Braemar Community Action Plan Draft
v5 January 2013
Braemar lies at the
heart of the outstanding Cairngorms
National Park in
the highest and most mountainous
landscape of the
UK. Surrounded by mountains, heather moorland,
pine and birch wood,
it spans the rocky gorge of the Clunie Water.
Braemar’s origins
are rooted in
antiquity. The area has been strategically important since
early times. Hill
passes, from the north,
south, east
and
west, converge where the modern
village now stands.
The earliest settlement
is believed to have
been
near
the raised mound where Braemar Castle is now situated. The
first church dedicated to Saint
Andrew
in Scotland was built
here and the area
came to be known as
St Andrews.
Fine hunting first brought royal patronage.
In the 10th century, King Kenneth MacAlpin enjoyed
sport
here. The
rocky hill which forms the backdrop to the village bears his
name:
Kenneth’s Crag or Creag Choinnnich. In the 11th century, King Malcolm Canmore built
a fine hunting lodge on the banks of the Clunie
and is
credited with being the first to use a competitive hill
race to find his best soldiers,
a tradition which lives on in the annual Braemar
Gathering. Kindrochit
Castle is known to have been in regular use
by Scottish kings
until the 16th century.
Around the
castle, grew the village of Castleton on Invercauld Estate
which, along with Auchendryne (field of the thorns) on Mar
Estate, forms the modern
Braemar.
By the 17th century Kindrochit
was ruinous and a
new
Castle of Marr was built by the Earl
of Mar, near the site of the original
St Andrews. In 1715, the
Earl of Mar gave the village a
lasting place in the history of Scotland when
he raised the standard to start the
1715 Jacobite uprising.
Up until the
19th century, Gaelic was
the
language spoken by the
inhabitants of Braemar,
evidenced by local place names. The arrival of Queen Victoria on Deeside in
1848 brought an influx
of English visitors
and
created the new industry of tourism for
the
village. The Gaelic language
was laid aside and Braemar embraced
new opportunities.
Hotels and businesses,
designed to serve the
new
wave of visitors, sprang up and the
village, as we know it today, began.
Braemar today
Today Braemar is
a vibrant community striving to become even better, with
a raft of different projects underway. The economy
of
the village is heavily dependent on tourism,
but both summer and winter
seasons are
short. There is
a real
desire to create additional
attractions to bring more visitors to Braemar, persuade them to stay longer and establish a more robust economy.
Braemar already has
much to attract
visitors
as well as new residents. Although the
population
is small, the school roll is rising and new houses are being built. Children
are well served by the Primary School,
with a headteacher and a staff
of two. For secondary education, youngsters attend Aboyne
Academy (27 miles away).
A resident doctor
is on call 24
hours a day
and there is a sheltered
housing complex with
12 residents. An emergency service
is provided by a team of
first responders, all locally retained
members of the Grampian
Fire & Rescue Service. A
highly experienced volunteer Mountain Rescue Team, which operates
in partnership with Grampian Police, also has a
training base
in the village.
The community and visitors
are well served by local services and shops
with a garage and service station,
pharmacist and newsagent,
high
class butcher, Co-operative
store, art
gallery, sporran maker, mountain
sports shop and around seven other shops offering a wide
range
of gifts, food and clothing. There
is also an 18-hole golf
course, reputed to be the highest
in Scotland, and the UK’s largest skiing area, Glenshee Ski
Centre, is just 10 miles
away.
The two large
coaching hotels
provide accommodation for
around 320. There are
also three smaller private
hotels, five guest
houses, around six B&Bs,
two bunkhouses and
the Youth Hostel, as well as
over
a dozen self-catering properties. There is a Caravan Club site with accommodation for 120 caravans.
Nearby, too, is the National Trust for Scotland’s Mar Lodge, which operates as
self-catering accommodation and as
a popular wedding venue.
Three churches operate
in the village:
Church of Scotland, St
Andrews Roman Catholic
Church and an Episcopalian congregation at Mar
Lodge.
There is a choice of eating establishments offering a range of services from coffee
shops
and casual bar meals to restaurants, serving locally sourced quality meals. There is
also a take- away
establishment providing curry, pizza as well as
fish and chips.
A
thriving variety of clubs
and societies operates in the village. There is a
long established WRI, a Scout group, bowling club, local newspaper
group, country dance group, book
group,
local history group, choir, tin whistle group, lunch
club,
pantomime group, walking groups as
well as fiddle, bagpipe and highland dancing classes. The Village Hall is the venue for
a number of both
local and visiting musical groups
and events. The Castleton Hall offers
bookable
facilities including snooker, as well
as hosting popular Beaver, Cub and Scout
groups.
Explorer Scouts meet at a
separate hall, The
Shieling.
There is an active Community Council, a
tourism group and Braemar Community Ltd (BCL), a
group set up to help deliver projects. Since 2007,
BCL
has operated Braemar
Castle
as a visitor attraction on behalf of the community on a 50-year improving lease
from Invercauld
Estate. It is also engaged
in
exploring a micro-hydroelectric
scheme at Corriemulzie
on
Mar Estate, the building of a new footbridge over the Dee and, along with
the project team, the
restoration and revitalisation of Sir Ninian Comper’s architectural masterpiece, St
Margaret’s Church.
Annual
events are an important element in the
life of Braemar, with
the Junior Highland Games
attracting crowds of over
a thousand, the Jacobite Day at
Braemar Castle over
700 and the Braemar Gathering in excess of 15,000. To capitalise on the popularity of highland
gatherings, Braemar Royal Highland Society
has commissioned a feasibility study into a
Highland Games Discovery Centre for the village to help turn Braemar into a “must
see” tourist
destination.
Community Action Planning
The
purpose
of community action planning for
Braemar
was first explored
at a public meeting held in the village hall in March 2012. Over 30
people attended to discuss
the process and consider its potential benefits:
·
to enable local
people to say what
they want for Braemar – now and in the
future.
·
to encourage everyone to think
about what
they
value and want to protect.
·
to build on existing good work,
by publicising and seeking support for ongoing
projects.
·
to evidence
community needs to generate support
from agencies and funding bodies.
·
to prepare
a plan for short, medium and long-term needs
and aspirations.
to engender collaboration to make
Braemar even better.
At that initial meeting it was
agreed that a steering group should be set
up by the Community Council.
Chaired by Davie Geddes,
the
steering group met regularly between April 2012 and January 2013,
with its membership including Susan Sherrard,
John Jolly and David Frew.
The steering group
was determined that there should be an open
process, involving
everyone in and around Braemar, to publicise and generate support for community action
planning, beginning with a detailed, village-wide survey.
As
well as the steering group and Community
Council,
support for community action
planning was provided by the
Cairngorms National Park Authority,
Aberdeenshire Council, and the
Marr Community Planning Group.
Assistance was also provided by the Marr Area
Partnership and the Deeside Donside Development Project. The steering group together
with BCL, obtained
funding for the part-time appointment in November of Maggie
MacAlpine as Community Action Planning Support Officer.
Promoted through
a dedicated website, the Braemar Buzzard, the Community
Council and
through shops in the
village, the village-wide
survey was completed by 96 individuals
or households in May.
As well as harvesting the
comments and views from the
survey,
a number of other consultation initiatives fed into the
drafting of the Braemar Community Action Plan.
These included an event in June when 17 young people
were
asked for their views
on Braemar and what could be improved, and another during the
same month, when primary school children were asked
to draw pictures of
things they want
for the village. Information gleaned from these targeted meetings was
particularly valuable
given that, overall, 92% of
responders were aged 36 or over.
A drop-in session
in
July attracted more than 60 people,
who
were given the opportunity to
learn about information that had been gathered and to view displays by a number of
groups on their activities and projects.
A further open meeting
was held in September,
attended by around 30.
Four themes for action were distilled down by
the
steering group to help create this
document - Braemar’s Community
Action Plan, which was
submitted first to stakeholders
for comments and finally to the
Community Council
for its approval
in February 2013:
·
visitor strategy, attractions and services.
·
community services and transport.
·
youth
·
housing,
employment
and the economy.
Theme 1: Visitor strategy, attractions &
services
Tempered
by the results of the survey, the steering group believes that the
paramount objective for Braemar should be
to
develop a clear, overarching strategy for visitor management.
Ideally, this should include
the development of a
brand identity to position and differentiate the
village’s USP(s).
Development of
a formal visitor strategy will require objective, external
support and resource.
It also would require buy-in from all sections of the community, calling for collaboration between
groups in the village.
Engaging a
suitable consultant
to carry out
such an exercise will require a steering group or lead
organisation, with the process being owned by
the Community Council.
The CNPA has already offered
to
provide support funding with other organisations indicating that
they may also contribute (CBP, NTS
and AC).
New ways are needed
to
persuade people to stop in
the
village and spend money. While further
visitor data needs to be collected, it is
known that around 100,000 visitors a year
stop
at the Linn of Dee
car park.
More
information is also
required to understand the needs
of
visitors so that
services can be
better
tailored
to
their needs. It was suggested that visitor
surveys be carried out
at some
high footfall locations to fill the
information gaps.
The survey also confirmed that local
people most value Braemar's magnificent scenery, wildlife and tranquil environment. Similarly, when asked
about what should be protected or enhanced, there was
a clear consensus
in favour of wildlife, woodland and open spaces. A significant proportion of responses
also highlighted
the village’s sense of community, low crime
rate and its small size.
Suggestions were received about how to enhance Braemar's attractiveness to visitors, with
many people
wishing to see
improvements made to the appearance of the village
in terms of signage, visitor facilities, customer training,
litter reduction, landscaping and hanging baskets.
Outdoors, even
though two-thirds
said they believe there are enough footpaths around the village, there is a need for quality improvements and link
paths. A recurring theme
also called for coordination of destination marketing initiatives both within the village and also with other nearby attractions such as Glenshee ski centre and mountain biking.
Given Braemar's
climate, many responders volunteered ideas for
indoor activities including the development of
a swimming pool,
tennis
court, climbing centre
and
museum.
There is also an appetite to develop a visitor centre for Braemar
Castle, an arts
centre, a Highland Games heritage centre a boutique hotel,
consistent signage and a
programme of
improvements for
Kindrochit Castle. There were also calls
for
refurbishment of the
village hall and suggestions made regarding enhanced
use of other facilities
including the golf club.
When asked
for
ideas about how to make
Braemar even better,
some of the other
suggestions which emerged included improved
shopping, a late
bus, a pub, an internet café,
better transport links, cafés
and
restaurants staying open
longer, and completion
of the
footbridge over the Dee.
Theme 2: Community services & transport
There was a
high proportion among survey respondents of those who said they
take
an
active role in one or more community
groups (64%). A similar proportion believes community
groups work well together (65%),
although there was consensus that more could
be done to coordinate efforts for
the benefit of the
village as a whole.
For services provided by
Aberdeenshire Council, views were mixed in
terms of refuge collection and snow clearing.
There is a belief that
refuse lorries should empty bins more frequently, that there should be a garden
refuse collection,
a large item uplift service, more
frequent library visits and a snow plough based in
the village.
A significant
proportion believes that opportunities for adult
learning could be improved (59%), with IT
cited by many
responders. Concerns were
voiced regarding the future
of
the nursery and several
noted that secondary school pupils
were disadvantaged
by the distance they need to travel.
In terms of
accessing local information, the
survey makes
a case for an improved
noticeboard and website.
Local media such as the Deeside Piper and Braemar Buzzard, together
with word-of-mouth,
were cited as being most used
as information sources, with
radio and Braemar's village website
least used.
Asked about any additional services which might
be
needed to help residents remain at
home, 57% expressed
the view that more
could be
provided,
especially for the elderly. Such services could include a day centre for the
elderly, a night settling service and local care worker.
While 66% said they
believe health service provision to be satisfactory, the lack of a locally-
based ambulance concerns many. Similarly,
the distance needed
to
travel for dentist or
chiropodist appointments causes difficulties for some. There was considerable support
for
the local GP, who provides a 24/7 service.
Considering Braemar's carbon footprint, a number of
responders voiced their objections
to wind turbines.
There was
considerable support,
however, for a hydroelectric
facility, solar
panels,
biomass scheme and community-based
CHP project. Improved
public transport
links would also considerably reduce car
use.
The most frequently mentioned
cause for dissatisfaction, cited
across a number of
survey questions, relates to public transport. Recurring concerns
include: expensive, infrequent and unreliable
services to Aberdeen,
as well as the complete
lack of any services to Blairgowrie and Perth, as well as other villages within the Park.
Suggestions volunteered include the introduction of an express
bus service to Aberdeen,
new
services to the
south and other
parts of the Park, a dedicated school bus, a local taxi
service and a shuttle service
to
the Linn of Dee and Linn of Quoich.
Theme 3: Youth
Many responders complained
of
continuing drainage
issues in the play
park,
together
with
the need for improving play
equipment.
Some cited
the lack of activities for teenagers in the
village as a cause for real
concern, together
with few opportunities for local
employment.
There was, therefore, considerable
enthusiasm for developing a
Youth Club with new facilities
put in place.
Theme 4: Housing, employment & the economy
The
survey revealed a dichotomy, with nearly every respondent calling for more affordable
rented housing,
with many of these also saying that
they cherish Braemar's small size
and conservation status.
Of the survey
respondents, 46% say they run their own business or work from home. They cited the lack of affordable housing and,
specifically, lack of
accommodation for seasonal
employees as
a hindrance to business.
Looking at means
to
help stimulate business start-ups and existing businesses, there was
a clear majority looking for faster
broadband.
Ideas were also proposed
including IT,
business and customer service training, low-cost workshop and office units,
as well as much more
collaboration with economic
development agencies.
Many also recognise the
need for improved marketing for the
village and Braemar-based businesses
and call for a reduction in the
use
of non-local
support services and tradespeople.
Next steps
The steering group’s work is now complete. The
next
step
is the establishment of a
small co- ordinating group, which is tasked
with tracking progress
against the four themes for action,
as well as keeping the Community Council updated.
While nobody should expect that all
the concerns and ideas raised
through the survey and
other consultations can be addressed, the Braemar Community Action Plan is based
on
what is believed to be achievable. The tables provide a guide
to what it is intended to deliver over
the short, medium and long terms.
A number of other project ideas emerged during the
consultation process, which currently
fall outwith the community action plan remit.
For
completeness,
however, they are captured
in a separate table.
Delivery of a
whole range of projects
identified within the tables will
require
the setting up
of sub-groups, each
responsible for its own remit,
and partnerships
with other individuals and organisations.
The community will be kept informed of developments,
with interest expressed
in
joining one of
the resulting sub-groups very much welcomed!
Finally,
to
all those who attended
public meetings, responded
to
the survey, took part
in other consultation meetings,
as well as those organisations who
lent their expertise or funding,
the steering group would like to extend sincere thanks! For all who love
living in Braemar, our
new community action plan represents
a great opportunity to look ahead with excitement and confidence.
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