Fraserburgh and District Partnership Place Plan

What you told us

The Banff and Buchan Local Community Planning Group - which brings together representatives from local community groups, alongside third sector and public sector partners is coordinating the development of a Fraserburgh and District Partnership Place Plan. The work is part of Aberdeenshire's Community Planning Partnership commitment to support the development of Partnership Place Plans across Aberdeenshire, with the aim of enabling communities to thrive and live well locally.

To ensure the Fraserburgh and District Place Partnership Plan best reflect the distinct identity, assets and priorities of the local area, in March 2026, the Local Community Planning Group invited feedback from those that know the area best – the people that live, work and learn in and visit the area. Feedback was invited on five themes and 14 topic areas to gather views on what is good about the area, what could be improved and an overall satisfaction rating for each topic:

Movement - Active Travel, Public Transport and Traffic and Parking
Spaces - Natural Spaces, Streets and Buildings, Parks and recreation
Services - Facilities and Services, Housing and Community, Work and Economy, Social Connections
Civic - Community Safety, Identify and Belonging
Stewardship - Care and Maintenance, Control and Influence on local decision-making

Respondents were also given the opportunity to feedback on what was most important to them, to capture any issues or priorities that may not have been covered by the 14 topic areas.

180 online surveys were completed. Additionally, 16 in-person engagement events were held or attended at which there were 420 in-person discussions. The total comments generated across the online survey and in-person engagement activities were 5,591, of which 2,815 were feedback comments and 2,776 were topic satisfaction ratings.

Table 1 ranks the topic areas by the number of comments generated (Column 2), by the average rating given (column 4) and by the lowest rating given (column 6). Public Transport generated the most comments (291) and ranked consistently lowest in terms of the average ranking and lowest rating. Other activity areas rating as poor in terms of the public experiences were Care and Maintenance, Traffic and Parking, Feeling Safe, Streets and Spaces and Influence and Control of Decision-making.

The public expressed clear sentiment about their overall perception of the area, about what is valued and what should be improved:

Sentiment

Clear pride in the town and its community, people care deeply about the local area
Strong frustration about long‑standing issues and a feeling that the area is not a priority, feel services, upkeep and investment have not kept pace.

What is valued

Coast and natural spaces
Community groups and volunteering
Libraries, sports and community facilities
Local identity and pride in place, community spirit

Areas for Improvement

Reliable and affordable public transport
Better care and maintenance of streets, paths and buildings
Safer streets, better lighting and visible policing
Support for town centres and local businesses
Improved service options, access and promotion
More for children and young people, especially teens
Action after consultation, not just engagement; influence and control

The tables in the attached document summarise the key feedback points for each of the five themes (and associated 14 topic areas): Documents | Fraserburgh and District Place Plan | Engage Aberdeenshire

Copies of these summary documents can be requested by emailing banffandbuchanlcpg@aberdeenshire.gov.uk

What we're doing

Following the collation and review of the feedback comments and ratings, the following four thematic areas have been identified as priority action areas:

Transport and Connectivity	Brings together issues about bus reliability and routes, safe walking and cycling infrastructure, and parking/traffic pressures which residents often experience as one combined access problem. Barriers to accessing healthcare, employment, support, wellbeing connections Enhancing transport infrastructure for pedestrians, cyclists, accessibility, bus users, within Fraserburgh, and to adjacent villages and Banff, Peterhead, Aberdeen)
Town Centre Regeneration	Brings together issues about public realm – tackling derelict properties, care and maintenance, anti-social behavior – liking to creating work and employment opportunities, particularly for young people. Protecting/conserving assets – e.g Dalrymple Hall
Access to Services, facilities and Opportunities	Brings together issues with limited accessibility and low awareness of everyday and wellbeing services, particularly for youth/ASN recreation provision, community spaces to connect, engage in activities or get 1-1 support. Inclusive and accessible meeting spaces, particularly for young people. Routes to long term interventions on harm reduction, via schools and other routes
Community Capacity	Brings together issues around local confidence in influencing decision-making Services removing barriers to enabling community led projects, community capacity, volunteering and recognition of community voices and activities and resilience and climate adaptation

The Banff and Buchan Local Community Planning Group hosted a Place Prioritisation event at the Faithlie Centre on 17 June 2026 where representatives from local services, organisations and community groups were invited to:

Hear about the priority themes and activity areas identified from the public engagement
How engagement outcomes align with local area data profiles, and
Engage in a prioritisation exercise and shape actions that will drive forward improved outcomes for the community.

The outputs of the event are being collated and will inform activity plans that will form the basis of the Fraserburgh and District Partnership Place Plan, the delivery of which will be supported and monitored via the Banff and Buchan Local Community Planning Group.

Once finalised in late Autumn 2026, the Plan will be published online and circulated widely in the community. Hard copies will also be available.

If you have any queries about the ongoing development of the Fraserburgh and District Place Plan, please contact the Banff and Buchan Community Planning Officer at banffandbuchanlcpg@Aberdeenshire.gov.uk