Community empowerment

Community Planning is how public bodies work together, and with local communities to design and deliver better services that make a difference to people's lives.

Local Action Partnerships is one of many way for communities to get involved in local decision making.

The Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 sets out the rights of communities to have significant influence or control over decisions and services which are most important to them. Part 5 of the Act gives community groups the right to request ownership, lease, or access rights to assets owned by the Council and other public bodies. This is known as Community Asset Transfer (CAT).

Participation Requests provide an opportunity for people and groups to play a greater and more direct role in their community. A Participation Request is not a request for a service, or for information, it is a request to participate in a process to improve an outcome for your community, such as the quality of greenspaces or access to facilities.

The Community Investment Fund for 2024/25 is now open and accepting applications. Since the first round in 2018/19, more than £2.4 million has been invested in over 500 projects.