We Asked, You Said, We Will

Introduction

The community’s interest in developing an action plan was initially sparked by a local survey carried out by the Covid Resilience group. It identified various areas that the community might want to develop including growing spaces.

To do this several engagement methods were used including:

• An online survey that was hosted on Engage Aberdeenshire in June 2022. Paper copies were also made available in local facilities - 82 responses received
• The survey was promoted at the Queens Jubilee event on 4th June to encourage people to respond
• Young people and mums attending the community café took part in a “sticky dot” exercise to identify their priorities for action
• A Community Engagement Event was held at Ritchie Hall on 1st of October 2022
• A survey based on all the ideas identified in the Engage Aberdeenshire survey was distributed at the Christmas Tree Switch on

We asked

The residents of Strichen to provide their thoughts on things like facilities and amenities, play and recreation, public transport, streets and spaces, housing, social contact, and other aspects of living in Strichen which are relevant to them. The survey was based on the Place Standard Tool that asks 14 questions about the quality of the physical and social elements of a place. Those taking part were asked to rate their place on a scale of 1 to 7, where 1 is a lot of room for improvement and 7 no room for improvement.

You said

The diagram below graphically illustrates where Strichen scored well (towards the edge of the circle) and where there is room for improvement (nearer to the centre). This was based on the 82 responses to the survey.

Summary of findings

The Survey results, indicate that Strichen has many areas and assets that the local community rate highly including moving around, public transport, natural spaces, facilities and amenities, housing and economy, social interaction, identity and belonging and feeling safe. The services and places that got a particular mention as being assets to the village were the Community Park, Library, Town House, and the Sharing Larder. Whilst the intention of the engagement exercises was to support the creation of a Community Action Plan for Strichen, this will not be developed at this time.

We will

There were two major areas that scored poorly: traffic and parking along with play and recreation. The concerns around traffic and parking are being reviewed by Aberdeenshire Council and Strichen Community Council are gathering comments to feed into a review of the current traffic management system within Strichen.

While there is lots of great work going on outdoors the need to provide improved play facilities for children is an area for improvement that the community can if they wish to, tackle on their own or with support with Community Planning Partners.

The Engage Survey also highlighted issues some of which were already being addressed. While social media is used effectively to share information, the village also has a comprehensive community newsletter that keeps the local community up to date with what’s going on called “Strichen Spikin”. Strichen Spikin includes information and updates from community groups, the church, library, and the local school.

To view details about our work around developing the Aberdeenshire Autism Strategy, please visit https://engage.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/towards-an-autism-strategy-for-aberdeenshire

To help us develop Aberdeenshire’s Autism Strategy, we coordinated and delivered an Engagement Phase to seek the views from people of Aberdeenshire. Our main purpose was to find out – What should be in the next Aberdeenshire Autism Strategy?

The Engagement Phase of our Strategy began in April 2022 and ended in September 2022. During this period, we carried out various engagement work with members of the public, professionals and other organisations. We reached out and engaged in discussions with children, young people and adults. We also engaged with parents, carers of autistic individuals and representatives from partners, such as the NHS and from third sector organisations.

We welcomed especially autistic individuals and individuals who self-identify as autistic to take part in our discussions.

We asked

Stakeholders were asked to reflect on the following key areas in relation to support/services provided either by Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership or Aberdeenshire Council’s Education & Children’s Services.

1. What is currently working well?
2. What is currently working but needs some improvements?
3. What is currently not working well?
4. What are the gaps and barriers?
5. What needs to happen to improve planning, delivery of services and support for autistic children, autistic young people, autistic adults and older autistic adults in Aberdeenshire, and how?

We used the following communication methods:

• Online based discussion groups
• Online surveys
• Comment and feedback via email
• School pupils supported by staff to share their views
• Workings with families
• Use of social media
• Creation of a dedicated webpage
• Creation of a dedicated autism strategy email account

You said

• Total of 74 group participants attended across four online-based Themed discussion groups (A Healthy Life, Choice & Control, Independence and Active Citizenship). These groups met on a fortnightly basis. Attendance varied from week to week.
• Total of 10 individuals attended an autistic-led group.
• 9 individuals attended across four online based evening group sessions.
• 25 online surveys were submitted.
• Aberdeenshire Council schools - through the teachers and with their support, we asked the school aged children and young persons to complete an online survey. 33 surveys were completed.
• 1:1 feedbacks were received by email.

What we did/will do

We analysed all the responses, feedback, comments and data given, and we identified the following seven key themes which have been incorporated into the Autism Strategy Report and Action Plan:

1. Whole Lifespan – Meeting the needs of autistic people from birth to death by supporting them to access appropriate support and services from our organisations, third sector and from the wider community.
2. Diagnostic Pathways (Children, Young People, Adults and Older Adults): Supporting the delivery of a clear autistic assessment pathway and transitions process.
3. Training - Supporting training, learning and development to improve knowledge and understanding for those who work in Aberdeenshire Council’s Education and Children’s Services and Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership who support autistic people.
4. Lifelong Learning – Delivering inclusive support wherever learning takes place
5. Employment – Enhancing employment opportunities and pathways to enhance the skills and experiences of autistic people.
6. Connecting: Keeping autistic people and their families connected to information and their communities.
7. Community: Building a community that is inclusive, accepting and knowledgeable.

Our Action Plan sets out our strategic aims, actions and outcomes.

Ready2Go Survey for Children and Young People

This survey was aimed at children and young people of school age who live in the Ready2Go Around Inverurie bus service operating area. A map of the area can be found on the Council’s website at Ready2Go around Inverurie - Aberdeenshire Council.

The Council pays for some bus services which included Ready2Go Around Inverurie which was run by Watermill Coaches. Ready2Go was a new type of bus service that was being tested, and has now ended.

We think the Council may have less money to pay for buses next year so we need to decide on which bus services should operate. We also want to plan bus services for future years.

You helped by telling us how you travel and what you think about Ready2Go. We wanted to know whether people like this type of bus service which must be booked, which is different to most other bus services that have a timetable and a fixed route.

The survey closed on Tuesday 3rd January 2023.

We asked

• When and why Ready2Go customers use the service
• If customers enjoy using the Ready2Go service
• Whether customers use the Ready2Go service alone or with an adult
• Given the option in future of one or the other, whether customers would prefer a timetabled bus service or a demand responsive service like Ready2Go
• How many days customers used the service on average every week
• How customers usually book a Ready2Go bus
• Which other bus services customers frequently use
• What alternative modes of getting to places customers use

You said

• 65.6% of respondents used Ready2Go.
• Respondents used the service for a variety of reasons, predominantly to meet with friends or family, to go to leisure or sports activities, go shopping and to go to/from school.
• 51.6% liked using the Ready2Go bus compared to 22.2% of respondents who sometimes liked it and sometimes not. 4.5% have indicated that they did not like the service.
• 53.6% of people told us that they mostly or always travelled alone compared to 12.1% who mostly or always travelled with an adult.
• 71.6% would prefer a bus like Ready2Go compared to 25.2% who would prefer a timetabled service. 13.1% are uncertain which one they would prefer.
• Most respondents told us that they used the service on two or more days per week.
• 59.7% of respondents told us that they used the Ready2Go app to book their journey compared to 2.2% who phoned in to book.
• Survey respondents told us that they use a variety of other bus services such as service 9, 10, 22, 37, 240 and 421.

We did

• The evaluation of the Ready2Go service after it ceases on April 2^nd, 2023
• A forthcoming review of the Council’s passenger transport strategy
• The planning of future Council-funded bus services in Aberdeenshire

A full report on the survey is available here: - Ready2Go Survey for Children and Young People Full Survey Analysis

We asked

In 2020 the Aberdeenshire Community Planning Partnership identified Health and Wellbeing as one of its priorities. One of the strands of this work is Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL) We all know that keeping healthy means eating well and keeping active. We also know that this can sometimes be hard for all sorts of reasons. We worked with communities to find out what keeps people well and what challenges they have, and then building on the skills and expertise of communities to work with services to help make Aberdeenshire a healthier place for everyone.

For a full report of the engagement please see https://engage.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/heal

The engagement consisted of 3 phases

Phase 1 – asset mapping around what helps and what makes it hard for people to keep active and eat well. Using a survey, pop up stalls and meetings with groups this phase was intended to involve a broad cross section of the population as well targeting particular groups identified as more likely to struggle with HEAL

Phase 2 – further exploration of key themes coming out of phase 1 through focus groups and online forums.

Phase 3 – community members and service representatives working together to discuss and make recommendations for the HEAL action plan through a mini public process

You said

There is much to build on in terms of what is valued – our parks, beaches and countryside - and other local assets – shops, food networks, community groups and community activists, and local knowledge and expertise.

Some groups struggle more to eat well and keep active than other groups, cutting across and compounding other inequalities

Cost, accessibility, mental health/wellbeing and education/self management were seen as the main causes of not eating well and keeping active.

Ongoing community engagement was valued as a way of improving understanding of community priorities and also as a way of involving communities in bringing about change

The mini public working with service representatives identified priority action areas largely in line with rest of engagement. They also emphasised the need for clarity, simplicity and an awareness of how language can reinforce health messaging

We did

We reported back to the HEAL strategic planning group with recommendations on the action plan. The next step for the SPG will be to agree the HEAL action plan for the next 3 years. The group will then move to focussing on delivering the plan with specific contributions by organisations and services to implement the actions effectively. The HEAL actions will be monitored and evaluated to ensure that the plan is making a positive difference for communities in Aberdeenshire to eat healthily and to be active.

We reported back to communities and local community planning groups –. Working with and through our communities will continue to be a key focus of the HEAL action plan. Local community groups will be updated on the progress of the plan and involved in exploring solutions to HEAL issues

Public Health to lead on ongoing engagement as detailed in actions. Ongoing involvement with communities was a key action to emerge from community engagement process on how best improve HEAL in Aberdeenshire communities. This will continue to be a vital part of the work going forward.

View detail about the engagement - engage.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/inspiring-aberdeenshire-2022

We asked

You to nominate people across Aberdeenshire who go above and beyond for their communities. We asked for nominations across eight different award categories.

You said

We received lots of varied nominations, and it was wonderful to read so many stories of people and groups who make a difference across Aberdeenshire through their dedication and passion.

We did

Our panel of judges met to review all the nominations received and selected our finalists for 2022. We created short films about our finalists to share their work and showcased this as part of the awards ceremony held in October 2022, where we announced our winners. We then held a civic reception for the winners in November 2022 at Meldrum House Hotel, officially handing over their awards.

We sought your views about bus services to the Insch area. Our survey included questions about the Ready2Go Around Inverurie service which was introduced in August 2021 to replace timetabled journeys on Service 41 (Insch – Inverurie). Further information about Ready2Go can be found at Ready2Go bus services - Aberdeenshire Council

The survey was open to anyone but was aimed at bus users with experience of Ready2Go and/or bus service 41 for travel between Insch, or nearby settlements, and Inverurie.

The survey closed on Sunday, 30 October 2022. The full analysis report is available to view.

View detail about the consultation - Clerkhill Shopping Precinct, Peterhead - Public Realm | Engage Aberdeenshire

In the summer of 2022, two engagement surveys on the potential public real improvements work were launched. One survey was for the local community, the other for businesses in the Precinct (including owners, operators and staff).

What you said:

There were 177 respondents from the community and an additional five business respondents. The majority of the 139 respondents who gave their postcodes were AB42 residents. The postcode area with the highest response rate was AB42 2 with 96 identified respondents.

Other demographic questions were asked namely age of respondents and whether respondents identified as having a disability. These were felt to be important to the project due to the challenges of the site, especially for anyone with restricted mobility.

The number of younger respondents was low and the number of respondents identifying as having a disability was low. It should be noted that demographic or ‘About you’ questions are entirely voluntary. There may be more younger respondents or respondents with disabilities, but this cannot be known for sure.

People were asked to rate Clerkhill Shopping Precinct public realm on four themes from the Place Standard. The Place Standard tool asks people to rate their places on a scale of one to seven, where one means lots of improvement is required and seven means very little improvement is required.

On three themes the public realm at Clerkhill Shopping Precinct scored three out of seven and in the remaining theme scored four out of seven. This would suggest the community believe there is considerable room for improvement at the site.

It should also be noted that there were many positive comments about the businesses in the area and how important the services on offer are to the local community.

You can see below a summary of the priority actions from the engagement as well as information on issues identified that are not part of the project.

What we did/ will do:

Aberdeenshire Council considered all the feedback along with the findings of ground investigations work which took place in autumn 2022.

All this information is being used to work on designs for public realm improvements. In 2023 there will be a further opportunity to engage with the community and businesses on the designs. Opportunities to get involved in the engagement will appear on Engage Aberdeenshire and be publicised at Clerkhill Road Shopping Precinct.

Comments on the Place Standard ratings highlighted the most important issues. The community responses also prioritised specific potential changes that could be made. By combing these findings, the following priority actions can be identified from the engagement:

Not all community feedback can be dealt with by the scope of this improvement project. These are the key issues raised which won't be part of the Public Realm project:

View detail about the consultation - Insch - Strategic Needs Assessment | Engage Aberdeenshire

The project was to carry out a Strategic Review of the Health and Social Care needs for residents of Insch and the surrounding area, to develop options for a model of service delivery which is effective, sustainable and fit for the future. An essential element of the review was to gain the views and opinions of the community, this was achieved in 3 three phases:

1) Registration of Interest

We Asked - the community to register their interest by providing contact information if they wished to participate in the engagement activities

You Said - 1,365 people were interested in finding out more and being involved

We Did – an on-line and postal survey to gather information

2) Survey

We Asked – people to provide information on their experience and opinions of current health and social care services, and views on future health and social care needs

You Said - 960 people completed the survey, providing 3,059 individual comments

We Did – analysis of the information which identified topics and areas of importance that were then used to inform; the Strategic Needs Assessment report and the themes for focus group discussions

3) Focus Groups

We Asked – people to attend on-line and in-person focus groups to participate in more in-depth discussions on the themes highlighted by the survey, i.e what the local hospital means to the community, functional issues with current building, and what services would support the future needs of the community

You Said – 107 people attended the focus groups, providing 849 comments

We Did – further analysis on the views and feedback to help further shape the Strategic Needs Assessment report. The report then informed and supported the Options Appraisal process undertaken by stakeholders from the community, staff and management which resulted in a number of delivery option models to be considered

View detail about the consultations - Local Development Plan 2027 | Engage Aberdeenshire

We Asked

In preparation for the Development Plan Scheme, to be published in December 2022, the Planning and Economy Development Plan team has conducted a number of surveys with the general public, Community Councils, the Youth Forum, infrastructure providers and development interests to inform and engage on the options available for preparation of the next Local Development Plan. These surveys have been supported by audio-visual presentations and focused meetings.

You Said (as at Aug 2022)

While responses have been limited, there is a consensus emerging on key issues regarding how that plan is to be produced.

We Will

The Development Plan Scheme will reflect the above consensus on key issues when it is published, initially for consideration by Area Committees and latterly by Aberdeenshire Council.

View detail about the consultation - Aberdeenshire Council Archaeology Service | Engage Aberdeenshire

We Asked

How residents and visitors view, value and experience the historic environment and heritage of the region? The survey aimed to:

• discover more about which sites in Aberdeenshire people feel connected to or consider to be the most important to them
• understand how people engage with heritage and the historic environment
• find out if people know about the Council’s Archaeology Service and how we currently promote the historic environment
• help guide future directions for promotion of the historic environment by the Archaeology Service

You Said

- The majority of respondents knew that Aberdeenshire Council has an Archaeology Service, and over half were aware of at least one aspect of the promotional activities of the Archaeology Service.
- Most people agreed or strongly agreed that Heritage & the Historic Environment make a positive difference to their lives.
- Almost half of all those responding regularly participate in historic environment / heritage activities.

We Will

- Do more to promote Aberdeenshire Council Archaeology Service and its existing resources.
- Take the responses into consideration when prioritising the team’s future promotional activities (social media posts, leaflet themes, interpretation boards).
- Continue to support and promote engagement with historic environment and heritage activities throughout Aberdeenshire.

Please view the one-page summary. Full report available at the consultation link above.