Royal Deeside :
The Deeside and Donside Development Project

The Deeside and Donside Development Project

Upper Deeside and Upper Donside together form west Aberdeenshire and the easter part of the Cairngorms National Park. Because the main A9 provides easy access to the western side of the park, the eastern side is much less developed. Here the centres of population are smaller and further apart. Nonetheless it contains some of the most beautiful countryside in Scotland and central to the area is the Royal castle of Balmoral.

The Deeside and Donside Development project was establish to assist communities develop enterprises which are both viable and sustainable. On this page we provide information about this project.

Braemar Castle : the only community-run castle in Scotland open to visitors

Together, Upper Deeside and Upper Donside form west Aberdeenshire and the eastern part of the Cairngorms National Park

How has the project come about?

• The background to the project has been the development of community action planning, with the support of statutory agencies, to enable communities to take a lead role in assessing their needs and aspirations.

• This involves in depth community engagement to enable all members and sections of the community to have the opportunity to contribute to the development and delivery of their action plan.

• An approach to this was established by the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) through a pilot project for communities in Badenoch and Strathspey called Our Community – A Way Forward which produced a Community Action Planning Toolkit (CAPT).

• Using an adaption of the CAPT, an action plan for Ballater was produced in2009, through a community consultation coordinated by the Ballater One Voice Our Future (BOVOF) Working Group, set up by the Ballater and Crathie Community Council, supported by the CNPA, Aberdeenshire Council, Marr Local Community Planning Group, Aberdeenshire Rural Housing Enabler, Marr Area Partnership, SCARF, The Prince’s Foundation for the Built Environment, and the residents of Ballater. Project co-ordination and administration was provided by Ballater (RD) Ltd.

• This project will build on the work of BOVOF and provide support for other communities in the area to develop their own engagement processes and create their own community action plans.

Lochnagar, one of numerous Munros located within the Deeside and Donside area. Ballater Walking Festival is one of several community events enabling visitors to explore this majestic area.

How will the project be delivered?

• Managed by Ballater (RD) Ltd (BRD), and overseen by a steering group chaired by BRD and including officers of the CNPA and Aberdeenshire Council.

• A full time Development Manager for the project is currently being recruited. A post fully funded for two years and half funded for the third year, supported by the Marr Area Partnership Development Officer to facilitate, support and enable community and project groups to achieve sustainable projects

• Administrative support will be provided by BRD.

Further information about the project and its progress from:

Gordon Riddler, Chairman, Ballater (RD) Ltd on 013397 55467 or ballaterdeeside@btinternet.com
Claire Ross, Education and Inclusion Manager, CNPA on 01479 870546 or claireross@cairngorms.co.uk
Mike Powell, Development Officer, Marr Area Partnership on 013398 87577 or mike@marrareapartnership.org.uk

Or visit www.deedondev.org

THIS PROJECT IS BEING PART-FINANCED BY THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT
AND THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY [Cairngorms Local Action Group] LEADER 2007-2013 Programme