FRASERBURGH EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The study brief

E1. The Brief agreed by the Aberdeenshire Towns Partnership was to 'provide an integrated strategy and vision in conjunction with the local community and then move towards phased implementation of schemes as funding permits.'

E2. The Brief highlighted the importance of promoting public debate and of engaging the local business community and identified the key issues to be addressed as:

· Need to strengthen and diversify the economy
· Issues of social inclusion
· Support for commercial restructuring
· Affordable and rented housing
· Image - marketing, maintenance and civic pride.

E3. The objectives of the Strategy were set out as:
To foster the economic, environmental, social viability and vitality of Fraserburgh;
To be sustainable, affordable, holistic and engender local ownership; and
To offer an integrated approach, vision and design which will develop and promote the town, enhance its reputation and its ability to maintain its population, increase local prosperity and the quality of life enjoyed there.

The study process

E4. The consultants adopted a three stage approach to the study:

Stage 1 included site surveys and visual analysis; property market research and interviews with a range of relevant public, private and community interests. This process culminated in stage 2;
Stage 2 involved initial project workshops held with both the community and businesses in January and February 2000. The aim of the project workshops was to review the research findings and build consensus on the regeneration opportunities for the town.
Stage 3 involved finalising the strategy and the identification and costing of a range of environmental improvement, management, marketing and development projects. These were tested at workshop held on 9 March 2000.

Summary of key findings

Economic Appraisal

E5. Research and consultations with local businesses highlighted a number of key issues which have informed the economic elements of the Fraserburgh Strategy including:

· dependence on the fishing and fish processing
· the performance of retailing and tourism
· the quality and availability of business locations
· skills and opportunities
· wealth and exclusion
· new business formation
· negative images of the town.

Property Market Appraisal

E6. In respect to the retail market:
· National retailers consider Fraserburgh to be a secondary location.
· There is a lack of high quality retail accommodation in the town centre.
· Environmental improvements on Broad Street have improved the retail experience.
· There are some signs of rental growth on Broad Street.

E7. In respect to the office market:
· There is a low supply of office space.
· A lack of quality office space.
· Upper-floors of traditional buildings are used to accommodate requirements.
· There is little transaction evidence.
· Current demand and take-up reflects prosperity of fishing industry

E8. In respect to industry :
· There is a lack of high quality industrial space.
· A lack of modern industrial floor space over 10,000 sq. ft.
· Industrial areas such as Broadsea and Kessock in need of modernisation.
· Demand and take-up dependent on prosperity of fishing industry.

E9. The key development opportunities are:
· The cinema site;
· The Alexandra Hotel site; and
· Fraserburgh FC Football Ground.

Housing

E10. In terms of the private sector stock the key issues were:
· Expansion of private housing stock on the edge of the town;
· Demand for well-maintained ex-local authority houses;
· Demand for new fully fitted 2 bedroom flats but Housing Association assistance required to assist new developers;
· Marketing periods for ex-local authority houses, new flats and new houses is generally between 2-3 months.

E11. In terms of the social rented stock the key issues were:
· The high levels of council home ownership;
· Very localised 'problem housing';
· Opportunities for town centre development.

E12. There has been limited Communities Scotland investment in Fraserburgh compared to the other 4 towns which comprise the Aberdeenshire Towns Partnership. This differential would seem to be linked to difficulties experienced in identifying and promoting projects and to perceptions of demand rather than any specific site or demand issues. This Report identifies opportunities for housing development that can assist the overall regeneration process as well as lead to improvements in the environmental quality of the town centre.

Social inclusion

E13. Fraserburgh is a community of marked contrasts, with affluence and prosperity alongside areas of genuine deprivation. There are particular problems relating to small pockets of long term unemployment; debt; health; drug and alcohol abuse; and educational attainment. The aim must be to develop a more integrated and coherent policy in order to develop a socially inclusive community. There has been a commitment to attacking many of the underlying problems of the town but there has not been an agreed Vision and Strategy capable of uniting action, reinforcing effective partnership working and targeting new sources of funding.

Tourism and Leisure

E14. There are limited facilities available for young people in Fraserburgh. This has probably contributed to (but cannot be taken to explain wholly) the development of vandalism and to the presence of groups of young people in the town centre.

E15. The youth arts programme in Fraserburgh has an excellent reputation that could be further developed.

E16. Whilst tourism can contribute to economic development it is unlikely to be a panacea for Fraserburgh - not least as it must rely on the regional and sub-regional attraction of visitors.

E17. The key attractions are:
The Lighthouse Museum and Heritage Centre;
The Town Centre; and
The promenade and beach.

Urban Design and townscape

E18. The approaches to the town are not of a high quality and do not provide a cohesive suggestion of the character and identity of the town. The approaches should seek to provide a more logical progression in character from rural through urban. There is scope to utilise gateways to project the character and identity more strongly and to provide greater orientation.

E19. The underlying historic fabric of the town centre is basically sound but has been compromised by more recent streetscape improvements and shopfront modifications and by significant vacant and derelict sites.

E20. The town centre does require some investment in improving its quality, appearance and functionality to make more of its assets and encourage further investment by the private sector. Scottish Enterprise, in its Competitive Locations report, recognised that quality environments in urban areas are essential to the maintenance of a competitive place, leading to the creation and attraction of internationally competitive companies and industry clusters.

Access and Movement

E21. Whilst the relative peripherality of Fraserburgh is a cost issue for industry it did not emerge as a key issue in the consultation programme. The traffic management measures introduced over recent years have done much the ease congestion. Public transport provision is quite good during the day but falls off rapidly during the evening. This has particularly disadvantaged young people who cannot access a car for trips to Aberdeen etc.

The Case for Action

E22. There is a clear case for public sector intervention in Fraserburgh:
· Increasing competition from other centres;
· To support inward investment;
· To support the progress made;
· To support economic development strategy;
· To co-ordinate policy and implementation
· To support the social inclusion strategy; and
· To raise community confidence

The Vision

E23. The vision statement which we believe most closely encapsulates the needs expressed during the consultation process is:

The Vision for 2010 for Fraserburgh is of a dynamic socially inclusive and forward thinking community which is working together to become less dependent on fishing and fish processing and is driving forward a process of diversification.

Action Plan

E.24 The Action Plan prioritises the strategic direction and key actions for the Fraserburgh over a 10 year period . It addresses the following action areas:
· a competitive fishing industry
· diversifying the local economy
· developing the tourism sector
· improving the town centre
· improving housing
· social inclusion
· marketing and promotion

E25 The recommendations and proposals put forward for consideration are summarised
below (in the knowledge that resources are unlikely to be available to meet all of the
recommendations and proposals). The priority attached to each item (Low/Medium/High)
is based on the extent to which the recommendation or proposal meets the issues raised in
Part A of the Report.

Recommendation/Proposal Summary

· The development of a Fraserburgh Fishing Forum to represent all of the sectors and interests involved in fishing and fish processing - directly and indirectly (Medium)
· To encourage medium-sized fish processors to add value to products through the provision of advise and information (Medium)
· To identify and promote high added value niche markets for fish products (Medium).
· To develop more joint working between fish processors(High)
· To identify and promote skills development opportunities in fishing and fish processing (Low)

· To develop a local case for inward investment to Fraserburgh (Low).
· To review the scope and activities of the Education Business Partnership in Fraserburgh (Low)
· To research the market demand for an ICT Centre/Lifelong Learning Centre in Fraserburgh (Medium)
· To provide additional business support in Fraserburgh in order to encourage business start-up and entrepeneurism (High)
· Review scope for further vocational opportunities in Fraserburgh (Medium)
· To audit skills base in working population (Low)

· To consider potential for joint venture workspace development (Medium)
· To consider modernisation/ rationalisation of industrial land in older industrial estates(Medium)

· Improving access to Lighthouse Museum site (High)
· Providing interpretation boards in Harbour area (Medium)
· Developing priority visitor route linking attractions (Medium)
· Improving approaches and arrival (High)
· Exploiting positive aspects of windsurfing (Medium)
· Support further promotion of coastal trail (Medium)
· Develop tourist trail with historical interpretation (High)
· Consider (in medium term) potential for attracting new hotel development (Medium)

· Introduce town centre management(High)
· Promote development opportunities through development briefs (High)
· Provide customer care training (Medium)
· Consider CCTV in town centre (Medium)
· Develop public art programme (Low)
· Facelift scheme(Medium)
· Improve links between town centre and harbour (Medium)

· Investigate living-over-the shop potential (Medium)
· Consider conversion of shops etc. to housing at edge of town centre (Medium)
· Consider including housing as part of mixed use developments in town centre (High)

· Compete for Healthy Living Centre through New Opportunities Fund (High)
· Consolidate anti-drugs campaign (High)
· Support youth centre facilities (Medium)
· Improve accessibility for community groups through community transport (High)
· Increase access to ICT opportunities (Medium)
· Consider scope for resource centre in town centre location (Medium)
· Press for enhanced police pressure as part of a crime prevention campaign (Medium)

· Encourage development of Business Association(High)
· Events programme(High)
· Develop Fraserburgh brand (Medium)
· Initiate Press campaign (High)
· Develop Marketing Strategy (High)
· Seek community agreement on the Vision for Fraserburgh (High)
· Establish a Fraserburgh Futures Partnership (High)
· Appoint a Project Manager (High)

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