RESIDENTS, businesses and anyone with an interest and passion for the Garnock Valley are being invited to complete a community survey on the area's future before the end of September.
The survey findings will inform the preparation of a community-led Local Place Plan for the area.
The Local Place Plan will map out future investment and community action in Beith, Dalry and Kilbirnie, plus the villages of Barrmill, Burnhouse, Gateside, Glengarnock, Longbar and surrounding countryside.
The Our Garnock Valley community survey was launched in July 2024 and posted to all residential and business addresses in the area.
The level of interest in the survey has been impressive with online engagement forms being handed into local libraries and completed at recent community events.
The survey takes five minutes to complete and is open to all. It can be completed online at ourgarnockvalley.net/ or in-person at the public libraries in Beith and Kilbirnie and at Lochshore Park Hub before the deadline of 6pm on Monday, September 30.
Following on from the survey, a series of community event days are planned across the area. These events will draw upon the findings of the community surveys, as well as projects, priorities and proposals being suggested by local people and businesses across the Valley.
Each event day will feature a drop-in exhibition, community chit-chats to showcase great work already under way, a walk-wheel and talk town tour and public workshops.
Separate consultation events will also be arranged for the villages and rural communities in the Garnock Valley.
All of the event days will run from approximately midday until 8.30pm, with a variety of activities during that time. All events will be free, open to anyone with an interest in the Garnock Valley. At the event days, it is intended to help translate the survey findings into proposals for consideration in the Local Place Plan.
The forthcoming community event days are:
- Kilbirnie @ Bridgend Community Centre on Wednesday, November 13
- Beith @ Beith Community Centre on Thursday, November 14
- Dalry @ St. Margaret’s Parish Church Hall on Friday, November 22
Further details and a running order of events and activities will be published nearer the time.
After the event days the Our Garnock Valley community plan will be developed as a draft, based on the survey findings.
A further community event will take place in early 2025, alongside online consultation, to invite final comments before the community-led Local Place Plan is submitted to North Ayrshire Council in spring next year.
Local community groups involved so far include:
- Barrmill and District Community Association
- Beith and District Community Council
- Beith Community Development Trust
- Dalry Community Development Hub
- Dalry Community Sports Club
- Garnock Valley Youth Forum
- Kilbirnie and Glengarnock Community Council
- Radio City Association
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