Crown district in Inverness to look at ways of improving life for locals
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A drive to improve life in an Inverness community is set to be propelled by the people who live there.
Community group Crown Connects was established as a response to the coronavirus lockdown and is hoping to build on the good work done then to better life for all in the area, particularly its young people.
A series of drop-in sessions to gather views and ideas are being hosted tomorrow under the banner reCreating Our Community.
Topics to be covered include parking, green spaces and traffic, all recently highlighted through a community survey as hot topics among those who responded.
The group has given cameras to pupils from Crown Primary, tasking them with taking pictures to form a display for the event so that people can really see what the area means to them in particular.
Sine Palomino, of the Crown Connects group, a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO), said they hope the ideas generated on the day can be translated into a full-blown action plan.
“We hope to connect folk in the local community and get people interested and invested in improving their local community and see what can be achieved via a collective call and response,” she said.
“There is so much potential in the Crown/Hill area that we can capitalise on with community engagement and enthusiasm.
“We are especially interested in hearing from younger folk as we need to leave a positive legacy for them and encourage greater participation at local/community level.
“Communities can come together and effect change.
“We believe that community-building activities will improve people’s wellbeing and make the Crown/Hill area a better place to live.
“The central themes emerging from our community survey certainly seem to point to traffic and parking and safe streets as being key problem areas along with the need for more greenspace and playspace for children and young folk.
“We don’t have a community hub or building in the area at present, which is another issue that requires attention.
“On a positive note, there seems to be a strong appetite for more places to play, a community growing space and more cultural and social initiatives that bring people together.”
And she added: “There is a general misconception that Crown is an affluent area, but from what we have seen and heard many residents experience inequalities in areas of housing and energy provision, unemployment or under-employment, and food insecurity.
“These issues have been brought into sharp relief over the past two years with the Covid-19 pandemic exacerbating existing issues and creating further deprivation.”
Drop-in sessions will take place outside the Wasps Inverness Creative Academy (the former Midmills campus) tomorrow.
Free coffee and cake will be provided for all those attending, with sessions running from 11am-noon, noon-1pm and 1pm-2pm.
Workshops on e-bikes, energy saving, health walks, cycling and old tools will also be taking place on the day.
And Incredible Edible Inverness will be giving advice on local growing as well as talking about the Crown and City Community Cupboard.
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