Item 11 - Alexandria Pilot Project update August 2026
West Dunbartonshire Council · 20 August 2026
Back to Community Planning West Dunbartonshire Management Board — 20 August 2026 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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Unmarked Report by Chief Officer: Regulatory and Regeneration (West Dunbartonshire Council) to CPWD Management Board Management Group: 20th August 2026 ___________________________________________________________________ Subject: Community Planning West Dunbartonshire Alexandria Pilot Project Update 1. Purpose 1.1 The purpose of this report is to provide Community Planning West Dunbartonshire (CPWD) Board members with an update on Community Planning’s Alexandria Pilot Project. 2. Recommendations 2.1 CPWD Management Board members are asked to: Note the content, steps taken so far and approve the actions set out in paragraph 6.2. Partners are asked to commit support, representation and leadership to allow the Pilot to progress. 3. Background 3.1 Background: The Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 requires local authorities, partners and local communities to work together through community planning to design and deliver better services that make a real difference to people's lives. Communities across West Dunbartonshire are facing significant challenges. By working in partnership and adopting a preventative approach, the CPP can help build resilient communities able to take an active role in making their neighbourhoods a better place. ITEM 11
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Unmarked Following presentations to the CPWD Management Board in February and November 2024 agreement was given to develop a pilot project that would address a priority raised by the community though the Locality Planning process which took place in winter 2023 in 3 localities- Clydebank Waterfront, Leven and Dumbarton. The Partnership agreed that the locality should be Leven and the agreed community should be Alexandria. The community in Leven identified 6 priorities during engagement activity around the Leven Locality Plan, several of which are being addressed by planned Council-led projects and investment. Access to services was one of these priorities. The CWPD Management Board agreed to focus on this priority as part of the pilot project. The pilot aims to take a closer look at community members’ experiences in accessing services or trying to access services to find out why this was identified as a priority by many people in Alexandria. 4 Approach 4.1 To undertake the pilot a steering group of community planning partners met in January 2025, and the initial stages of the approach were mapped. This group including senior officers from HSCP, Skills Development Scotland, Working4U and The Communities Team was established to oversee the pilot project and provide strategic direction. The first phase of the Pilot was an initial community engagement which was undertaken July to September 2025- this was delayed as other community engagement activity was taking place during late winter, early spring 2025 such as Budget Consultation. A community survey was promoted in community spaces and using existing community partner networks. This work included drop-ins, focus groups (Unpaid Carers and older residents) and being present within The Vale Centre for Health and Care for the duration of the engagement. The initial stage of the pilot was completed by The Communities Team and HSCP’s Engagement Officer and a report prepared in October 2025. This was made available to steering group partners. 5 Brief Summary of Engagement Findings 5.1 The services that are most important to respondents were reported as: Health services (GP appointments, access to clinics etc) Travel services (Buses- in particular transport to access health services, trains, public pathways) Community services (Community hubs, public parks, libraries)
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Unmarked The community was asked if they have experienced a time where they were unable to access a service within the Alexandria area? Yes 78% No 22% Reasons given included: Nowhere to speak face to face. No Citizens Advice in the area anymore. No local Police office. No contact centre/hub to speak to Council. Banks closing and no regular Post Office. No rooms at the Community Centre for hire. 6. Challenges, progress and next steps. 6.1 No full steering group meeting has taken place since completion of the initial engagement phase. This is partly as consequence of changes and vacancies in leadership posts. Progress has been made in engaging the community in Alexandria and community organisations around the findings of the pilot engagement report, as well as other actions identified by the community and set out in Leven Ward Locality Plan. These include Alexandria Community Council, The Vale of Leven Trust and Alexandria BID. There is a strong community commitment to working in partnership. A monthly Carers’ Café will be piloted in The Vale Health and Care Centre from May to July. This is a joint initiative between NHS Carers Liaison Staff and The Communities Team. This will attempt to address a service gap highlighted by unpaid carers who attended a focus group during the engagement. 6.2 There is a need for leadership and resource commitment from across the partnership so that the aims of the Pilot Approach can be achieved. The Council will continue to lead the delivery of the Pilot programme on the ground and the CPWD Board is asked to nominate from other Board Partners, a senior lead officer for the project who can convene and chair the steering group. The steering group should provide strategic direction for the next stage of the Pilot Project with the Council’s Communities Team continuing to support delivery.
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Unmarked 7. People Implications 7.1 The Pilot approach requires resourcing. All partners are expected to contribute to the success of the approach through their actions and input. 8. Financial Implications 8.1 Joint resourcing of CPWD projects and initiatives requires further discussion. 9. Risk Analysis 9.1 None. 10. Equalities Impact Assessment (EIA) 10.1 None. 11. Consultation 11.1 Further and ongoing community engagement is required. 10. Strategic Assessment 10.1 None. Date: 20th August 2026 Person to Contact: Colin Smith, Communities Team Leader. colin.smith@west-dunbarton.gov.uk Appendices: Alexandria Pilot Survey Findings September 2025 Item 6 - Proposed Community Planning Pilot Approach 24 - 25 Background Papers: none Wards Affected: Leven