Rural Communities

• Access to services;
• Access to affordable, reliable transport;
• Support for the voluntary and community organisations;
• Sustainability of communities; and
• Economic viability.

The task for all agencies including the Council is in ensuring that these villages are sustainable communities where the residents have access to the same level of services and support from the Council and its partners as other urban areas.

Whilst the development of specific targeted interventions to support these communities and their residents is essential, the development of any strategy sits within the context of the Community Planning structures within North Lanarkshire.

The essence of Community Planning is recognition that the needs of individuals and communities must be addressed collectively by a range of organisations, if they are to be addressed successfully. The result should be communities that can be sure key public services they need will be delivered efficiently and for their needs - services such as health, education, transport, housing and the environment. Crosscutting priorities such as closing the opportunity gap and sustainability will also be addressed more effectively. This process applies equally to village communities as it does to urban communities.

The role of local planning is seen as a crucial part of the community planning process and makes the links between the vision and the principles set out in the Community Plan, bridging the gap between communities and local services to improve local outcomes. Local Community Planning will support the joining up of local services and make them more responsive to local need. It offers the opportunity to provide better quality services and joined up service delivery based on community priorities. This will support better targeting of services and provide a crosscutting focus allowing all stakeholders to see the role they play in developing emerging needs and priorities of communities and service users in North Lanarkshire.

Local Community Planning Teams are currently being developed to support the Community Planning process and the role of the local teams will be amongst other things to:

• Identify priorities;

• Co-ordinate and develop services at a local level to meet the communities specific needs; and

• Engage members of the local community.

In light of this new work, the development of a strategy for these village communities will not be seen in isolation but instead part of the development of a Regeneration Strategy for North Lanarkshire. This allows the issues affecting village settlements such as access and transportation to be considered as an integral part of policy development drawing in the resources available to all of the partner agencies and any additional specifically targeted regeneration resources.

Each of the Local Community Planning Teams being established through the Community Planning Framework will be charged with ensuring that consideration be given to the needs of the village areas in the development of Local Community Plans.

To contact us with any questions or comments, please use the "Contact Us"  box on the screen.