What is Dunoon Area Alliance?
Dunoon Area Alliance was established in 2017 by SURF, Scotland's Regeneration Forum, as part of their place based Alliance for Action programme. In 2021 DAA was established as Dunoon's Community Development Trust, a Scottish Incorporated Charitable Organisation (SCIO) to support community-led, sustainable regeneration action on local priority themes.
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Membership of the Trust is free and open to anyone who lives, works or studies in Cowal. Community groups, organisations and agencies can also become Associate Members of the Trust.
Dunoon Area Alliance aims to inform, engage and inspire its members to work together to support the sustainable regeneration of Dunoon. Members of the DAA share information, support one another and work together to develop action on priorities as identified through engagement with our community.
Background
SURF, Scotland’s Regeneration Forum, has supported the development of Dunoon Area Alliance, as part of its Alliance for Action initiative exploring place-based regeneration. In 2017 funding from Highlands & Islands Enterprise and Scottish Government Charette Fund enabled Dunoon Area Alliance to deliver the Think Dunoon Community Charette.
Think Dunoon identified broad consensus on Dunoon’s strengths, highlighting its strategic location, its rich history and its resourceful and lively community. It also highlighted Dunoon’s challenges, including the need to enhance town centre facilities, address vacant and derelict sites and buildings, and the need to attract and retain residents, visitors, entrepreneurs and young people.
With these opportunities and challenges in mind, the Think Dunoon outcomes report identified a large number of priority projects under four themes – community, local economy, tourism and place – and these informed the development of an Action Plan for Dunoon Area Alliance.
SURF, Argyll & Bute Council, Highlands & Islands Enterprise, local community groups and partners have all been involved in the development of Dunoon Area Alliance.
What we do
Community Get Together Events – supporting ongoing conversations with local people about what is important to them and providing opportunities to engage with service providers. These events aim to be open and inclusive to support all voices to be heard.
Information Sharing – our regular email updates share information from across our membership and from the national SURF network. We want to learn from each other and from communities across Scotland and beyond.
‘Town Team’ Meetings – supporting workers with a regeneration remit to meet regularly to share their priorities, consider community needs and explore joint action.
Thematic Networks – supporting interested parties from all sectors to come together and explore community-led priorities, as identified in the Action Planning process and other consultation activities.
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Working Groups - through ongoing consultation, community engagement and networking activity we have developed a Community Action Plan and established a series of working groups to develop new initiatives.
Building Connections – our close relationship with SURF allows us make positive use of their links with national bodies and policy makers. We have the opportunity to share learning from Dunoon, highlight issues or request support for new ideas.
In 2018 SURF appointed a part-time local Facilitator to support the work of Dunoon Area Alliance. The primary role of the local facilitator was to assist in the development and delivery of what we do by providing all reasonable support to local stakeholders for project planning, development, implementation and evolution. This role involved identifying opportunities for partnership working, in cooperation with SURF and local stakeholders, and reporting regularly on progress. The SURF Facilitator post concluded in March 2023 and DAA Community Development Trust has been actively seeking funding to establish a new support post to maintain the considerable momentum achieved to date.
stay connected
If you are an interested individual, group, business or organisation you can be part of Dunoon Area Alliance. All you need is a genuine interest in making Dunoon an even better place to live, work and visit. Just contact us for more information.
07754 866 396