OUR VISION
To utilise the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDG’s) as a guide to create well connected, empowered, active and supported communities across the West Coast of Scotland.
OUR AIMS have been shaped and influenced through discussions with community groups, along with Scottish Government directives and include the following:
Vibrant Local Food Culture
- Argyll & Bute has an abundance of esteemed small scale local food growers and an increasing number of community gardens, encouraging our growing community. We aim to reduce the carbon footprint of food transport from field and sea to table through working with growers, local authorities and communities to find solutions and keep cost & carbon down.
- Encourage a culture of organic food production, sustainable fishing and ethically reared livestock.
- Support Scottish Government Directives to improve community grow initiatives.
- Join together our community grow networks and create an Argyll and Bute Food Network.
- Work with local authorities so that the food grown by our pupils in the school gardens can also be eaten by those same pupils. This means a policy change within our school kitchens.
- Knowledge and resource sharing including seed libraries and volunteer base.
- Provide enhanced horticultural training and education to our local populations. Teach those interested how to preserve home grown food, provide fresh produce to those citizens who are unable to grow their own, and encourage healthy eating options for those who are on fixed or low incomes.
- Ensure Food Waste is a thing of the past.
Developing Local Community Energy Initiatives
- Source funding and partnership working to enable community energy initiatives.
- Ensure our communities are self-reliant and have a stake in the energy generation, storage and supply.
- Create local managed smart grids that match and support local needs.
- Work with Housing associations, builders and energy initiatives to ensure new builds provide zero-carbon and older housing stock is insulated and updated to meet Scottish Government objectives.
- Make district heating commonplace and fuel poverty a thing of the past.
- Be a part of Scotland’s world class low carbon local energy culture.
Creating Thriving Local “Living” Communities
- Find solutions to the urban-centric 20-minute neighbourhoods that will offer our rural residents access to amenities closer to home, and if possible within walking/cycling routes.
- Take a joined-up approach working with Local Authorities to address community needs at the local level. This includes examining medium-long term plans for our coastal infrastructure as there’s approximately 4000 miles of coast in Argyll & Bute, and most of the infrastructure, roads, shops & homes are placed along these coastlines.
- Increase the number of cycle/footpaths and improve public transport systems to minimise the need for private cars wherever possible.
- Provide working community hubs and homes with superfast broadband and improve wireless signal wherever possible.
- Work to find solutions to the issues brought about by increased tourism by helping communities to create local tourism guidance for improved social cohesion and enhanced visitor experiences.
- Work with Housing associations and local authorities to achieve housing solutions for the people living in Argyll and Bute. This will also enable our local businesses to secure the staff needed and allow for those staff to have a place to live near their work.
Working towards a Circular Economy
Our communities are at the heart of our waste management as local authorities cannot meet the Scottish Government’s goal for zero waste by 2025 due to Argyll & Butes expansive and challenging geography.
Shifting perspectives will help ensure waste doesn’t just become a new resource, as the issue’s resolution must start with the way we consume.
Enabling Happy, Healthy Communities
Happy healthy communities come about through the creation of healthier green spaces, eating healthy local grown food, and providing active outdoor experiences both on land and at sea. This will increase social interactions and help encourage creative livelihoods, thus making our communities healthier and happier.
Water plays a large part of our daily lives as we are surrounded by coasts, rivers and sea lochs, therefore clean water and sanitation is vital to our happiness and health.
Argyll & Bute has a diverse demographic along with it’s challenging geography, so let’s work towards creating a more equal society and make gender inequality a thing of the past, thus ensuring a happier, healthier local communities.