First Weekend

We opened the Assembly with welcomes, introductions, and practical information. Willie Sullivan from the Electoral Reform Society provided an official welcome.

Assembly Members met others at their tables and worked together to create our shared agreement – the principles that will guide how we work together throughout the Assembly.

This creative session invited Members to reflect on their own experiences of Dunfermline. Using Lego, playdough, pens and paper, Members built, drew or wrote about what makes Dunfermline special to them.

The session helped us start from a place of appreciation, recognising that we may have different experiences, while also acknowledging that for some this might not be an easy question.

Contributors: Craig Allan (Community Development Team Manager, Fife Council) and Lindsay Gilfillan (Anti-Poverty & Community Wealth Building Project Manager, Fife Council)

This session presented a picture of present day Dunfermline and key issues ahead.

Slides: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KFP2ovTvUtEUokTrEM5uvjdDD48Sv_oy

Key points from contributors:

1. Overall Dunfermline is performing well in comparison to similar communities across Scotland – higher levels of employment, higher levels of qualified people to degree level or above, and lower levels of people with no or low qualifications than the Fife average.
2. When Dunfermline is perceived as performing well, it’s often forgotten that there are challenges within our communities: pockets of deprivation, substance use on the rise in particular areas, and anti-social behaviour continues to be an issue.
3. There is a rich amount of work being carried out across Dunfermline, with groups and organisations collaborating to improve outcomes for our communities.
4. People still feel as though they are unable to influence what is going on around them, which lessens their sense of control.
5. It’s important to consider how our community will change over the coming years – rise in population and rise in older adults which may affect need and demand for particular services.

Contributor: Colette McGarva (Community Development Alliance Scotland)

This session introduced the terms ‘community issues’ and ‘local pride’ and how they relate to our everyday lives in Dunfermline.

Slides: No slides were shared for this presentation

Key themes covered:

• What are some of the things we mean when we talk about community and why should we care about it?
• What makes a community stronger or weaker?
• How this connects to the Assembly’s guiding question
• Community development at local, regional, national and international levels
• Local planning and community engagement

Contributors: Sergeant Fraser Simpson (Police Scotland) and Roy Lawrence & Tracey Clusker (Fife Health & Social Care Partnership)

Key points from Sergeant Fraser Simpson:

Slides: No slides were shared for this presentation

1. Violent crime
2. Crimes of theft and dishonesty
3. Anti-social behaviour
4. Substance misuse
5. Road safety

Key points from Roy Lawrence and Tracey Clusker:

Slides: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iCzdjh3R-X7RxNVOzII2x-LDIt0Mm0o8/view

1. Demographic pressures: An ageing population, more long-term conditions, and rising single-person households are increasing demand on local health and social care.
2. Strengths and inequalities: Despite strong health and economic indicators, deprivation pockets and limited access to community health services remain issues.
3. Social isolation and ageing: Community initiatives aim to reduce loneliness and improve service access for older adultsSubstance use: Rising drug and alcohol harms are being tackled through better education, expanded treatment, MAT standards, and strengthened locality support.5. Planning for 2026: Partners will focus on strengths, address barriers, and coordinate action to improve community health and wellbeing

Panellists: chaired by Jonathon Shafi 

• Ally Greenshields (Touch Trust)
• Fraser Simpson (Police Scotland)
• George Murray (Youth Work, CLD, Fife Council)
• Lindsay Gilfillan (Fife Council)
• Roy Lawrence (Fife Health & Social Care Partnership)
• Tracey Clusker (Fife Health & Social Care Partnership)

Key points from Ally Greenshields:

1. Strong communities and vibrant ideas already exist in Dunfermline, but they are often fragmented. People care deeply about their community, yet many groups operate in silos with limited coordination, funding, or long-term security.
2. Stigma remains a major barrier for effective participation. People with lived experience of disconnection, addiction, trauma, or justice involvement are often excluded from the high-level decision-making process, despite having valuable insight.
3. Local pride is closely linked to being heard and valued. When residents see their lived experience reflected in decisions, it establishes trust with stakeholders and as a result pride and participation increase.
4. To be a great place to call home, Dunfermline needs to recognise the hidden links between poverty, substance use, and mental health. Improving our City means investing in preventative support that reaches people early and helps build stronger, more connected communities.

Key points from George Murray:

1. Expand safe, youth-friendly spaces in underserved neighbourhoods (beyond Tower House).
2. Reduce risky behaviours through positive activities and outreach at hotspots.
3. Improve evening transport and safe travel options.
4. 4. Strengthen access to early help, counselling and wellbeing support.
5. Embed youth voice in local planning, place-making and services.

Slides: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KFP2ovTvUtEUokTrEM5uvjdDD48Sv_oy

Key points from contributors:

1. Overall Dunfermline is performing well in comparison to similar communities across Scotland – higher levels of employment, higher levels of qualified people to degree level or above, and lower levels of people with no or low qualifications than the Fife average.
2. When Dunfermline is perceived as performing well, it’s often forgotten that there are challenges within our communities: pockets of deprivation, substance use on the rise in particular areas, and anti-social behaviour continues to be an issue.
3. There is a rich amount of work being carried out across Dunfermline, with groups and organisations collaborating to improve outcomes for our communities.
4. People still feel as though they are unable to influence what is going on around them, which lessens their sense of control.
5. It’s important to consider how our community will change over the coming years – rise in population and rise in older adults which may affect need and demand for particular services.

Assembly Members spent time in small groups discussing the key challenges they had heard about and what they thought needed to change. Each group drafted up to two calls to action – statements that identify what needs to change and why it matters.

Groups shared their draft calls to action with the room, ready for feedback and development on Sunday.

Members were at different tables today. After brief introductions, we reflected on hopes and fears for the Assembly process. This was followed by a gallery walk to review Saturday’s draft calls to action and share feedback.

This open space session allowed Members to learn from inspiring examples of work on community issues and local pride. Contributors hosted tables around the room, and Members moved freely to have conversations and gather ideas.

Contributors and key points:

Mick Doyle (Scottish Community Development Centre)

• Community development is about helping people in communities take action collectively to address issues they highlight and prioritise that affect their lives.
• It’s particularly important in areas where people are experiencing poverty and other forms of disadvantage.
• Communities bring their own individual and collective strengths to this process in terms of their passion, experience, ideas, knowledge and skills – without that we have no process.
• Public services bring resources and important professional skills that local people don’t necessarily have to the process of strengthening communities.
• Our aim is for democratically developed partnerships between communities, public services and our political leaders which strengthen our towns and neighbourhoods and bring citizens into the heart of the process of making decisions that affect their lives.

Martin Wilcox (Calais Wood Conservation Group Duloch, Falling Up SCIO, Dunfermline Greenspace SCIO)

• There is a strong volunteer group of people striving to make the best of themselves and others.
• Building developments and their increasing detrimental effect on the identity of Dunfermline.
• Nature spaces, biodiversity and heritage and their importance on our health and wellbeing.
• Art and creative thinking will stimulate health, confidence, interest and ambition, and much needed culture to the city.
• Connection, compassion and care are key to improving our community.

Kenny McAllister (Community Trade Hub)

• Networking and understanding community needs
• What additional services are in the community
• What third sector provision providers are there in the community

Pamela Barnes (Development Trust Association Scotland)

• Development Trusts are a well-established approach for communities to tackle community issues and get things done. They are community-owned and community-controlled, based in local communities and enterprising.
• When community groups in Scotland take ownership of assets for their community this gives communities greater control of land and buildings, and how they are used to meet community needs
• Democratic finance is a way to raise funding to help community-led projects and foster active citizenship. This helps us move away from piecemeal grant funding towards local investment and ownership opportunities.

Rebecca Gibbs (GalGael)

• GalGael is first and foremost a community, not a charity or a provider of services. People come together to work side-by-side on practical tasks like woodworking, gardening and shared meals.
• They build the capacities communities need for living in times of uncertainty, focusing on personal and collective strengths
• They connect people across different backgrounds through new forms of community and solidarity.
• Everyone has a say in how things run through regular assemblies and discussions, building real-world skills in cooperation and democracy.

Elric Honoré (Fife Centre for Equalities)

• Raising awareness and understanding of equality and diversity across all communities and community groups in Fife.
• Providing access to appropriate information, assistance and training to communities in support of fair and inclusive community development.
• Developing a harmonised approach to build a collective voice to champion equality, diversity, inclusion and social justice.

Duncan Christie (Christians Against Poverty) & Katie Thomson (Community Food Development Worker)

• The Faith Network meets regularly to coordinate activity, pool resources, and work together to respond to emerging community needs.
• Avoid duplication of effort – before starting new activity, check what already exists, whether it is well used, and how you can support or strengthen it.
• Stay focused on what the community actually needs, not just what we think would be nice to have.
• Dunfermline has a rich heritage of churches and faith organisations that remain active and significant in the city.
• There is an ongoing risk of compassion fatigue and volunteer burnout. The network helps share the load, but more support is still required.

In the afternoon, groups reviewed feedback on their calls to action and then generated specific ideas for recommendations. Members thought about what they had heard in the Ideas Café, what’s already working locally, and what might be possible.

Groups clustered similar ideas together and prioritised which to develop further. To end the session, a gallery walk allowed everyone to see what was emerging across the Assembly and share feedback.

We reflected on the weekend and noted any outstanding questions. Members heard about plans for Weekend Two, which will focus on the second topic: City Centre and Local Economy (7th + 8th February)

What Happens Next

• Before weekend two, Members are invited to take part in an activity to share Dunfermline through their eyes – submitting pictures, stories and sketches 
• In weekend two we will follow a similar process: hearing from contributors, exploring ideas, and drafting calls to action and recommendations. There will also be a session to hear wider community perspectives and add new recommendations
• Weekend Three will be entirely dedicated to prioritising, developing and voting on final recommendations.