Our Programme worked in Dalkeith from 2023 until June 2024. 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 Dalkeith Project Town
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.
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 was made up mostly of members from NHS Lothian, Midlothian Council and Midlothian Third Sector Interface and met monthly from 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?
How did input from our Programme help to shape the work undertaken in Dalkeith? Find out more in our Dalkeith Impact Story.
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 was 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 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 shared our findings through:
Read more about our data journey here.
Place and Wellbeing Outcome Briefings: Impact on Dalkeith'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
Dalkeith's Place and Wellbeing Assessments
Dalkeith also undertook a number of Place and Wellbeing Assessments:
- Single Midlothian Plan
- Dalkeith Regeneration Development Framework
- Central Dalkeith and Woodburn Community Action Plan
- Midlothian Integration Joint Board, Strategic Commissioning Plan
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 Dalkeith’s Place and Wellbeing Assessment reports in full.
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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.