Clydebank PfN Board Papers 3 October
West Dunbartonshire Council · 3 October 2025
Back to Clydebank Pride in Place Board — 3 October 2025 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
Page 1
Clydebank Plan for Neighbourhoods Fund 1 Clydebank Neighbourhood Board Friday 3 October 2025 9.30am Clydebank Housing Association Agenda: Lead 1. Welcome By Chair Liz Connolly 2. Apologies Brian McColgan 3. Previous minutes and actions All 4. Regeneration Plan – Vision, Themes, Emerging projects KMA 5. Community Engagement Update a. Engagement with community groups Selina Ross b. Wider community engagement Communities Team 6. Marketing and communications Sandie Scott 7. Recruitment of Project Resource Elaine/Liz 8. Finance - Update on Financial report Elaine/Liz 9. Any Other Business Liz Connolly 10. Date & Time of next meetings 31 October 2025, 28 November 2025, 30 January 2026.
Page 2
1 Clydebank Neighbourhood Board Meeting 3 October 2025 Clydebank Housing Association Item 1: Note of previous meeting Clydebank Neighbourhood Board 5 September 2025 9.30am Boardroom, Clydebank Housing Association Members Attending Liz Connolly Board Chair Fiona McInnes Chief Executive, Clydebank Co-op Society Selina Ross West Dunbartonshire CVS June Todd Community Activist Clare Steel WDC Elected Member Marie McNair Member of Scottish Parliament Andrew Forrester Clyde Shopping Centre Douglas McAllister Member of Parliament Sandie Scott Golden Jubilee Hospital Jackie Maceira Shopmobility Louise Ewing Dunbartonshire Chamber of Commerce Rebecca Ross Member of Scottish Youth Parliament Alan Douglas Chief Officer Regulatory & Regeneration, WDC Apologies Simon Shanks Police Scotland Laurence Slavin Chief Officer Resources, WDC Peter Hessett Chief Executive, WDC Lawrence O’Neill WDC Elected Member Gail MacFarlane Chief Officer, Roads & Neighbourhoods, WDC Anne Campbell Principal & Chief Executive, West College Scotland Other attendees Elaine Troup Economic Development Manager, WDC Magda Swider Regeneration Co-ordinator, WDC Michelle Lynn Asset Manager, WDC Clare English Working4U, WDC Alan Karas Communities Team, WDC Jo Meiklejohn Youth Learning, WDC Brian McColgan Business Support Officer, WDC
Page 3
2 1. Welcome by Chair Action Liz Connolly (LC) welcomed everyone to the meeting, especially new members Jackie Maceira, Louise Ewing and Rebecca Ross. Apologies were noted from Lawrence O’Neill, Peter Hessett, Laurence Slavin, Gail Macfarlane, Ann Campbell and Christine McGuinness 2. Previous Minutes and Actions The note of the previous meeting was agreed as accurate. LC said that most of the actions would be addressed by items on the day’s agenda. LC asked Alan Douglas (AD) if all completed Declarations of Interest had been received by him. AD said he would check. AD 3 Review of Progress Update Report Magda Swider (MS) spoke to the Update Report, which recapped/summarised discussion at the previous meeting around the selection of projects. Public Transport MS also spoke to the issue of Public Transport as contained in the paper, and had met with Gail Macfarlane, (GM) WDC Chief Officer Roads & Neighbourhoods to discuss the issue of any public transport related improvements envisioned by the Board in the wider context. It was proposed that a Transport Interchange feasibility study be refreshed to inform any contribution the PfN could make in relation to public transport infrastructure. This would cost a maximum of £5000. LC put this to the Board, and it was approved. New Pre-approved Interventions MS then spoke to the issue of the additional pre-approved interventions that had been circulated previously. Davina Lavery (DL), WDC Regeneration Officer, had reached out to the various Council sections with an interest in these areas to identify if they were already delivering activity that aligns with the new pre-approved interventions. Full details were contained in Item 4 of the agenda for this meeting. Responses in summary: Housing – some activity being delivered, some interventions not appropriate. MS/GM
Page 4
3 Work & Productivity – activity being delivered by WDC Working4U and Business Support sections through e.g. the UK Government Shared Prosperity Fund, but there may be some gaps, Cohesion – activity being delivered by WDC Communities Team and by local Community Groups aligns with the interventions although there may be some capacity issues. Health – Health & Social Care Partnership identified several areas where the PfN interventions could be useful and present scope to enhance existing delivery. Education – activity being delivered by HSCP aligns with the interventions but there may be some gaps. Community Engagement Current and proposed engagement activity was summarised. This includes: WDCVS carrying out their survey of local groups on similar basis to the original work. Alan Karas (AK) asked how groups could apply to participate in the survey. Selina ross (SR) outlined the process and said that 25 groups had signed up so far. The Board approved an initial transfer of up to £10,000 to WDCVS to cover the cost of engagement with the local groups. To reach a wider audience, a proposed “pop up” in the Clyde Shopping Centre was discussed. WDC Communities Team to discuss with Andrew Forrester (AF)of Clyde Shopping Centre to arrange location. Plan for 4 hours per day over the course of a week. Board members were encouraged to participate and requested to promote this activity when materials became available. There was further discussion around engagement. LC made the point that it would be good for the community to get to know the Board members. MS stressed the importance of making clear that the exercise and the work of the PfN Board are separate from WDC activities. June Todd (JT) asked about the development of a logo. LC said this was a good point but in the meantime the UK Government branding could be used. Sandie Scott (SS) said that she would give an update on Communications later in the meeting. Clare English (CE) WDC Working4U Co-ordinator raised the issue of an online survey. SS said this was being developed. CE also raised the Places for Wellbeing initiative, the outputs of which may be of use to the PfN. Elaine Troup (ET) agreed that this work could be useful. LC noted that good foundations for engagement had been laid and should continue to be built on. MS stressed the importance of keeping messaging consistent and said that the results of the engagement activities would be shared with the Board. Preparation of the Regeneration Plan WDC Communities Team/AF Board MS
Page 5
4 MS informed the Board that Kevin Murray Associates had been appointed to prepare the Plan. LC thanked MS for her input and confirmed with Board members that they are comfortable with the direction of travel. 4 Feedback on Pre-approved Interventions MS spoke to this item and summarised the relevant paper, the content of which had previously been discussed. LC reminded the Board that it didn’t have to do everything offered by the PfN initiative, but that its work should reflect what was needed in Clydebank as informed by ongoing consultation/engagement. 5 Recruitment of Project Resource LC reminded the Board that the previous meeting had discussed the importance of this issue. LC said that the Board as constituted could not employ someone so the role would have to sit with a partner, and that the obvious partner was WDC. AD agreed and said that some internal WDC discussion was required around this issue. LC raised the issue of the Job Evaluation process which might delay the appointment. AD agreed and said that it would be important to be precise about the role. Discussion followed, key points included: LC raised the issue of the recruitment method, i.e. an open recruitment process or potential secondment from a partner. Jackie Maceira (JM) asked about the duration of the post. LC said that subject to discussion with WDC the duration could be 2 years and that given the nature of the PfN the post could be quite different in 2 years. JM suggested it might be better to second the post from the point of view of the time it may take to recruit. LC said that it was important to fill the post as quickly as possible. It was noted that a 2-year post may not be the most attractive to potential candidates. A draft role profile will be circulated to the Board. LC/AD/ET 6 Board Membership and Governance LC welcomed the new members of the Board again and said that Anne Campbell, the new Principal and Chief Executive of West College Scotland had a diary clash and hence couldn’t attend. LC said that she had spoken with Lynette Lees of Clydebank Housing Association who will assist with securing representation from the Housing sector for the Board. LC asked the Board if they felt it appropriately represented Clydebank. Marie McNair (MMcN) suggested that perhaps representation from Faith based groups would be appropriate. LC
Page 6
5 7 Finance – Update on Financial Report MS said that the main change to the finances was the receipt of £250k of capacity funding for 2025/26, but there would spend in the form of the £5k for the public transport costings refresh agreed earlier in the meeting and for the ongoing and forthcoming engagement exercises. 8 Marketing and Communications Sandie Scott (SS) said that the UK Government had confirmed that they are happy for PfN Boards to develop their own branding, but that acknowledgment of the UK Government funding must be incorporated. The Communications Sub-group had met and discussed means of communications. These could include developing an online presence, use of social media, reaching young people and their parents through the schools. Next steps will include developing some initial concepts for the branding. These will be sense checked with local groups. SS had attended an online engagement event which had provided useful examples of how other PfN areas are approaching marketing and communications. Louise Ewing (LE) suggested involving a local organisation Crafting Together who deliver arts and crafts activities for people with learning difficulties. Selina Ross (SR) said that Crafting Together are taking part in the CVS survey. There was discussion around a web presence for the Board. SS said that the original view was for a separate web presence but that given the UK Government requirements around WDC hosting PfN papers on the Council website, it might make sense just to use the Council website. ET said that WDC Comms and Web Team would have to be approached, and she would contact Amanda Graham. SS noted that Lorraine Weir who is part of Amanda Graham’s team is a member of the Comms Sub-group. AD raised some issues around using the WDC website, i.e. a danger that PfN activity could get “lost” among Council activity; ongoing maintenance of PfN activity on the site and potential conflicts between WDC and the PfN. SS agreed that these were potential issues and other things such as search engine optimisation would have to be considered. Comms Sub-group
Page 7
6 LC said that the Board needs to consider what a member of the public would see when “Googling” the PfN SS suggested that perhaps the solution was to use the WDC website in the short term and develop a separate website for the PfN in the longer term. MS asked if the Sub-group had considered a Facebook presence. SS said that the original plan was to use partners social media channels. SS also said that it was important to use the right social media to reach the right groups, e.g. young people tend to use TikTok. LC said that it was important for the local community to know who the Board using pen portraits. All Board members to be asked for brief pen portraits. Douglas McAllister (DM) said it was important to demonstrate who and what the Board are and pointed to the UK Government/Zencity survey work which revealed that 70% of respondents did not know what the PfN was. LC agreed and noted that the Zencity work was ongoing and there would be an expectation in places that the “brand recognition” of the PfN increases. SS highlighted that any branding would have to contain appropriate acknowledgment of the UK Government funding. SS suggested creating KPIs in relation to social media and marketing. LC thanked SS. WDC/Board 9 Any Other Business There was some discussion around the potential impacts of WDC vacating their Clydebank Town Centre Office, e.g. in terms of footfall and provision of services to citizens. 10 Dates of Next Meetings Proposed dates of next meetings: 3 October, 31 October, 30 January. Agenda Item Action By Whom 2 Progress completion of Declarations of Interest 3 Progress refresh of costs study around public transport infrastructure Progress engagement/consultation activities and report findings to Board MS/GM WDC/SR
Page 8
7 5 Progress project management resource role and recruitment AD/LC/Et 8 Progress representation of Housing sector Consider representation of faith groups on Board LC LC Progress website, social media presence and branding Comms Subgroup
Page 9
Plan for Neighbourhoods Fund 1 Clydebank Neighbourhood Board Meeting 3 October 2025 Clydebank Housing Association Item 2: Plan for Neighbourhoods – financial update FOR INFORMATION ONLY X FOR DECISION Name of Committee Board Date of report 3/10/2025 Name and email of lead contact Elaine Troup Elaine.Troup@west-dunbarton.gov.uk 1 Main Issues £250,000 capacity finding has been received to date. £155,240 has been spent, with £94,760 remining available. Please refer to the breakdown below: FY 2024/25 Community grants funding £10,000 Consultancy fees for development of the Long Term Plan and Community Engagement £86,939 Board meeting £130 Board meeting £170 Board meeting £130 Board meeting £170 ICT costs (Adobe license) £185 Contribution to WDC staff costs £60,000 FY 2025/26 Community grants funding (return) - £5,700 Board Workshop £3,216 Total spend till end of September 2025 £155,240 Additional £200,000 of capacity funding has now been received which means that the overall budget for FY 25/26 is £294,240 The following allocations were agreed at the Board meeting on 3 September. The actual costs will be reported when available:
Page 10
Plan for Neighbourhoods Fund 2 £5,000 - Transport interchange Feasibility Study update £10,000 – Public Engagement Community Grants (managed by WDCVS) Delivery funding will be released in FY 26/27 and the table below shows the schedule of payments outlined in the new Plan for Neighbourhoods guidance. 2 Outline of any issues/risks and how these are being managed Timescales for release of the delivery funding. Delivery funding won’t be released until FY 26/27, with only £360k of capital funding available in FY 26/27. The Board requires to prioritise projects/interventions for FY 25/26 and 26/27. 3 Outline of the main outputs expected before next meeting 4 What are the requirements of stakeholders to achieve the outcomes of this report? If possible, engage in the delivery process outside the Board meetings e.g. through a working group. 5 Recommendations It is recommended that the Board notes the financial information and considers how the FY 25/26 and 26/27 funding should be allocated.