Plea for town to make its great ideas heard

Residents urged to come forward with improvement hints

Residents of a former mining town are being urged to make their ideas heard after being given a big cash boost to try to regenerate the neighbourhood.

The Scottish Government has backed plans to ask the residents of Cardenden and two other mining communities, to “act as if you own the place” to build a brighter future.

The Coalfields Regeneration Trust (CRT) received a Scottish Government award of almost £40,000 for its Reclaiming Coalfield Communities programme.

It will use the cash to employ three new officers, who will spend the next six months working with people in Cardenden, Bo’ness and Dalmellington, helping them draw up new community action plans.

Reclaiming Coalfield Communities is a joint initiative between the trust and the Scottish Electoral Reform Society.

The trust will also put up a £20,000 budget for each community to get priority projects off the ground.

Vi Penman of Cardenden Community Development Forum said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for local people to get involved in building a better and brighter future for the town.

“It worked last time when the CRT helped us draw up our original five-year community action plan and people really enjoyed being asked, so I am confident it will work even better this time.”

Willie Sullivan, Scottish director of the Electoral Reform Society, added: “We are really excited about working with the CRT again and the people of Cardenden, Bo’ness and Dalmellington, to help them shape their future.

“Democracy has not served our coalfields communities well, as they continue to suffer from health, employment and other inequalities, decades after the collapse of their industry.

“We believe that the ‘act as if you own the place’ concept will take decision making closer to the real experts — the people who live in these areas and are most affected by future planning.”

Coalfields Regeneration Scottish trustee Nicky Wilson said its community futures programme had been hugely successful in supporting mining towns and villages as they plan their future.

The Scottish Government’s £40,000 award comes from its Aspiring Communities Fund and the European Social Fund.

Communities Minister Angela Constance said: “We aim to create a more equal Scotland and want communities to play a part in that.”

The Reclaiming Coalfields Communities programme is among 170 projects throughout Scotland which have been allocated a share of £29 million to find new ways to tackle poverty and improve people’s lives.

This is a fantastic opportunity for local people to get involved in building a better and brighter future for the town

Picture: Steven Brown. Cardenden’s mining past is never far away but a new officer is to be employed to get people talking about how the town’s future can be made better.