Alloa is located in the central lowlands of Scotland within the county of Clackmannanshire and was the first town to benefit from the support of a Shaping Places for Wellbeing Project Lead in March 2022.
Alloa South and East is one of three Intermediate Zones that make up the town of Alloa together with Alloa North and Alloa West. It sits within the 5% most deprived areas in Scotland and, with work already underway on community wealth building, it met our programme criteria for support.
Alloa’s Steering Group is made up mostly of members from NHS Forth Valley, Clackmannanshire Council and Clackmannanshire Third Sector Interface. It has met monthly since January 2022.
What has been the impact of the Shaping Places for Wellbeing Programme in Alloa?
Former Project Lead, Theresa Glasgow shares her thoughts in just one of Alloa’s Impact Stories so far.
Alloa's Data Journey
The support from the Shaping Places for Wellbeing Programme began with our quantitative data exercise to identify the population groups of Alloa experiencing the most inequality, carried out with support from the Public Health Scotland Local Intelligence System Team (LIST). This is captured in a Quantitative Data Profile of the findings that allowed us to identify four main areas of impact around:
- People experiencing deprivation in Alloa South and East
- People with problem substance use, including alcohol
- People experiencing poverty, with a focus on children
- People experiencing ill health and dying prematurely
We have shared our findings through:
- Quantitative data profile
- Quantitative data infographic, highlighting key areas of inequality
To understand residents’ experiences of the places they live, work and relax, our Community Link Leads aimed to bring this quantitative data to life by undertaking a qualitative data gathering exercise. This was informal in its approach and prioritised building relationships with third sector organisations and community groups, combined with desk-based searches. We have shared these findings through:
Read more about our data journey here.
Alloa's Place and Wellbeing Assessments
Alloa has also undertaken a number of Place and Wellbeing Assessments:
- Draft Interim Climate Change Strategy (first assessment in July 2022 with follow up assessment in late 2023)
- Wellbeing Hub Location (first assessment in July 2022)
- NHS Forth Valley Healthcare Strategy 2016-2021
- Local Development Plan Vision and Strategic Objectives
- Local Outcome Improvement Plan
- Clackmannanshire Council Interim Climate Change Strategy (follow-up assessment)
Following each Place and Wellbeing Assessment a report is produced recommending how a more place-based approach can be taken. If you’re interested in our approach, read Alloa’s Place and Wellbeing Assessment reports in full.
Watch this video from Public Health Scotland to learn how our Programme has been implemented within Alloa and Fraserburgh, two of the Project Towns the Programme is working in.
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Shaping Places for Wellbeing Programme
The Shaping Places for Wellbeing Programme is a joint delivery partnership between the Improvement Service and Public Health Scotland. This forum is for those interested in our work supporting the role of place to reduce inequality and improve the wellbeing of people and planet.
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Place Network
For those interested in the importance of place as a working approach to delivering national outcomes around improved wellbeing and inclusive growth.