropriate to proceed with a tally of 0 votes - informed the HC official respopnsible for the election of that .

"Relevance of Community Councils"

There was an interesting editorial in the Inverness Courier on Friday – It isn’t online yet which is a bit of a shame but long gone are the days when the Scottish Provincial Press journals in the North would put everything out online almost immediately. The article commenced by referring to the demise of Inverness South and Merkinch community capitals in the Highland Capital. Although Nairnshire East didn’t attract enough candidates in time there was no such problem here in the town itself and Nairn will now have a minimum of 27 community councilors spread over River, West & Suburban. Let’s turn for a moment, however to the content of the Courier’s editorial.

“A common theme emerging from community councillors themselves is that they no longer feel they are taken notice of. They complain that much time and effort is put into gathering local views only for their recommendations to be ignored by decision making bodies such as Highland Council. This is in large part due to the lack of statutory powers granted to community councils and is something that should be addressed by the Scottish Government if it is serious about involving people in the democratic process. While we wait for central government to act, if it ever does, Highland Council could make a difference now by finding new ways of including community councils in the decision making process. After all, these volunteers often provide the truest reflection of community opinion and as such deserve not only to have their views taken seriously but also acted upon”

The sentiment expressed in that article would find much support in Nairn. It is not only the community councils that feel ignored sometimes but the population too. The large number of people willing to put themselves forwards indicates to this observer that a lot of people are fairly p****** off and want to have a voice. They want to do something for the community. This observer would venture a mantra that would perhaps also find an echo with some of the candidates: “The sort of town we want, not what the Highland Council or developers or even the Scottish Government want.”

Once the new make-up of the three community councils is established next month then this observer anticipates some interesting initiatives emerging from within the three councils themselves and through the “(Royal Burgh of) Nairn Community Council Forum.” Interesting times indeed for the existing Highland Councillors and whoever is elected/re-elected to serve another 4 years at Glenurquhart Road. They will soon have a busload of community council activists watching their performance.

Maximising benefit for the Council

The Courier has their eye on the town centre redevelopment plans and has quotes today from Dick Youngson, Tommy Hogg and Rosemary Young. All three of them make a plea for the retention of the former social work building. Worries abound in the town that these fine buildings could end up being destroyed as part of the Highland Council sell-off. A Highland Council spokesperson is quoted as saying there was no price tag on the buildings and the value to a prospective purchaser would depend on the proposed use. “But we would seek to maximise the income to the council and will consider all offers,” he added

Maximising income to the Council – that proves more than ever that we need more control over our own affairs. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the spokesman (no name given) had said that they were out to maximise income for the Community or for a top-up to the Common Good fund?

Let us once again quote the wisdom Alistair Noble on Wednesday night on this issue:

“Alistair Noble expressed to the meeting his desire to see things done in a different fashion: “Before we sell things, let’s look at other ways and this Community Interest Company can be a vehicle to use the Common Good assets properly, and still retain the ownership.” Alistair thought it would be a disastrous mistake for the Highland Council’s 76 Councillors to sell off the properties. See more in the Gurn article below.

Elections - The usual suspects are going to go forth and multiply

When the dust settles on the 16th of November Nairn will be represented by at least 27 community councillors with the possibility that the new councils may co-opt further members too.

River will be returned without an election and will have nine members, you can see who got on there on this document*. The candidates for Nairn Suburban are listed here - pick any 10 from the 11 on the coupon. Over in the West pick any 8 from 11 when you get the ballot paper.

Here's the Cawdor and West Nairnshire list and Auldearn here too, East Nairnshire will not have a community council according to the Highland Council press release, there will also be some big gaps in Inverness where not enough candidates came forward. If this proves anything it demonstrates that Nairn is a caring community where sufficient people are willing to put themselves forward for these unpaid roles on the Community Councils. You can show your support for them Gurnites, by voting in the elections and supporting the councils in their work.

*The Gurnmeister notes that River CC have no members elected from those who live on the east side of the river, their territory takes in the Lochloy schemes, Broad Hill and Boath Park, so maybe there is the potential there yet for a couple of folk from those areas to be co-opted on to take the total number of usual suspects beyond 30? And if you add the other out of town councillors to the total too then it looks like there will be nearly enough Nairnshire representitives to fill a bus should the need ever arise.

Young people for Nairn's Community Councils?

Will Nairn 16-17 year olds stand for the elections in November? The Highland Council would like to see that happen. Here's some information they have published:

For the first time in the Highlands, 16 and 17-year-olds will be able to seek election to their local Community Council.

The change is a key feature of a new scheme for the establishment of Community Councils agreed by The Highland Council earlier this year.

Another first is that Community Council elections will take place across the Highlands on the same day - Wednesday 16 November - in instances where the number of candidates exceeds the number of places available.

If there were elections in each of the 153 Highland Community Councils, there would be 1,322 Community Councillors elected.

To be eligible to stand, young people need to complete a voter registration form and submit it to the Electoral Registration Officer before 31 August.

Voter registration forms and copies of the scheme for the establishment of Community Councils can be downloaded here. Forms can also be obtained from any Service Point, or by telephoning the Council’s Service Centre (Tel 01349 886606).

Convener Councillor Sandy Park said: “Community Councils will benefit hugely from the involvement of young people. The Highland Youth Voice, the youth parliament for the Highlands, has shown the very valuable contribution young people can make to the policy making and decision taking process.

“I would encourage young people with an interest in serving their local Community Council to complete a voter registration form by 31 August to ensure their eligibility. We will be actively promoting Community Council elections in our 29 secondary schools once pupils return from their summer break.”

Scottish Community Councils Association to close

There's no doubt that the Community Councils are a very important part of the fabric of our community and regular readers here will be well aware of their constant efforts on our behalf in Nairnshire. Undoubtedly the problems experienced here in Nairn as the community fights to get back power lost to the centralising local authority will be mirrored across Scotland. It is a pity then to hear that the Association of Scottish Community Councils is to close following Scottish Government cutbacks.

The Association has issued an outspoken attack on John Swinney, they say:

"1200 Community Councils in Scotland are now without a collective voice, and a national presence. It seems the unkept promises to Community Councils from the Government’s 2007 Manifesto were only the beginning. Mr Swinney has just given the best possible gift to the bureaucrats and politicians who have resented and marginalised Community Councils since they were established in 1973."

It does seem a shame that there will no longer be a full-time resource for the likes of our hard working Community Councillors in Nairn to refer to when they need quick help and advice. It's all down to cash now it seems. You can read the full press release from the ASCC here.

Monday night in the Community Centre - an historic event awaits?

Is this the start of something big? Will it be the birth of an organisation that will be capable of fighting for a fair deal for Nairn in the face of the Invercentric powers that be?

Or will it be just another talking-shop disaster movie in the making? We should know by the end of the first session.

Up for discussion are several topics that affect the whole town, including, Affordable Housing, Wastebutsters, Traffic lights on the A96 and Transport. Health and support organisations. Proposals for future meetings will be discussed. The advert in the Nairnshire states "Members of the public welcome." Why not get along and see what the community councillors of Nairn will say on your behalf.

The Inaugrual Combined Meeting of Nairn Community Councils (River, Suburban & West) in the Community and Arts Centre Monday July 11th at 7.30 p.m.

One day you might be able to tell your grandchildren that you were there!

New Highland Community Council funding scheme “a disaster for the more rural, fragile, peripheral communities”?

Recently the Highland Council published the new funding figures for the Highland area’s 156 Community Councils, here’s how the local councils fared with the redistribution of the annual budget for these local watchdog organisations.

Auldearn: up £12.28 (from £1110.72 to £1123.00)

Cawdor and West Nairnshire: up £170.95 (from £1110.72 to £1281.68)

East Nairnshire: down £42.10 (from £1110.72 to £1068.62)

Nairn Suburban: up £848.78 (from £1110.72 to £1959.50)

Nairn West: up £53.10 (from £1110.72 to £1163.82)

Nairn River: up £1477.03 (from £1110.72 to £2587.75)

There’s no new money in total just a re-gig of the hand-outs. The Council states:

“The total amount of grants to be distributed remains at £207,413 but the future share out will remove large variations in payments across the Highlands and align payments with actual running costs of Community Councils.”

Locally everyone seems to be doing better apart from East Nairnshire but when you compare the starting cost of your average Highland Councillor at £15,000 you can see how paltry this funding is. One regular Gurnite who has a passing interest in local CC affairs is thinking a bit beyond the parochial gains however, and told the Gurn:

“We can see what the new formulae would deliver for Nairn's three CCs. But the really serious issue is illustrated in the comments in the webcast of the Council debate (at which incidentally no Nairn councillor spoke). In a nutshell, the new scheme, because it allocates money essentially on the basis of population/electorate, gives big money to the densely-populated geographically-small areas (like Nairn River, the biggest winner of all, and some of the Inverness suburbs) and cuts savagely (up to 30%) the remoter, thinly-populated, and rural parishes from Badenoch and Strathspey to the Western Highlands and the Isles.

Forget Nairn for a moment. This is a disaster for the more rural, fragile, peripheral communities where CCs play a much more crucial role than they do in the urban centres, and where the actual costs (travel etc) even of holding meetings are much higher. Individually and collectively, these areas get much less money while the urban areas get more.”

Our correspondent continued: “ I suppose we could say 'it's not our problem'. Nairn as such doesn't come out of it badly. But once again the Council officials have come up with a crude, simplistic, unimaginative blunt instrument of a funding formula which - because it is population based - has the effect of weakening regional communities and strengthening the centralisation of political and social activity. And, even when the shortcomings of this were pointed out at the Council meeting by reps from the rural areas (who argued for a rethink and fuller consultation), the Council heavy-hitters, almost all Inverness-based, voted such a deferral down and forced through a decision based on the proposal as tabled. Another example of the Inverness-centric mentality working to the detriment of the rest of the region? Or maybe just a lack of imagination or willingness to explore what one Councillor called for: a more nuanced formula which gives more weight, in the allocation of money, to the need to support the more "fragile" and rural communities.”

To this observer the cash based on population figures just demonstrates how imbalanced and foolish it is to have three community councils in Nairn, with River being far bigger and more powerful than the other two councils. It’s crazy, we should have a single Community Council but the Highland powers that be refused to listen to public opinion and representations from Nairn. In the meantime we will have the Community Council Forum however, which will meet for the first time on Monday the 11^th of July, details and agenda to be announced soon. Meanwhile how will this cash disparity actually affect the situation on the ground in Nairn? Again our correspondent has a view:

“I do worry that the massive disparities in budgetary allocations within this small town and community have the potential to sow dissension and discontent. At least until now each CC, and the various parts of the town have been on a level playing field, and the CC money has been essentially for running-costs plus the odd leaflet exercise. Now it is a different ball-game, because the new funding regime implies that (some) CCs will be expected to develop and implement community projects. That's why they get the "per capita" allocation based on population numbers.”

We’ll see what happens but this observer would suggest that it might be worth attending the first combined meeting of River, Suburban and West on the 11^th. An historic occasion if nothing else, where we may just get some co-ordinated thinking and action on some of the problems facing us.

Disquiet about format of meeting for CC’s organised by Highland Council

Tomorrow night (Tuesday) the future of how Community Councils in Nairn should be organised will be discussed in the Courthouse. Each Community Council is only allowed to take four members to the meeting and the public are excluded.

There was a call from the public benches for the River Council to boycott the meeting on account of the number restriction. Cllr Graham Marsden said the meeting had been organised in this way by Mr William Gillfinnan so as to be efficient. There was another call for all seven of River’s members to turn up anyway.

As regular readers will know this observer is a keen supporter of a single council for the Burgh but any reasonable person can only share the concerns of River CC. Why does this meeting need to be behind closed doors with the public excluded? Who is calling the shots here – the Community Councils that represent the people of Nairn or the Highland Council? Comparison was made of the large numbers that attend Ward Forums in the Courthouse without things becoming unmanageable

River Councillor Mike Henderson was incensed by the limit on numbers, he stated: “When we agreed to attend this meeting there was no restriction mentioned, this is building barriers before we even get there.”

How many Community Councils should there be in Nairn?

One more vote for that particular poll in the Gurn side-bar and over 200 will have demonstrated their intention
So far 74% of voters want a single council for Nairn. Those preferring the status quo have been overtaken by the "don't cares" at 11% and 12% respectively. Highland Council are you watching - will you give the people of Nairn the chance for a real vote on this?

Community Councils being ignored? - Stirrings of protest in the Highland Capital

Tory activist Liz Gilchrist carries another interesting article on her blog today. She has published a letter from Veronica Mitchell, Chair of Inverness South Community Council, in her intro to the letter Liz asks:

'Is nobody is listening to us? Or they are listening and will not compromise, as the developers have control. I’m afraid it does appear like that and as a result there is massive unrest in communties now.'

Here's a taste of the letter from Veronica:

'Why are public concerns and views being ignored? Why are local pressure groups being formed?Development must go forward but the Highland Council and the Councillors, who are elected into office by the local people, are not listening to the public. At best it is ‘lip service’ at worst we are just ignored. This happening throughout the country, why?
The Scottish Government has granted Community Councils the status of being statutory consultees, and should be recognised in their local area accordingly. The Highland Council may ask for the opinion of a Community Council but the comments do not appear to have any impact on decisions taken by the Highland Council.'

Is there a bandwagon of public protest gathering serious momentum in Inverness now?

Read more on Liz Gilchrist's blog.

Our Community Councillors - fantastic unpaid champions of Nairnshire

Discussion of youth matters at the Ward Forum spilled over into Community Council affairs on Wednesday night. Graham Vine told the meeting how the West Council had a co-opted member from Nairn Academy. Louise Clark of Highland Council was worried if that was actually permissible under current legislation. John Mackie of the Suburban Council assured her that it was and that in the Central Belt there were community councillors younger than 16. It seems a good idea to encourage young people to take part in this lowest level of our democratic system. Let’s hope that when we eventually get the single unitary Royal Burgh of Nairn Community Council there will be at least two or three places reserved for Academy pupils.

This is an ideal opportunity to bring a comment we received by e-mail recently into the conversation.
‘It is a wonder that given the level of activity, responsibility and dedication required of members of community councils that anyone would take on the unpaid role,’ was the opinion of one of our regular gurnite readers.
A very relevant point, having observed local government activities in Nairnshire for many years we are of the opinion that the workload of community councillors at least equals that of members of the former Nairn District Council. As our correspondent suggested our community councillors are unpaid and comparison has to be made here with what you get in terms of value for money from our four Highland Councillors. If you want to know what they cost you then have a look at this list of expenses.
We are extremely lucky to have these volunteers ready to give their time, for no charge, to the community.
The Suburban Community Council are still looking for candidates to stand for the forthcoming election, perhaps you may be considering it or maybe waiting until we get a single council for the town. Our correspondent has sent us a link to a page that explains the roles of Community Councillors and offers advice and information. Here’s the Association of Scottish Community Councils information web page.