People living in and around Stonehaven have participated in a participatory budgeting exercise having a direct say in where £1.8m of Live Life Aberdeenshire's capital budget is to be spent. Last year, the community was invited to submit ideas as to how resources could be used to develop local sport and leisure infrastructure through the online platform. The community submitted more than 200 ideas through the online platform. Together with representatives of sports clubs, local groups, and community council, Live Life Abderdeenshire developed seven options that were presented to the community in a public vote between February 7 to February 21of this year.
Participatory budgeting (PB) is a way for people to have a direct say in how local money is spent. PB is used worldwide, and now in Scotland, where community groups and local authorities use PB to give local people power. The Scottish Government expects local authorities to use PB to spend at least 1% of their annual budget. The PB in Stonehaven was well received by the community with a turnout of 15.7% of the population (11,107), and of those participating in the vote, 90% had not taken part in a community engagement like this before, and 94% indicated they thought it valuable involving the community in these types of decisions. The Participatory Budgeting approach is designed to maximise the resources available to meet the future needs and demands of the local community.
This PB's objective was to deliver high-quality sport and leisure venues that are accessible with a positive and welcoming environment, offering better opportunities for people to lead healthier, happier lives.
The funding allocated to the participatory budgeting process is in addition to recent and soon to be delivered Live Life Aberdeenshire's investment at the town's leisure centre and Open Air Swimming Pool.
Live Life Aberdeenshire will now work to deliver these options, subject to planning and other considerations, with the works expected to begin in early 2023.
The options and public ranking result -
1
- Winning Option Option
- 6 Extension and improvement to Stonehaven Leisure Centre - £1.4m
- Note - this option will proceed, subject to terms and conditions.
- Average Rank 2.44
2
- Option 1 New outdoor covered sports area - £1.4m
- Note- this option will not proceed as the combined costs with option 6 the highest-ranked option fall outside the budget.
- Average Rank 3.60
3
- Option 5 New indoor tennis facility at Stonehaven Recreation Grounds - £250k Contribution (Overall cost £1.2m)
- Note – this option will proceed, subject to terms and conditions, as costs for option 5 combined with option 6 the highest-ranked option is within budget.
- Average Rank 4.01
4
- Option 4 Develop outside space at Stonehaven Recreation Grounds - £150k
- Note – this option will proceed, subject to terms and conditions, as costs for option 4 combined with option 6 and option 5 is within budget.
- Average Rank 4.19
5
- Option 2 PAMIS changing and entrance upgrade at Stonehaven Leisure Centre - £350k
- Note – this option is included in option 6 and will proceed, subject to terms and conditions. Agreed with reference group PAMIS to be included as a stand-alone option.
- Average Rank 4.35
6
- Option 3 Stadium upgrade to Stonehaven Recreation Grounds - £500k Contribution (Overall Cost £1m)
- Note – this option can not proceed within this participatory budgeting process at this time.
- Average Rank 4.43
7
- Option 7 Enhancements to existing skate/BMX park - £150k
- Note – this option can not proceed within this participatory budgeting process at this time.
- Average Rank 4.99
Total Number Voters 1753 Percentage of population 15.7% (Population 11,170) The engagement platform contains more information, including impressions of the options that editors are free for use: https://bit.ly/LLApb