A group of five local people who have been involved in successful regeneration projects will play a key part in deciding what community projects are taken forward.

The move is part of a review of East Ayrshire Council’s Place Based Investment Programme, which the council says will improve the plan, after ‘learning’ from the initial stages of the scheme.

Funding of £792,000 has been allocated to East Ayrshire by the Scottish Government as part of its Town Centre Regeneration Fund.

The application period for a share of the fund for 2023/24 runs until April 28. A decision is then due in June, prior to the council’s summer recess. 

In a report to the council’s cabinet on Wednesday, community led regeneration officer Claire Kavanagh highlighted the difficulty some community groups have had in securing contracts within timescales stipulated by funders and the need to get a ‘cocktail’ of capital and revenue funding that covers the entire span of a project.

Ms Kavanagh said that a cross department investment process is being trialled within the council to coordinate and support projects ‘with a focus on supporting groups to get projects ‘investment ready’.

This approach aims to ensure the right officer is in place to support specific groups, which she said increases ‘the opportunity for groups to access various national funds that align to their objectives and better align applications with funds managed by the council’.

Ms Kavanagh outlined the role of the new community assessment panel in deciding which projects are successful.

She said: “The community assessment panel comprises five local individuals who have lived experience of managing regeneration projects in their area.”

Until now senior council officers have been responsible to assessing applications, which were then recommended to council.

This group will continue to assess future applications. However, the community assessment panel will carry out an independent assessment of the applications, with a decision on recommendations to cabinet based on the overall score from both groups.

The assessment will be based on how well the applicant is to deliver a project, the community benefits, how it meets the programme’s objectives and whether there is match funding in place.

The new community panel will also provide a final criteria for consideration.
Of the projects approved in the first year of the programme, six were still to be completed when the last progress report was made.

Doon Valley Community Projects, Bank Street, Kilmarnock, St Marnock’s Square, Kilmarnock and the Academy and North Stairs are all complete.

Kilmarnock town centre bins and Newmilns car park are expected to be complete by the summer.

Of the projects agreed last March, four are now complete – Loch Doon Caravan and Camping Centre toilet and shower facilities, Lugar Parish Church Heritage and Information Centre access, the renovation of two rooms within Centrestage’s Arts Academy and the Congregational Board

Refurbishment at Loudoun Church Halls, Newmilns. Councillor Maureen McKay said: “I am  particularly pleased you have got your board of five people and I will be very interested to see how that actually impacts on the scoring system and also what they look to come forward with as their additional identified criteria.”

The other projects that remain in progress are at Stewarton Hub, Kilmarnock Amateur Weightlifting Club, John Knox Church, Stewarton, Mauchline CARS, Gatehead Bridge Project, Gavin Hamilton Sports Centre, Darvel, Take a Bow, Cumnock Memory Garden and Morton Park, Darvel, East Ayrshire Shop Front Improvement Scheme and Kilmarnock YMCA community garden coffee shop, Sorn Village Hall and Cumnock Men’s Shed, Burns Mall, Kilmarnock, Dalrymple Wetlands, Kilmaurs Tennis Club, Glencairn Bowling Club, Crossroads Community Hub, Recovery Enterprises Hub, Kilmarnock and Kilmarnock Station Railway Heritage.