CCG & EAST AYRSHIRE COUNCIL: TRANSFORMING COMMUNITIES

CCG has worked in partnership with East Ayrshire Council since 2017 where our approach to collaboration has delivered new, high-quality affordable homes across the region of East Ayrshire whilst delivering a broad range of tailored, community benefit initiatives.

The CCG/ EAC strategic partnership was principally formed to support East Ayrshire Council’s Strategic Housing and Investment Plan (SHIP) from 2016-2019 – and now 2020-2024 – and has since delivered ten developments and over 260 affordable homes.

Enabled via the innovative Future Homes Project Board – drawing its membership from internal Council Services as well as external partners, including Ayrshire Roads Alliance, the Health and Social Care Partnership, and CCG – the aim has been to create a benchmark for housing in East Ayrshire; homes that are future-proofed and fit for purpose with a focus on accessibility and specification.

As part of this process, engagement is undertaken with community members to understand and assess needs in the allocation of community benefit/ social value initiatives ranging from the provision of jobs, apprenticeships, work placements and support for schools, and colleges as well as donating to community-based organisations, projects or charities. To date, this has been achieved in regional areas such as Dalrymple, Hurlford, Kilmarnock, Patna, Drongan, Auchinleck, and Stewarton.

All of the projects that are constructed as part of East Ayrshire Council and CCG’s strategic partnership are procured via the Scottish Procurement Alliance (SPA) framework. In procuring this work via the SPA, the Council receives a rebate that is ring-fenced to be used for the delivery of Community Benefits identified in conjunction with the community and drawing upon the Community-led Action Plans to support the creation of jobs, training and investment for the local communities where we operate.

To date this investment has included:

• 25+ full-time jobs
• 10 trade apprenticeships
• 20+ work placements
• £54,000 donated to locally-based projects

Including all projects completed to date and presently under construction, East Ayrshire Council and CCG’s strategic partnership has been transformative for communities across the region. By recycling Council-owned assets and creating an established design standard we are delivering quality homes at an enhanced speed and energy performance whilst remaining engaged with communities in order to provide sustained, structured support across a variety of means.