THE Erskine charrette is set to receive a funding boost of £15,000.

The charrette provides an opportunity for residents, school children, community services, local groups, and business owners, to work alongside urban planners, designers and councillors to develop ideas and opportunities that respond to the local aspirations of Erskine.

A series of fast-paced and creative workshops took place in February this year culminating in a public exhibition on the community’s ideas and priorities for improvement.

The Scottish Government announced 17 projects in urban, rural and island communities will be awarded a share of a £300,000 fund aimed at giving people a say on how their area can be improved.

Increased funding for the Charrette Mainstreaming Programme will go to eight community-led and nine local authority schemes in areas including Erskine, Tiree, Peterhead and Arbroath.

Charrettes are interactive design workshops which take place over several days, bringing the public and stakeholders together with a design team to develop a community masterplan.

The events bring together designers, specialists, local service providers and local people into a single forum, and this enables them to hear and understand each other’s concerns, priorities, and constraints, and plan for the future.

Minister for Local Government and Community Empowerment Marco Biagi announced the funding allocations on a visit to the Cupar Could charrette.

Mr Biagi said: “From Tiree to Greenock, charrettes are giving people the chance to be involved in plans for their communities - literally at the drawing board.

“They give people a chance to take part rather than just being consulted.

“Who better to understand the issues and opportunities in an area than the people who live there?"

“In Cupar we have seen representatives from all parts of the community and with different levels of expertise and interest come together to brainstorm and think of creative ideas to improve their local facilities and bring a buzz back into the area.

“Planning plays an important role in creating safer and more pleasant places in Scotland which are more sustainable and attract investment so I am particularly pleased that we have seen so many community groups come forward directly with ambitions to improve their environments and receive funding to run their own charrettes.”