Two sites within the Townhead Road and Noran Avenue areas have been transformed and brought back into use after recent partnership working between the local community and the Rotary Club of Arbroath. The areas were previously derelict, and substantial hardscaping work has been done. The community groups continue to seek volunteers to help with the remaining work. Planting is about to begin and the site will be accessible to the community to use. A polytunnel is now in place to allow planting for use within the garden.
The current participating residents and members of the Rotary Club are shown in the photos following the handover of the site on Friday 26 August 2022. We donated the land for use by the groups and our Communities team has been providing ongoing hep with the project and we’ll continue to support the community as the work progresses.
Scotland’s Census is the official count of every person and household in the country. The answers people give to census questions help build up a picture of the population, and government and other service providers rely on census data to make important decisions. Scotland’s next census will be held on Sunday 20 March 2022.
To ensure everyone is counted in Angus our Communities Team along with the Vibrant Communities department will become a ‘census partner’ with core responsibility to let citizens know how, when, and where to complete the census questionnaire.
To maximise response the Communities Team will be working with partners who have contact with 12 target groups identified by the Scottish Government including people who are digitally excluded, minority ethnic, veterans, disabled, and LGBTQ+.
Along with the national multimedia, news, letters, and postcards going out to every household between 14 February and 20 March the Communities Team will support through local engagement for those targeted groups:
Letting people know that the census is coming.
Explaining what the census is and what the benefits are.
Letting everyone know when they need to complete the census.
Ensuring people know where they can find help and support when completing the census
James Anderson is a teenager who works very hard for his Friockheim community by helping others, from salting the pavements and cleaning the park in his village to giving anti-bullying talks. He is involved in various voluntary projects and initiatives and demonstrates real active citizenship.
He got involved in the Adopt-A-Street scheme for litter picking. His initiative was then extended to Friockheim Park and he created a Facebook page to let people know about the park’s amenities.
Keep Scotland Beautiful then selected Friockheim Park to be a Litter Picking Community Hub to help tackle lockdown litter. The Keep Scotland Beautiful scheme aims to help communities that are frustrated by litter worsening during, and following the easing of, lockdown.
The new hub is now offering to lend new litter pickings kits to individuals and community groups. The kits contain litter pickers, gloves, bag hoops, and hi-vis vests to help people take part in a litter pick.
James will hopefully get some more volunteers kitted out for his litter picks – these are usually advertised on the Parks Facebook. The local playgroup has already shown an interest and that would be an interesting outing for them! Some individuals have also agreed to become part of this community programme.
Arbroath Community Housing Team recently agreed to help out with storage for the community equipment and a lock-up is now available for storage and as a meeting point.
The equipment will be loaned to any interested volunteers and James wants to encourage this. You can contact James at jsa2003@btinternet.com or by calling 07517567518.
Do not be surprised if you get a recorded message saying “James’ Bin Washing Services” as he still manages to fit this sideline into his hectic schedule!!
More about James
James was diagnosed with Autism at the beginning of 2012. He was finding it hard going at school but in later years at Carnoustie High he matured and on leaving at 15 he then was able to attend Angus College in Arbroath studying Hospitality and Professional Cookery – completing before lockdown. James then managed to get part-time employment in an initially temporary role with ASDA (Arbroath) as a janitor/cleaner and he is enjoying that new challenge which, due to his performance, has now become a stable part of his life.
James as a teenager was always bored and wanting something to do. He had a great concern for the community as a whole and the vulnerable groups within. Through Enable Scotland in 2018 he was chosen to speak about his experiences at the United Nations in Geneva where he talked about children’s rights and cyberbullying – he was a ‘Change Champion’.
Even though now working, his volunteering has increased – officially over 500 hours and probably well over 1000! After his 16th birthday, we supplied him with an industrial salt spreader and PPE to compliment the equipment donated by Shepherds and Guild Homes the year before. He was disappointed with the mild weather we had last winter and looks forward to continuing with the village pavement salt spreading later in the year. James manages to grit the pavements of Friockheim before most of us have our first cup of tea! James knows the Roads and Housing teams well and they are only too aware of his continuing requests for salt (NO salt/sand mix please!)
Still with Angus Carers but limited due to COVID he intends to become an ‘official’ volunteer obtaining PVG and various training – he sees this as only right for all the help given to him and his family due to his autism. He enjoys helping others wither the ‘young ones’ or the community as a whole. His next planned personal improvement booked for the beginning of December is completing his three day ‘First Aid at Work’ course which he will see as an asset for others when he is in a volunteering role.
Other volunteering involved assisting at various local church events and Friockheim Community Hub. In the wider community, he can include stints at events such as Party at Pitskelly, Johnshaven Fish Festival & both Montrose and Forfar Triathalons. He also assisted his father in volunteering and raking the bunkers at Montrose Golf Courses on a Sunday morning before play started during the summer!
His Adopt a Street project is continuing and his work in the park has taken off dramatically! James was able to get substantial quantities of disinfectant from various suppliers F.O.C. just having to pay for delivery. He uses this to clean equipment in the park three or four times a week. He carries out litter picking almost daily and has a supply of litter pickers on hand should anyone wish to become involved.
Most recently, James was also pleased to have been nominated in different categories of the Angus Youth awards 2020 and very proud to have come in as the winner of the COVID 19 category as well as the winner of the Environment / Heritage category.
If you live in Angus you can have a say in how £200,000 of funding will be spent in your area when voting opens on Saturday 8 February for the 114 projects that have made the final stage of Participatory Budgeting.
To find out more about the 114 projects see the Shaping Angus website.
There’s funding available for projects in four localities in Angus:
• Forfar and Kirriemuir
• Carnoustie/Monifeith and Sidlaws
• Brechin and Montrose
• Arbroath
How to vote
Vote online on the Shaping Angus site -between 7am and 10pm.
Vote in person at the venues below – these will be open between 10am and 2pm
Hard Edges Scotland was commissioned by Lankelly Chase and The Robertson Trust and authored by Heriot-Watt University. The research highlights the complexity of the lives of people facing multiple disadvantage in Scotland.
It also details the challenges that charitable services and the public sector are facing. In particular, the report illustrates the mismatch between the multiple disadvantages people face, and the fact that services are often set up to address ‘single issues’. The event is aimed at both service users and service providers to discuss how we can deliver services differently around the 5 key workshop themes of Offending, Homelessness, Substance Abuse, Mental Health and Domestic Abuse.
Each of the workshops will have a facilitator to lead discussions and participants will have the opportunity to attend all five. There will also be a cartoonist on the day to capture feedback and provide a lasting and unique educational recording of the agreed actions.
The Arbroath event will be repeated in a further two events to be held in Brechin and Forfar, dates and venues are yet to be confirmed, so that a large audience across Angus will have the opportunity to take part.
The Forfar Community Network is open to anyone living in Forfar and brings together all Tenant Participation and Action groups in the area, including the Lordburn, Restenneth and Pitreuchie Action Group.
If you’d like to get involved in local issues, activities or just meet people and try something new, come along to your local community group.
Two forthcoming meetings are:
Forfar Community Network: 7 pm on Tuesday 17 September 2019 at Montrose Road Centre, Montrose Road, Forfar; and
Lordburn, Restenneth and Pitreuchie Action Group: 7 pm on Wednesday 25 September 2019 at Montrose Road Centre, Montrose Road, Forfar
Viewmount Voices community group held an Estate Walkabout this week which attracted many local residents. The group is supported by the local community officer and they invited Council officers to answer lots of questions from local people. There were many concerns, issues and ideas for future development raised which the Viewmount Voices group will consider at their next meeting on Tuesday 16 October at 6.30pm at the Glensview Community Flat.
Below are photographs of some the Viewmount walkabout:
In September and October, MS Society Scotland will deliver Virtual Living Well with MS sessionswhich offer the chance to meet other people living with the condition. The sessions are an opportunity to have a chat, reflect on and share experience.
The virtual sessions will take place over 4 weeks.
We’re inviting all tenants and residents of Viewmount to an Estate Walkabout at 4.30pm on Tuesday 10 September, starting at the Steele Park. See below poster for details.
Angus Council Housing News 