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Mayfield and Easthouses Development Trust Steering Group was formed after a public meeting in July 2006. The meeting was held to discuss the opportunities available to the community in influencing how their community develops. Representatives from Development Trust Association Scotland (DTAS) and Gorebridge Development Trust addressed the meeting. They explained how a Development Trust operates, by being driven, owned and managed by the community and gave examples of what Development Trusts had achieved throughout Scotland. Gorebridge DT explained how they had formed and emphasised the need for community consultation. It was agreed that a Steering Group be formed who would develop an action plan to engage with the community and gauge support for the idea of a Development Trust. A Group of 11 individuals formed the Steering Group and planned a sequence of activities including a community questionnaire, a photographic survey, focus group discussions and community events. The outcome of the hard work put in by the Steering Group resulted in a strong indication of support for a Mayfield and Easthouses Development Trust (MAEDT) from the community. This was clearly shown by the results of the questionnaire survey (‘Do you think a Development Trust would be a good idea for Mayfield/Easthouses? Yes-92 %’) as well as levels of attendance and comments at the various events.
The Steering Group agreed to form MAEDT (Mayfield and Easthouses Development Trust). This has been set up as a Company Limited by Guarantee with Charitable Status and was working initially on two main projects, the MAEDT Centre (a shop in the centre of the community) and a Community Wood (in discussion with Grange Estates). These projects run in conjunction with further community consultation to ensure MAEDT becomes the focal point of community activity bringing together new ideas and promoting existing activities within the community.
Mayfield and Easthouses, located within Dalkeith, Midlothian, is an ex-mining area with a population of around 8000. Initially the community was established around the local mines attracting residents from nearby areas as well as from the west of Scotland to service the then thriving mining industry. When the mines were closed the community was hit hard and unemployment became a major issue.
Over the years since the mine closures there has been a great deal done to re-vitalise the area, most notably McSence the very successful community business which was set up to address the unemployment issue, and Y2K a community managed youth project. There are also around 50 local groups and organisations within the area offering a wide range of activities for the under school aged to the pensioners within the community and everything in between. The volunteers that support all of these organisations have to be commended for their dedication.
One issue highlighted by the research of the Steering Group was that there was a lot going on in the area but few people in the community knew about it. This was one of the reasons that set the ball rolling to investigate the benefits of a Development Trust. It was felt that the community had lots of potential but did not have somewhere to channel it through. By creating a community hub, the MAEDT Centre, people could get together and have an input into how their community should be developed
MAEDT Steering Group has worked with the community to gather information on what people living here think. We have used lots of different ways to collect information and have reports on what the outcomes were from these projects.
Camera Project
Questionnaire
Good, Bad and Ugly Event Focus Groups – Scottish Pensions Association Focus Group – Y2K Making it Happen Event From the responses to all of these projects which the Steering Group carried out over an eight month period of community consultation there was a clear indication that the community were behind the formation of a Development Trust. As well as the community being behind the idea the support received from local organisations, statutory agencies and the private sector showed there was a great deal of goodwill towards the Trust.
Midlothian Council through supporting the Steering Group and encouraging the development of a centre in a shop leased to the Trust is showing a commitment to the community. Grange Estates have indicated their willingness to gift a wood to the community to be managed and developed by the Trust. There have also been many other gestures of ‘in-kind’ support that would imply there is great scope for partnership working possibilities all to support the regeneration of the community through initiatives highlighted by the community and under the control of the community. The production of a logo was designed for MAEDT by Newbattle Community High School art department students. Green Banana (a social enterprise off shot of Y2K) created a DVD and a website is being designed to incorporate the trust work and projects generated by the community While the two main projects, the MAEDT Centre and the Wood, are being pursued, MAEDT will also be tackling some of the issues raised by the community and will continue to involve the community in these and any other developments that will come through the growth of the Mayfield and Easthouses Development Trust.
For more information on the trust please click on the attached annual report below. |
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