Dalkeith is situated in Midlothian, on the outskirts of Edinburgh. Central Dalkeith and Woodburn are covered by the intermediate zones Dalkeith and Thornybank with some crossover into neighbouring areas of Eskbank and Pathhead and Rural East Midlothian. Dalkeith was our final Project Town added in early 2023 as part of Phase 1 of the programme.
With 71.9% of the population of Dalkeith intermediate zone in the 10% most deprived, and a willingness to support place-based approaches in the town, it met our programme criteria for support.
Dalkeith’s Steering Group is made up mostly of members from NHS Lothian, Midlothian Council and Midlothian Third Sector Interface and has met monthly since April 2023.
Susan Rintoul, former Project Lead for Dalkeith finished on the Programme in January 2024, and Jane Deary, former Community Link Lead for Dalkeith, finished on the Programme in March 2024.
What has been the impact of the Shaping Places for Wellbeing Programme in Dalkeith?
Former Project Lead, Susan Rintoul shares her thoughts in just one of Dalkeith’s Impact Stories so far.
Dalkeith's Data Journey
The support from the Shaping Places for Wellbeing Programme began with our quantitative data exercise to identify the population groups of Dalkeith 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:
- High levels of deprivation,
- Poverty, including child poverty,
- Crime/police call outs,
- Substance misuse
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 which was informal in its approach, and prioritised building relationships with third sector organisations and community groups, combined with desk-based searches. We have shared our findings through:
- Community Link Lead report
- Visual summary of key insight from the report
Read more about our data journey here.
Dalkeith's Place and Wellbeing Assessments
Dalkeith has also undertaken a number of Place and Wellbeing Assessments:
- Single Midlothian Plan
- Dalkeith Regeneration Development Framework
- Central Dalkeith and Woodburn Community Action Plan
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 Dalkeith’s Place and Wellbeing Assessment reports in full.
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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.