Back in 2013 the Glencairn Community Council carried out a brief local survey on how the community would like to spend the available Windfarm funds. That survey raised a number of general concerns focusing on the neglected look of Moniaive in particular, and on the lack of facilities and amenities available to the residents of Glencairn in general.  Provision of affordable housing, both to keep existing residents and to attract new ones, was seen as key to the area’s socio-economic challenges by many.  As a result of these findings, Moniaive Initiative started to consider these issues in greater depth, and it’s current portfolio of projects was born.

In response to those concerns about the run-down appearance of the village, Moniaive Initiative has achieved funding for a consultation into options for High Street Regeneration.  To tackle the lack of facilities and amenities we are working on two fronts.  In the short-term we are raising funds for improvements to Macara Park, to increase the range of children’s recreational equipment available, and to ensure that we maximise the potential of this wonderful facility.  In the long term we have already completed a project to identify affordable housing requirements and feasibility of provision.  We are now currently considering the feasibility of creating a ‘community hub’, a project which could both ‘plug’ the gap in local service provision and potentially help to regenerate the High Street, by bringing back into use one of the long-empty buildings.

The ‘public consultation’ elements of our current projects will shortly be drawing to a close with an open Community Workshop on Saturday 16 April, 10.00-12.00am in the Glencairn Memorial Institute, to discuss some of the results of our High Street Regeneration and Community Hub surveys.  We look forward to welcoming as many of you as possible to this event, and hope to generate discussion on ideas which we can carry forward to tackle some of the issues raised by our consultation.

For those of you who may have missed them previously, our Brief Reports in the different elements of the public consultation to date can now be found together here:

BRIEF_HSR SurveyMonkey Results_Rev A

BRIEF_HSR Stakeholder Results_Rev A

BRIEF_HSR Community Survey Results_Rev A

BRIEF_CS Stakeholder Survey Results_Rev A

BRIEF_CS Communty Survey Results_Rev A

 

Today we are pleased to announce the launch of our on-line donations page with TOTALgiving.

Our first appeal is a modest one: we need to raise a minimum of £500 through local fund-raising, to match fund our grant applications for the Macara Park Improvements project.

Your donations, big or small, will help us to secure a new Toddler Area and Aerial Runway on the park,  as well as to refurbish the existing equipment, for everyone to enjoy.

Please remember to tick the Gift Aid box is you are a taxpayer: this will turn a £20 donation from you into £25 for our Appeal.

Follow the link to donate now:

http://www.totalgiving.co.uk/appeal/MacaraParkMoniaive

THANK YOU!

This project is supported by Annandale & Nithsdale Community Benefit Company.

 

 

Following on from our Community-wide survey in the Autumn, two reports are now available outlining the results of that survey.  The first focuses on the results relating to the High Street Regeneration project, the second on those relating to the Community Spaces project.

CommunitySurveyResults_HighStRegen_Jan2016

CommunitySurveyResults_Comm Spaces_Jan2016

Both projects are still ongoing, and the results outlined in these reports will be used to inform future decisions on how to carry these projects forward.

For the High Street Regeneration Project, we will shortly be inviting interested volunteers to attend a Workshop.  Our report shows the top priority for respondents is to “Encourage use of empty buildings” – so this will be top of our list for discussion.

Meanwhile on the Community Space project, it is currently the turn of the existing user groups to give feedback and ideas.

As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

If, like us, your New Year’s Resolution is to get more fresh air and exercise, why not volunteer with the new Friends of Macara Park group?

We’re still busy completing fund applications for the improvements to the play area on Macara Park.  While this is ongoing, we are setting up a new group to help us decide and carry forward some longer term plans for the park.  We aim to keep the “Friends” light and informal, with plenty of family-friendly activities and work parties to make the most of the wonderful space on offer in the heart of Moniaive.  You can read more about our proposals for the Friends group here:

The Friends of Macara Park – Outline Document

If you would like to get involved, please contact Deborah or Olwen on 0793-6701006 (mob), drop us a line at email: moniaiveinitiative@gmail.com, or contact us through our Facebook page.

We look forward to hearing from you!

We asked “Key Stakeholders”  (businesses and residents, to you and me!) how they would prioritise actions to regenerate Moniaive High Street.  Top of the list came “Encouraging the use of empty buildings”  closely followed by “Improving paving and pedestrian access”.    This is no great surprise to us, as all the recent studies tell us that thriving and vibrant villages and high streets depend on a good “pedestrian experience”.    Our challenge now is to find ways to improve the neglected parts of Moniaive.  You can have your say in this process by completing and returning your High Street Regeneration and Community Hub Questionnaire (distributed with the October Glencairn Gazette).

You can see the full results of our Key Stakeholders Survey here:

MI_Key Stakeholder Results_June15

MI_Key Stakeholder Comments_June15

 

You may remember that back in June we asked you to share your views in an online SurveyMonkey.

When asked to chose ONE word to describe how they saw Moniaive High Street at the moment, 37%  of Respondents chose the word “neglected”, but we are pleased to say that a further 37% selected “Friendly”.

Our community-wide Questionnaire will be delivered across Glencairn in the next few days – please do use this to have your say on how we can best tackle the “neglected” look of the High Street, to let us again focus on the friendly, strong community that lives here.

You can see the full SurveyMonkey Results here:

MI_SurveyMonkey Results_June2015

In July we submitted an “Expression of Interest” to the Forestry Commission for their Office in Dunreggan, and under their Disposal procedure this gave us 56 days in which to carry out local consultation into possible community use of the site.  We advertsied our request for suggestions here on our Website, on Facebook, through the Glencairn Gazette, and through face-to-face discussions at the Moniaive Gala.  We received three suggestions: general community space, car park, and campsite/bunkhouse.  No evidence of community need or wider community support for any of these was forthcoming.  No local community group or organisation approached us with a specific requirement for space that could be fulfilled by this location.  Given that the site is located in a flood risk area and a residential area, it is subject to planning restrictions that make it unlikely that we would achieve planning permission or grant-funding for any significant development of the site.  Moniaive Initiative therefore took the decision to withdraw our Expression of Interest in this site.

With the children back at School after the Summer holidays, now is the time for us to return to our proposals for improving play equipment provision on Macara Park.  Grant funding for such projects is very limited at the moment, so we are putting together a revised package which will hopefully secure provision of a new “Toddler Area” and an Aerial Runway for older children, as well as repairs to the existing equipment.  You can see pictures of the options we are considering here:

equipment pictures_1_July2015

equipment pictures_2_July2015

equipment pictures_3_July2015

We welcome feedback on the various options, and you can leave your comments either here, or by posting on our Facebook page.

The Forestry Commission has advertised the forthcoming disposal of their office site in Dunreggan, and Moniaive Initiative has submitted an “Expression of Interest” on behalf of the community.

We have just two months to formulate any ideas into a project, so please do contact us if you feel you have a feasible and sustainable community use for these premises. Please remember that options for the site are limited by it’s situation on a flood plain and in a residential area.

If no suitable project is forthcoming, the disposal process will resume in early September and the site will be offered for sale on the open market.

Any suggestions for use can be forwarded to us using either the comments box below or the Contact Form on the LINKS page.

For an update on our first full year of operation, the Project Officer’s Report from the Moniaive Initiative AGM in May 2015 is now available to read here:

PROJECT OFFICER REPORT_May2015