Our Programme worked in Alloa from 2022 until June 2024 supporting them to take a place-based approach. Here you can find information about the Project Town, all the work we carried out and the documents we created.
The final document we produced is our Project Town Closing Summary which brings together all of this information.
About our Alloa Project Town
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 was made up of members from NHS Forth Valley, Clackmannanshire Council and Clackmannanshire Third Sector Interface and met monthly from January 2022.
Theresa Glasgow was Project Lead for Alloa from March 2022 - December 2023. Sarah Rodway-Swanson joined the Programme as Community Link Lead in November 2022 and moved into the Project Lead role from January 2024 until June 2024.
What was the impact of the Shaping Places for Wellbeing Programme in Alloa?
How did our Programme help to facilitate the development of the Wellbeing Hub and Lochies School Development in Alloa. Read our Impact Story for Alloa here to find out more.
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 was 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 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 shared these findings through:
Read more about our data journey here.
Place and Wellbeing Outcome Briefings: Impact on Alloa's Community
Each Project Town created Place and Wellbeing Outcome Briefings, which explored the impact of the Place and Wellbeing Outcomes on communities, organisations and practitioners within our Project Towns. Read Alloa’s Place and Wellbeing Outcome Briefings below.
Movement
- Active Travel: Impact on Alloa's Community Briefing
- Public Transport: Impact on Alloa's Community Briefing
- Traffic and Parking: Impact on Alloa's Community Briefing
Alloa's Place and Wellbeing Assessments
Alloa also undertook a number of Place and Wellbeing Assessments:
- Draft Interim Climate Change Strategy (initial assessment)
- Wellbeing Hub Location (initial assessment)
- NHS Forth Valley Healthcare Strategy 2016-2021
- Local Development Plan - Vision and Strategic Objectives
- Local Outcomes Improvement Plan
- Clackmannanshire Council Interim Climate Change Strategy (follow-up assessment)
- Wellbeing Hub and Lochies School site layout and landscaping (follow-up assessment)
Following each Place and Wellbeing Assessment a report was produced recommending how a more place-based approach could 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 was implemented within Alloa and Fraserburgh, two of the Project Towns the Programme worked in.
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Planning for Place Programme
The Planning for Place Programme supports councils and their partners to collaborate around place, seeking to encourage place-based approaches to joint planning, resourcing and delivery of places that enable all communities to flourish.
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National Planning Improvement Programme
The National Planning Improvement Champion is responsible for monitoring the performance of planning authorities and providing advice to them (and others) on what steps might be taken to improve their performance.
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Planning Skills
The Planning Skills Programme co-ordinates training events for public sector planning officers, with the aim to develop the skills required to deliver better places.
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Digital Planning
The Digital Planning team at the Improvement Service collaborates with local government to enhance and unify data related to planning and building standards. This work aims to develop a cohesive national data landscape, fostering insights and supporting informed decision-making.
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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.