History of Community Engagement

Following the establishment of the Oatlands Steering Group in 1999, a series of smaller, less formal, meetings between the Council’s lead officer and community representatives was held. Mutual trust was established and the way forward was agreed, contained in the Action Plan & Design Guide.  The proposals were twice the subject of well-publicised public consultation exercises which further refined the provisions of the plan.

Specific feedback was given by members of the community on matters such as house types, road alignments, community facilities and development style/architectural character, and the preferences of the local people were incorporated in the Action Plan & Design Guide.

The "Blue Hut" in Wolseley Street, the location for many Steering Group meetings over the years, as it looked before the regeneration scheme started.

Throughout the long, difficult, and sometimes frustrating process of translating the agreed plans into reality which followed, the community representatives made a positive contribution at the many meetings in the Oatlands Community Resource Centre (the “Blue Hut”) in Wolseley Street . Delays were questioned and the development partners were held to account.

Very importantly, local residents continued to ensure that the area is kept in good order, partly through their own efforts and partly through pressure on the authorities.  The whole process of involving local people in the project has been selected as an example of good practice for inclusion in the Scottish Executive’s Planning Advice Note on Community Engagement.

In addition to attending meetings of the Oatlands Steering Group, local tenants were actively involved in the detailed design of the new social-rented houses through a Tenants’ Design Group. Through many hours of discussion between the tenants and the housing providers, the preferences of the eventual house occupants were reflected as far as possible in the housing plans. All concerned with the regeneration of Oatlands are very mindful of the enormous amount of time and hard work that local community members have devoted to the project, entirely on a voluntary basis.

A more long-lasting legacy for local people will be the establishment of a community trust (or similar organisation) to own and manage the area’s community facility.