Whitecross, our village

You might recall being given a questionnaire last year to ask about your views of Whitecross & Muiravonside and what changes you would like to see. You also might remember the open day back in November held in the school where we again asked you how the village could be improved. I would like to take this opportunity to once again thank everybody who took the time to participate, we have now collated all the responses and these have been published in the Whitecross Community Action Plan 2014 – 2019.

 

The plan will be used to prioritise the things you would like to see happen in the village, some of which have already begun. The main bulk of the work at the moment is centered on the Power Station, with the area at the rear being transformed into an open space for the use of clubs and groups. Although the work has started, we would still welcome any ideas you have on how the area can be best used. Falkirk Council’s community payback scheme has been constructing the first phase, mainly decking to allow the rear of the building to be put to better use. The 5 year Action Plan sets out the likes and dislikes of the people of the village and surrounding area, some of the changes are long term and will take a lot more work to achieve, but we have the framework in place to allow us to move some of these forward. Over the next few weeks and months you will see the changes you asked for happen. Below are some of jobs being done now.

 

• Power Station facelift – Renovation of the land at the rear. Decking in place, storage container also in place and groundwork ongoing, this includes security gates and CCTV.  New flooring has been laid, the decoration is now also complete. There will also be new toilets and wash hand basins and a new door to allow safe access to the rear.

• Plans are in place to install seats around the village as well as planters to help brighten up the area, along with notice boards to let everyone know what’s on.

• Individual groups have benefitted too. The Parent Forum have been allocated money to set up a breakfast club, the Ju-Jitsu will be getting new equipment as will the over 50’s and the youth clubs will also receive new games and equipment.

 

These are exciting times for us, but the hard work has just begun. Whitecross Action Group and the Power Station Committee are continuing to seek further funding for other projects in the future, and we would like you to get involved in any way you can. If you can spare any time to volunteer with any of the projects we would love to hear from you.

We will be having an open day in the coming weeks to give you a chance to see the changes for yourself, and to let you find out what clubs and groups are running. We will be seeking your views again (it’s your village after all). We want to know what activities you want to see, here are some of the ideas you have asked for:

 

• History group

• Computer classes

• Gardening club

• Job club

• Community café

• Keep fit/Zumba classes

 

The clubs and groups that are already running in the Power Station are;

 

• Ju-Jitsu (Monday & Friday)

• Youth Clubs (Tuesday)

• Over 50’s (Wednesday

• Family Group (Saturday)

 

We also have this website and Facebook page that will be used to post important news and events in the future. Please be patient as we are still learning, for those who read the Falkirk Herald the Whitecross section in the community news will also be used to let you know what’s happening in and around the village.

The Action Group meet regularly and these will be open to the public to let you know first-hand what we are doing and again I would like to extend an invitation to all to come along and participate. In the future we will be asking other organisations to come along to let us know what they are doing for the village, including Police Scotland and Falkirk Council. Many of the issues that came out of the survey are things that we as a community cannot do alone, but we will strive to engage with agencies who can deliver these. As a community we have the right to know and to have a say in the future of Whitecross.

We hope you find the information in the Action Plan useful and informative and we welcome any comments or queries you have regarding any of the information enclosed.

 

Whitecross Action Group/ POWER Station Management Committee