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2 CLACKMANNANSHIRE

Project Background and Rationale

Background

2.1 The Clackmannanshire Pathfinder was originally based around two key sites in Tullibody in which activities and events would be developed to promote and encourage creativity as part of the lives of local residents. The two planned sites were:

• a disused shop (Artshop); and
• a 'hard-to-let' house (Art House).

2.2 The Pathfinder funding was intended to support a digital media artist in residence to work with the community through the Artshop and evaluate the project through a creative process.

Aims and Objectives

2.3 As stated in the project Evaluation Plan, the overall aim of the project was "to promote creativity and enterprise as tools towards life improvement." The project was intended to create a foundation for regeneration through the establishment of an artisan site in Clackmannanshire.

2.4 The Evaluation Plan detailed the specific aims of the project as being to:

• involve local residents actively in the cultural regeneration of Tullibody, giving them, as far as possible, informed choice through which to structure a programme of activity;
• learn about cultural planning and associated processes and how to make them meaningful in the context of lifelong learning, feeding in to Community Planning;
• redevelop in emotional, physical and intellectual aspects, a local site, with buildings and open space using ideas and proposals from Clackmannanshire community residents and Tullibody traders;
• bring authentic local cultural assets into the regeneration project plan through contemporary interpretation;
• participate in the creation of a hub: a new cultural centre within Tron Court, Tullibody, including alternative library and public art development;
• make community training, trading, skills and social enterprise development a central part of the project;
• support the learning of Scotland's art students and young graduates by offering placement from Edinburgh and Glasgow Colleges. These will familiarise students with the area and in the design and creation of live projects; and
• promote the approach of Tullibody with particular reference to developing a skills base for Creative Industries.

Funding

2.5 The Final Evaluation Report for the 18 month project reports the total cost of the project as £132,760, covering the shop lease, payment for artists, evaluation and equipment/materials costs.

2.6 According to the report, these costs were met by the Cultural Pathfinder Programme (£43,730) and Clackmannanshire Council (£89,030 - cash and in-kind). However, the project also involved a Creative Writer in Residence one day a week, and this was supported by the Scottish Arts Council p artners artist residency programme. This contribution was estimated to be worth approximately £3,840 over the life of the Pathfinder.

Strategic Fit

2.7 The original project's application and Evaluation Plan suggest that the project was developed in line with national cultural policy guidance at the time (eg Scotland's Culture). In particular, there is evidence of a focus on cultural entitlements and cultural planning. Indeed, the project was intended to be an exercise in cultural planning.

2.8 With the change in policy emphasis to widening access to cultural provision, the project remains strongly aligned with policy concerns given its focus on engaging residents of a deprived community in creative activity. The application and Evaluation Plan make little explicit reference to Community Planning per se, but rather they both stress the importance of the partnerships that will be targeted through the project, covering issues such as education, health and well being and planning and regeneration. In this respect, the project displays an implicit rather than explicit focus on Community Planning.

2.9 The project is also well aligned with the broad objectives of the Cultural Pathfinder Programme. In particular, it has a clear focus on encouraging participation in under-represented groups; exploring the benefits of cultural activity in different settings; exploring entitlements as part of cultural planning; effective community consultation and giving local people real influence; and a commitment to evaluation. These are all priority issues for the Pathfinder Programme as detailed in the stated criteria for support ².

2.10 At the local level, the position and status of culture is unclear. Clackmannanshire Council has no Cultural Strategy (that we are aware of) although there is a programme of cultural planning work that covers visual arts, art in public, youth theatre, digital media and writers in residence as well as the Creative Links Programme to create arts activities for young people in the area. All of these activities come under the broad heading of Cultural Planning and take an approach that is strongly focussed on cross service working within the Council. The Pathfinder initiative is a key element within this overall approach.

2.11 Overall, the Clackmannanshire project was strategic in its intent to work across a range of service departments and policy areas, and to demonstrate the value of a cultural planning approach.

Activities and Processes

2.12 The project was developed and managed by Clackmannanshire Council's Culture and Community Services Department within the Education Service. A range of other partners were involved in the project in a variety of different ways. These included:

• Clackmannanshire Council - Social Work, Heritage, Education, Libraries, Community Safety, Rangers Service, Community Learning and Development;
• Tullibody Healthy Living Initiative
• Scottish Arts Council;
• NHS;
• Glasgow School of Art; and
• Clackmannanshire Council - Psychological Services and Environmental Planning.

2.13 The last three of these bullets refer to new partners not anticipated at the time of application to the Pathfinder Programme.

2.14 As noted above, the project intended to work through two physical sites. However, an increase in the local immigrant population meant that a council owned property was not available at the start of the project as planned, and the Art House was not developed. Instead, resources were redirected to the Artshop promises in the Tron Court shopping centre and subsequently to the Vessel shop nearby.

2.15 The Artshop was a former newsagent shop leased by the local authority to provide a venue for arts and crafts workshops and activities for the local community. The Pathfinder allowed the shop to host a digital media artist in residence, initially for 100 days. A local artist was also commissioned to work alongside the Pathfinder residency.

2.16 Initially, the Artshop opened for two days a week on a drop-in basis, and offered opportunities to participate in photography (ie to take pictures of family and friends) as way of bringing people in to the facility. The artists also adopted a people-led approach, letting potential users find their way through the premises and the facilities on offer. The open ended approach allowed the Shop to build its reputation and presence within the local a community in a steady and organic manner.

2.17 At the same time, a range of groups and services became interested in using the facility, and the Artshop hosted sessions with:

• a smoking cessation group run by the NHS and involving Glasgow School of Art Product Design Department;
• primary school workshops in ceramics;
• after school classes in digital media;
• community service participants through Criminal Justice services; and
• literacy sessions with community groups (with Clackmannanshire's Creative Writer in Residence - funded through the Scottish Arts Council partners artist residency programme).

2.18 As local users became more familiar with the facilities, the range of activities evolved in line with their interests and work took place in crafts, dance, visual media, video, animation and music. Though structured workshops sessions and less formal contact with the artist, participants learned a range of creative techniques from photo manipulation (photoshop) to website design, ceramics, glassmaking, tapestry and music recording and DJ-ing. The Artshop also lent equipment to members of the local community.

2.19 Later, the project inspired the development of a local gallery, The Vessel, showing and selling the work of professional artists alongside that of local people, many of which started through the Artshop project. However, the shop struggles with limited volunteer input to keep it open on a regular basis. 30% of the Vessel profits are fed back to the Artshop.

2.20 In addition, Aldi supermarkets contributed towards the costs of a small mobile gallery which complements the Pathfinder work and adds to the experience of the Artshop participants.

2.21 A Steering Group has now been established to discuss ways forward for the project. The group meets quarterly and comprises a mix of professional artists, key partners in the Pathfinder projects (such as the Glasgow School of Art, a local school and the NHS) and local people who have participated in the Pathfinder programme.

2.22 Further support has since been secured from Carronvale Homes as part of their investment in art in public in Clackmannanshire (which is tied to planned housing developments in the area). The £20,000 of new funding will help to support ongoing programming at the Artshop and the Vessel.

Achievements and Impacts

2.23 The account of the achievement and impacts of the Clackmannanshire Pathfinder is based mainly on the evidence provided in the Final Report of the project, supplemented by evidence from consultation with the Project Manager, artist in residence and partners.

2.24 In line with the structure provided by the Evaluation Toolkit, the Evaluation Plan for the Clackmannanshire Pathfinder identified indicators in relation to Activities, Participation, Satisfaction, Impacts and Value for Money. It also identified a number of additional outcomes, reported in full in the Final Evaluation Report.

Activities

2.25 In relation to the Activities detailed in the original Evaluation Plan, the evidence suggests that the project has delivered all of the identified outputs. In particular, the project established a Steering Group involving local people, local and national artists, local government and higher education. Although the Group did not quite achieve the very specific representation detailed in the Evaluation Plan, this should not be taken as a failing, as the project has responded flexibly to the needs of the local community.

2.26 Although not specifically reported in the Final Report, the consultation evidence suggests that the project did encourage the use of creative thinking as a way of challenging negative behaviour and promoted the role of creativity in positively changing environments.

2.27 Finally, the project was successful in attracting sponsors, including Carronvale Homes, Aldi Supermarkets and different service departments within the local authority.

Participation

2.28 In the Evaluation Plan, the project set few targets in relation to participation. Instead, it identified objectives relating to the number of venues to be created (three - Artshop, Vessel and the travelling gallery), involvement through registration of local people and school pupils and the attraction and engagement of sponsors and partners.

2.29 All three venues were established, although these cannot be considered to be directly attributable to the Pathfinder project.

2.30 In terms of the engagement and participation of school pupils and local people, this has clearly been strong. The original evaluation plan talked of registration of participants and it is not clear whether or not this actually took place. However, the Final Report states that attendance at the Artshop was circa 100 people per week, and that participants included people with mental health problems, learning difficulties and physical disability as well as from the local community more generally.

2.31 Finally, the evaluation plan stated that the project would seek partners for creative collaboration, and the consultation feedback indicates that this was indeed achieved. The project engage a large number of partners, including NHS, Glasgow School of Art, Tullibody Healthy Living Initiative and local schools as well as a range of Council services, as discussed below.

Satisfaction

2.32 The Evaluation Plan specified four indicators of satisfaction with the project, relating to the satisfaction of participants, partners and sponsors. Although there is no clear reporting against these measures in the Final Report for the project, there are other indications that performance in this respect has been good.

2.33 In particular, participant involvement in the Steering Group and anecdotal and reported evidence of satisfaction levels suggests that participants plan for and are satisfied with the project development.

2.34 In addition, community members and sponsors also appear to have been satisfied with the project, achieved although the supporting evidence is not made clear in the Final Report. There is ongoing sponsorship of the project (a positive endorsement) and the evidence does suggest that community satisfaction is high. In particular, the final creative outputs of the project are testament to the enthusiasm with which many participants engaged in creative activity at the Artshop. The evaluation consultation work also found very strong levels of satisfaction from external partners ( NHS and Glasgow School of Art).

2.35 There is less evidence that participants and partners are satisfied that local culture is well represented in plans for regeneration apart from the fact that the Carronvale sponsorship constitutes the first time planning gains funds have been targeted to a creative regeneration project.

2.36 Finally, the ongoing support of sponsors would suggest satisfaction with the project, but no evidence has been reported to support achievement on this measure.

Impacts

2.37 The impacts set for the Clackmannanshire Pathfinder relate mainly to the impacts on the local arts sector and on the community more generally. The Final Evaluation Report presented little in the way of firm evidence of performance against these impacts, although it is clear from the consultation work undertaken for the Programme evaluation that the impacts of the Artshop have been significant, particularly at individual and community levels.

2.38 The project has engaged the local arts sector, and it seems likely that the level of visibility has increased, although this has not been reported in the project documentation.

2.39 Anecdotal feedback also suggests that the project has engaged people not used to arts activity, and it is clear that the Artshop has proved to be a very popular community asset. Therefore, while progress against this measure has almost certainly been strong, there is no formal evidence to support this conclusion.

2.40 The mobile gallery will, almost by definition, improve cultural access, but no formal evidence to this effect has been presented. There is also no evidence that the project has evaluated its impact on civic pride through reducing vandalism of negative behaviour as target in the evaluation Plan.

Value for Money

2.41 The Evaluation Plan identifies a number of indicators under the heading of value for money, but these appear to be more related to activities and outcomes than measures of value for money. As a result, it is difficult to provide a clear assessment on the extent to which the project has offered value for money, based on the evidence provided.

2.42 However, the evidence presented in the Final Report argues that value for money has been delivered through the project's very strong emphasis on cross-service working and wider partnership to broaden engagement and lever in resources. In this respect, the project has certainly delivered and this can be taken as a measure of value for money.

Additional Outcomes

2.43 As noted, the Evaluation Plan specified a number of outcomes for the project, and performance against these was reported in the Final Report.

2.44 Local residents are increasingly involved in the project through the Steering Group, providing them a route to contribute to local regeneration activities. This local involvement has been made possible by the capacity and confidence building impacts on individuals of taking part in the Artshop activities.

2.45 The extent of the partnership working in the project is impressive, and it is clear from the Report and consultation feedback that many of these partnerships will continue.

2.46 The project set out to explore community, and facilitated working in mixed ability groups and across generations, promoting an idea of wider community. However, the impacts of this approach are less clear at this stage.

2.47 The project has also undoubtedly contributed to the regeneration of Tullibody both through the activities of the Artshop and the Vessel, the involvement of the local community in steering the facility and the impacts on public art policy in Clackmannanshire. This was a key outcome identified in the Evaluation Plan.

2.48 However, while the project has developed authentic local cultural assets, the extent to which these are now integrated into the regeneration plan is less clear. Nevertheless, the Artshop and the Vessel are new cultural facilities, and through the Pathfinder work, the Artshop in particular has become an important local meeting place.

2.49 Although not captured in the Evaluation Plan or the final report of the project, our consultation process found anecdotal evidence of significant benefits to individual participants of engagement with the Artshop project. For example, amongst the smoking cessation group, an individual with very complex needs was reported to have grown significantly in self-confidence and is now writing and recording music, and taking steps back to economic activity. In another case, a participant reported that their life had been transformed by their involvement with the Artshop following a period of severe mental illness, and they are now playing a more active role in the local community.

2.50 These and other stories underline the often very profound impacts on individuals of cultural participation.

Contribution to Strategic Objectives

2.51 We have identified a number of key strategic objectives to which each of the projects would be expected to contribute. Here we provide an assessment of the extent to which the Clackmannanshire Pathfinder project has successfully:

• engaged under-represented groups in arts/cultural activities;
• encouraged collaborative working within and/or across authorities;
• engaged Community Planning Partnerships ( CPPs) and other partners/stakeholders;
• delivered effective consultation with communities;
• delivered something that is truly new and additional; and
• considered and ensured the sustainability of its impacts.

Engaging Under-Represented Groups

2.52 The Artshop operates in an area of severe deprivation, and opportunities to participate in cultural activities are limited. The project has undoubtedly helped to engage under-represented groups, and has done so in a way that is different from many of the other Pathfinder projects.

2.53 The project established a permanent physical presence within its target community and operated on a drop-in basis rather than through pre-arranged workshops. This was felt to be important in allowing local people to explore the facility in their own time and at their own pace, helping to build familiarity and trust.

2.54 Similarly, the artists placed no pressure on people arriving in the shop for the first time, instead offering refreshments and an opportunity to talk. This gentle approach was felt to have been critically important in removing some of the barriers typically reported by people not used to using cultural facilities.

2.55 The idea was to make people feel welcome, and to try to remove the feeling that because the Artshop was a cultural venue it was important that its users had prior knowledge and experience of creative activity.

2.56 The project first used photographic portraiture as a means of engaging people coming into the shop, and word spread that the Artshop was a place to which people could go and take photos of themselves, their family and friends. Again, this choice of medium was considered critical in engaging people. Photography is both familiar and immediate, and the idea of being able to take photos and then have the pictures to keep was appealing to the community.

2.57 The programming in the facility then evolved in line with the needs and interests of the participants. While initial thinking had been that the arts and crafts would dominate, in fact the Artshop participants steered the programme more towards digital media and the project responded accordingly. This is a very demand-led approach that seeks not to try to attract people to pre-defined sets of activities (eg workshop programmes) but rather allows participants to use the facility in a way that best suits their interests and needs.

2.58 The other critical factor in the success of the Clackmannanshire Pathfinder in engaging participants was the artists themselves. The digital media artist (Kenny Bean) had prior experience of working with marginalised groups and, as a result, realised that a non-judgemental approach would be most effective. Another artist, Bobbi Vetter, is from Tullibody, and this was also felt to be important in gaining the trust of local people. However, throughout, it was stressed that the key factor was to treat the participants with respect, and provide a supporting, non-threatening and encouraging environment.

2.59 Of course, this is a resource intensive method, and at times involved the artists and volunteers in long hours and tiring work with often demanding client groups. However, the success of the Artshop in developing a positive profile within a very challenging regeneration area owes much to the sensitivity with which the artists and the project management team approached the community engagement process.

2.60 It is also a process that takes time, and the consistent physical presence of the facility and of the artists may also be an important factor. In recent work for the Scottish Arts Council, it was found that community based residencies over a period of time offer real opportunities for artists to build trust with hard-to-reach communities and develop effective means of engagement ³. The Artshop is further evidence of this effect.

Collaborative Working and Community Planning

2.61 The project did not engage across different local authority areas, but did involve significant cross-service working and collaboration with other external partners, particularly around issues relating to well being, health and planning and regeneration.

2.62 Key service departments within the Council that engaged with the project were:

• Education (primary and secondary school groups and after school workshops);
• Community Learning and Development (made use of the facility for workshops and group sessions);
• Criminal Justice (Community Service) (community service offenders served time working at the Artshop);
• Psychological Support Services;
• Rangers Service; and
• Environmental Planning (through public art planning and commissions).

2.63 Feedback from the NHS Health Plus team provides useful feedback on the impacts of the Artshop project and its wider role.

2.64 Health Plus approached the Artshop to help with a life skills course linked to smoking cessation activities. There was a perceived lack of resources for people with complex needs, and existing smoking cessation tools were not meeting their needs. In working with the Artshop, and in partnership with the Glasgow School of Art Product Design Department, the life skills group designed, developed and produced a motivational tool to help smokers to stop.

2.65 The resulting cessation figures were good and the manager felt that the creative input had made a real difference. Some of that group now use the Artshop independently of the Health Plus work and have gone on to develop further their creative skills and as a result have enhanced their self-confidence and life skills. Some work as volunteers in the Artshop and two of the group designed a tool for the Health worker to use to improve her own productivity.

2.66 Therefore, for the Health Plus project, working with the Artshop was a very positive experience and demonstrated clearly the ways in which creative activity could add value to mainstream community health work.

2.67 There appear to be two main reasons as to why the Clackmannanshire Pathfinder has been able to develop this kind of cross-service working. Firstly, the Council operates a matrix management system which encourages cross-service working and activity, and provided the Pathfinder Project Manager with direct links into key service departments such as Community Learning and Development. However, perhaps more importantly, the experience of the Project Manager enabled her to engage effectively across different service areas, through her deep understanding of the ways in which cultural activity can enhance community well being and contribute to the priorities and objectives of different service areas.

2.68 Where the Clackmannanshire Pathfinder has perhaps been less obviously successful is in its engagement with Community Planning. In part, this may reflect the low profile of culture within Community Planning in the area - there is no mention of cultural participation in the Community Plan or Single Outcome Agreement ( SOA) for Clackmannanshire.

2.69 However, the success of the project in influencing and engaging the Environmental Planning Department and refocusing the approach to Public Art is evidence that the Pathfinder has had some influence at a strategic level. It was also reported that, now that the Artshop has demonstrated both the impacts on individual participants and its value as a facility that can support community consultation and planning, the Clackmannanshire Alliance ( CPP) is showing more interest. Although this has not, to date, translated into anything more tangible by way of support or engagement, the Pathfinder has collected important evidence of the value of cultural activity, and is continuing to develop as a valuable and valued community asset.

Effective Consultation with Communities

2.70 The Clackmannanshire Pathfinder is an example of action research designed to build understanding of the ways in which local people wish to access and participate in cultural activities. As such, it has developed a highly effective means of engagement, based on a demand-led approach that seeks to build strong ownership amongst the local community.

2.71 The key features of the consultation method adopted by the Clackmannanshire project are the demand-led approach and its open-ended and flexible nature, as described above. It has also sought to build capacity in individuals and in the wider community, and has community involvement in the steering group now established to manage the ongoing development of the Artshop facility.

2.72 At the more strategic level, the project has engaged very widely across different service departments within the Council and across a range of external partners. It has done so by consulting with these partners and seeking to understand their objectives and priorities, before then developing practical proposals about how culture can help them to meet these objectives. This is again demand-led in that it takes as a starting point the kinds of outcomes that other partners are trying to achieve, rather than seeking to persuade them of the value of cultural activity in a more generalised sense.

2.73 It is also grounded in practicality, as the project effectively set up pilot exercises to demonstrate in a practical and visible way the value and impacts of a cultural approach in areas such as health, mental health and criminal justice (the project worked with young offenders on community service).

2.74 This is more practical in feel than some of the more strategic approaches taken in other Pathfinders, but is no less effective as a result. The overall profile of culture is low in strategic documentation in Clackmannanshire, and the impression is that it has a low profile within the Council and amongst many of its partners. As a result, the Clackmannanshire Pathfinder may have faced a more challenging task than some in seeking to engage Community Planning partners in the project.

Additionality

2.75 The creation of the Artshop is not directly attributable to the Pathfinder, but the Pathfinder Programme has supported the creative evaluation process as well as a range of activities and projects using the Artshop as a facility. It is possible that some of these may have happened without Pathfinder support, but they would likely have been on a smaller scale and perhaps of lower quality. Feedback suggested that the fact that the Pathfinder was a Scottish Government programme was as important as the funding in helping to open doors and give the Council the confidence to engage other partners.

Sustainability and Legacies

2.76 Sustainability was built into the project from its inception in a number of ways. The broad engagement of key service departments has helped to build support for the project across a range of partners by demonstrating through pilot initiatives the value of cultural participation in achieving broad regeneration aims. As such, the Artshop will become a key community asset with an important role to play in the wider regeneration effort in Tullibody. This cross-service support should help to ensure an ongoing role for the Artshop.

2.77 The establishment of the Vessel is another important aspect to the sustainability of the project, as a share of the profits from work sold will be channelled back into activities in the Artshop. While this is unlikely to provide sufficient finance to support the facility as a whole, it will contribute important funds for future activities. It is also an important component of a connected cultural infrastructure for the area.

2.78 In addition, the sponsorship secured from Carronvale Homes is a crucial element of the overall sustainability of the Artshop. The Pathfinder project manager was able to convince the Council to use planning gains to support the Artshop as part of a new approach to art in public. This is the first time that planning gains have been used to support a cultural regeneration project in Clackmannanshire, and is a direct result of the development of the Artshop project as an effective vehicle for community consultation.

2.79 There is also evidence to suggest that the project has had some potentially longer term impacts on enterprise and employability objectives. A number of participants are showing and selling work through the Vessel, while others have gained the confidence to move back to economic activity.

2.80 Finally, the capacity building impacts of the project at the individual level have helped to build community ownership of the facility, leading to community involvement in its ongoing management and development. By anchoring the Artshop firmly within the community, the Pathfinder has helped to develop a sustainable community cultural resource.

2.81 This is not to say that the future of the Artshop is secure. It relies on volunteer support, and maintaining a sufficient level of volunteer input is challenging. There are also funding requirements in relation to supporting the artists to continue to work in the facility. However, the broad community and partner support for the project should help to ensure its ongoing sustainability.

2.82 At the strategic level, the sustainability of the Pathfinder's impacts is somewhat less clear. As noted above, the strategic profile of culture in Clackmannanshire appears to be low, and although the Clackmannanshire Alliance is reportedly showing interest in the Artshop impacts, tangible signs of wider commitment to cultural provision are not widespread.

2.83 However, the 'show and tell' approach may yet start to bear fruit in this respect. In particular, the project adopted a strongly evaluative focus from the outset, with the artist in residence also fulfilling the role of creative evaluator. The creative outputs of the project, the subject of an exhibition at the Aberdona Gallery in rural Clackmannanshire, provide a creative evaluation of the impacts of the project. Through the collected images, audio material, moving images and other digital media, the exhibition provides a tangible demonstration of the creative and personal journeys made by Artshop users. This is a creative legacy of the Pathfinder, which can be used to engage future partners in discussion about the value and impacts of cultural participation.

Overall Assessment and Key Lessons

2.84 The Clackmannanshire Pathfinder is in some respects a challenging project to evaluate, particularly as documentary evidence of its impacts has been somewhat lacking. However, through the consultation work and review of the creative evaluation outputs, it is clear that the project has been successful in many respects, not least in terms of its impact on participants.

2.85 It is a project that is very strongly rooted in the local community, with clear focus on community capacity building and community ownership. Tullibody is a difficult community in which to work. It struggles with long term and complex issues of deprivation, and as a result engaging residents and winning trust and support is a challenging process. The Artshop has clearly made significant progress in this respect, and has done so through a sensitive and measured approach.

2.86 The bottom-up nature of the project is in contrast to some of the more 'strategic' consultation exercises that the Pathfinder Programme has supported, but is no less effective for it. The strong emphasis on cross-service engagement and on the practical demonstration of the value of cultural participation across service areas from mental health to environmental planning has helped to build wider support for culture in the region. The focus of the project on sustainability right from the outset is also an important feature.

2.87 In all of this, it is important to recognise the role of the individual. The Clackmannanshire project, along with others in the Programme, demonstrates very clearly the importance of a project manager with the experience, knowledge and networks to engage successfully across different service areas, to work successfully with artists and to design a sensitive and effective method of community engagement. This experience has been a critical factor in the success of the Artshop.

2.88 The longer term challenges here are to sustain the Artshop and the Vessel and to engage the CPP more fully in thinking about cultural activity as a tool for wider planning activity. The outputs of the Pathfinder project have done much to demonstrate the value of culture as a planning mechanism, and there are early signs that the Artshop may become increasingly used as a way of consulting with different community groups about their needs and aspirations. This is positive and encouraging, and as the community moves towards greater involvement and ownership of the facility, it could become an invaluable asset in supporting wider community engagement in planning processes.

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