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Good Practice in Rural Development No.8: Innovative Methods of Service Delivery in Rural Scotland:A Good Practice Guide

3. Sharing of premises

Locating a number of different services under one roof has numerous advantages not least the ability to share the costs amongst service providers.

For service users, the opportunity to share premises means that they do not have to travel to different premises, sometimes in different towns, to access key services. Shared premises can often create a 'one-stop shop' for people. Shared premises can provide a platform for more joined-up provision of services with the potential for service-providers to share information and good practice as well as costs.

Support for multi-purpose community buildings - village halls - is available from the Local Capital Grants Scheme, Sportscotland, the New Opportunities Fund, and the Community Fund, for example. Village halls are a valuable resource to house outreach services such as local clubs, childcare, and doctors' surgeries.

3.1 Coigach Community Hall

Method of delivery: shared premises, community-run.
Source of funding: The community; 21 ^st Century Village Halls Fund; Rural Challenge Fund; Highland Council; Ross and Cromarty Enterprise.
Contact:Hhassallpb@aol.com Harry Hassall, 01854 622425)

Coigach Community Hall, located in Achiltibuie, was opened in April 1999. The community is very small and isolated, situated 26 miles from Ullapool with only 310 residents. The Coigach Community Trust has led the project from the outset, with members of the community raising substantial amounts of the funding required themselves, either directly through donations or through community events. This strengthened their case when making applications for funding from statutory bodies.

The services provided at the hall include a doctor's surgery, monthly hairdresser, pensioners' lunches, a Highland Council library, and a daily, pre-school playgroup. The hall also serves as a venue for several other local groups including the angling club, heritage group, and investment club.

The hall represents value for money with a 30,000 turnover, operating in 2002 with a 10,000 surplus. Running costs are low with heating bills amounting to slightly over 1,000 a year due to underfloor heating. The retired people living in the community help with the running of the hall, requiring only a part-time, paid caretaker.

Among the facilities available are a multi-purpose hall, lounge and kitchen, disabled toilet and showers, and a snooker room that also serves as an arts exhibition space during the tourist season. The library has an ISDN connection and public access to an online PC. The hall is recognised as an excellent music venue, having benefited from the advice of a locally based acoustic engineer.

Coigach Community Hall has become the focal point for the community and reinforced the strong sense of community spirit. The old hall has now been renovated and converted into the Achiltibuie Piping School, reinforcing the strong musical identity of the community.

3.2 Dalmellington Industrial Estate Refurbishment

Method of delivery: Sharing Premises, use of new technology.
Source of funding: Scottish Enterprise Ayrshire; East Ayrshire Council; the European Regional Development Fund.
Contact: (Robin Cole 01563 545067)

Dalmellington is a high unemployment area in South Ayrshire, once a hub of coal mining activity. The industrial estate is located not far from the centre of town and, prior to the refurbishment project, was in a state of disrepair. This was highlighted by the facelift programme that East Ayrshire Council and Scottish Enterprise Ayrshire had carried out on the rest of the town, with EU funding.

East Ayrshire Council consulted local people and businesses on how to make best use of the space available at the site. Initially, it was presumed that the project would go on to house purely industrial activities, with the development of a separate tele-cottage within the development footprint. This would compliment the CONDUIT programme, which had delivered ICT training for local people. However, the most interest in the project came not from the industrial sector but from community services.

The Dalmellington Industrial Estate Refurbishment was carried out in partnership between East Ayrshire Council and Scottish Enterprise Ayrshire, and utilised funding through the ERDF RECHAR Programme. The development offers community services such as a health clinic, police, ambulance service, housing office, and business technology centre.

The existing 1800 sq.m development was extensively upgraded and refurbished. The option of developing a 142 sq.m business technology centre was not pursued as it was felt it would be more cost-effective and security-wise to house the centre within the existing development than a separate tele-cottage.

3.3 Dunvegan Community Hall

Method of delivery: Shared premises, community-run
Source of funding: Highlands and Islands Development Board (now Highlands and Islands Enterprise); the former Highland Regional Council; the Scottish Education Department; the Clan MacLeod of the United States; Skye and Lochalsh Enterprise Company; the Foundation for Sports and the Arts; the Gannochy Trust and Lloyds TSB Trust. Contact: Mrs Mary Ling (01470 521483).

There has been a community hall in Dunvegan since 1904 when the Norman Magnus Hall was originally built. However, in 1985, a group of residents from Dunvegan banded together to extend the Hall and offer a facility to a number of (local and non-local) service providers. The extension provided premises to serve the village and the surrounding area, in which groups - including youth groups, childcare services, and groups of elderly people - could meet.

The hall extension included the addition of several rooms including a large sports hall, a lounge area, a kitchen and toilets and showers downstairs and another lounge, kitchen and a games room upstairs.

The services that run from the hall include a daily pre-school playgroup, a Sunday school, AA meetings, weddings and pensioners lunches. Dunvegan Hall is also used for outreach services such as Jobseekers advice.

The indoor sports hall is used by several different local sports groups, including basketball, football and badminton. The local court and Highland Council use the building's upstairs meeting room. The meeting room is also used by the Community Council and the Crofters Union.

The newly added games room is used for a range of indoor sports and board games, thus providing recreational facilities for young people in the area. Ceilidhs, supported by the Local Enterprise Company, are held every week, these are a valuable source of income for the Hall.

3.4 Firth and Mossbank Enterprise (FAME)

Method of delivery: Sharing Premises, community-run services.
Source of funding: Shetland Childcare Partnership; Shetland Islands Council; Shetland Enterprise; the New Opportunity Healthy Living Centres Scheme;
Contact:projectfame@hotmail.com

The Firth and Mossbank community is located close to the Sullom Voe Oil Terminal, 26 miles north of Lerwick, the main town on Shetland. The community is made up of 500 people, including 180 children. Much of the social housing now lies empty. From a total of 264 houses in the area, 200 are council owned and 50 are unoccupied. It is an isolated area with hardly any local services, very limited transport and few employment opportunities other than those at the Oil Terminal.

Firth and Mossbank Enterprise (FAME) was set up in 1997 following local recognition that a wider partnership approach was necessary to overcome the various obstacles that prevented Firth and Mossbank from being a sustainable community. FAME was officially registered as a Scottish Public Company Limited by Guarantee in 2001.

The partnership approach has been developed with a set of guiding principles, agreed upon by the community. After consulting local people, FAME identified various issues that the community had to address: health and well-being; economic regeneration; community development; community care; and youth facilities.

Having identified the key areas of need, FAME converted three empty houses to form Firth and Mossbank Family Centre, which provides local childcare, peripatetic health and social services, family education and community group facilities.

The aim is to provide primary health care with a visiting GP surgery and other visiting health services. A variety of health related services are available at the centre, with well person clinics, family support services, health education, training, and information and advice. There are also childcare facilities for children aged 2 to 14 years of age.

The Family Centre provides an invaluable local medical service - the nearest alternative is located in Brae, ten miles from the community. The Family Centre has created job opportunities for local people with three full-time and six part-time members of staff, 30 volunteers are also involved in the project.

3.5 Highland Service Point Network

Method of delivery: shared premises, use of new technology.
Source of funding: Rural Challenge Fund; Highland Council; Digital Highland.
Contact:service.point@highland.gov.uk
http://www.highland.gov.uk/cx/service_management/servicepoints.htm

Service Points are multi-functional offices with staff trained and equipped to deal with any enquiry regarding the services provided by the Highland Council.

Prior to local government reorganisation in 1995, it was recognised that Ross and Cromarty's system of locality offices where people could pay rent and council tax, was an example of good practice. Thus, the approach was mainstreamed and applied throughout the Highlands. Twenty of the initial twenty-two Service Points were located in former district council buildings, minimising the start up costs incurred.

A prominent feature of the Service Point Network is the recognition that users of council services are customers, with a subsequent emphasis on customer care. The Service Point Network awarded a Charter Mark in 1999, which was retained in 2002.

Customers are able to pay all of Council-related bills at the Service Points and they also have full access to the Council services. Service Point staff offer local people help and information with filling in forms and advice on local services such as public transport, and other council material. Public access photocopying and fax facilities are also available in many of the Service Points.

The Service Points were further developed in July 2002, with the appointment of the Head of Electronic Government and Customer Services Manager to manage the Digital Highland Project and look at pan-regional service standards. The Digital Highland project, piloted in Ross and Cromarty, is to utilise Customer Relations Management (CRM), Workflow Management and Document Management and Systems Integration across the Service Point Network.

Given the dispersal and remoteness of many settlements in the Highlands, the Council has developed partnerships with other services, such as Highlands of Scotland Tourist Board (HOST), where four premises provide shared access. Seven Service Points also operate as Libraries and this enables integration with the recently established People's Access Network (PAN).

There are registrars at fifteen Service Points across the region, registering births and deaths and conducting civil marriages. The Service Points function as 'one-stop-shops' and are used to promote the activities of all Council services, including the High Life Leisure Cards scheme, for example.

3.6 Voluntary Action Lewis

Method of delivery: shared premises, use of new technology, mobile staff, mobile facilities.
Source of funding: Western Isles Enterprise, the ERDF.
Contact:http://www.valewis.org.uk

Voluntary Action Lewis (VAL), formerly the Lewis Council of Social Service, is a member organisation of Councils for Voluntary Service (CVS) Scotland. The aims of Voluntary Action Lewis include supporting the local voluntary sector, giving advice and support on funding, working with the Local Volunteer Development Agency (LVDA) and Active Communities Agenda, promoting community learning and supporting community development. VAL provide computing and library resources from their purpose-built facilities and operate an outreach service for the parents and carers of children with learning difficulties.

The 6000 sq ft building which was finished in 1999 provides facilities for a one-stop shop, caters for over 100 member organisations, meets the needs of local communities and runs complimentary services from one building.

The building houses an ICT centre and a darkroom for use by members of the community. There are 6 PCs networked to a printer including an online 'Holyrood.com' PC. The library room allows the community access to material from the Scottish Executive, voluntary organisations, and the local authority, it is also used as a training area. There is also a videoconferencing facility.

A suite of rooms is under contract with the LEC and Employment Service for the New Deal. Space is leased to the local Chamber of Commerce and a non-profit making careers service.

VAL has used the ICT centre to run a Lifelong Learning training project that is available to anyone from the local community. However, the service is aimed particularly at those people who do not have access to more formal learning opportunities such as the over-50s or people with disabilities. The Lifelong learning project is also delivered via an outreach service provided by VAL.

VAL also run the 'Open Sesame' project, an outreach service providing information for parents and carers who have a child with special educational needs. The Staran Garden and Amenity projects were set up in 1990 with the objective of assisting elderly and disabled people maintain their gardens. VAL are also involved in the Lewis Befriending Project, funded through local trusts, aimed at helping older people and those with mental health problems.

3.7 Lessons Learnt in Practice

Previous research ⁴ has pointed out the advantage of multi-purpose buildings is that they help reduce costs across service providers and also create a point of focus for the community. However, the same research also suggests that a drawback of shared premises may be a compromise on the service quality resulting from a lack of space. One way of dealing with this problem is to take into account any future expansion of services when designing purpose-built facilities or renovating existing buildings. Moreover, it would be sensible to consult with other local service providers at the earliest possible stage to avoid useable space sitting empty.

There are, however, other issues to consider, as highlighted by each of the case studies. For example, the Coigach Hall case study illustrated how the community raising a significant amount of money made it easier for them when trying to attract funding from a range of statutory bodies.

Dunvegan Community Hall is a good example of a sustainable multi-purpose community building. A regular flow of income is generated from renting the premises to the nursery for pre-school children space 5 days a week. Several local groups including the bowling club, amateur dramatics, church, school and alcoholics anonymous also regularly use the hall.

There are three key lessons here. Firstly, it is necessary to ascertain that there is a local market for using the space available, yet demand is insufficient to support conventional service delivery. Secondly, thorough research should be carried out in the planning stages to ascertain the needs of the potential users. Thirdly, the expertise of local people with specialist knowledge could be drawn on, for example, an architect that lived in the village contributed to the design of the Dunvegan Hall extension.

In addition, the Dalmellington Industrial Estate Refurbishment Project illustrated that a large amount of capital is often required to upgrade existing facilities. That said, it was pointed out that economies of scale can be generated by focusing capital in one place rather than spreading resources across various locations.

The FAME project staff emphasised that learning about sustainability helped to secure funding as they focused on environmental factors and the long-term viability of the project. Their approach also stressed that effective training is required and it is necessary for support staff to take up new skills and keep learning. It was pointed out that community groups may also have a credibility issue with professionals, credit is not always given where it is due.

Voluntary Action Lewis emphasised the need to always strive towards providing a quality service utilising rolling evaluations to reflect on how the services are being provided and how improvements could be made. It was also stressed that perseverance is a key quality for personnel and volunteers - "the need to stick to it and don't give up".

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