Case study submitted by Blairdardie & Old Drumchapel Community Council - Neighbourhood Infrastructure Improvement Fund

Glasgow City Council’s Neighbourhood Infrastructure and Improvements Fund provides opportunities to deliver Participatory Budgeting at scale across Glasgow, with £1million allocated to each ward in the city in 2021/22. The responsibility for decision making in relation to this fund was allocated to the Glasgow Community Planning Partnership’s 23 Area Partnerships. Area Partnerships are made up of members from public organisations and community organisations, including Community Councils.

Because the funding is designated for capital expenditure, it must be spent on Council infrastructure - physical things in Council ownership. The funding can be utilised for improvements relating to open and green spaces; spaces for leisure and play; and pavements, roads and streets.

It was agreed at the Drumchapel/ Anniesland Area Partnership in September 2024 that the 3 Community Councils represented were responsible for an equal share of the funding, and as a result, Blairdardie and Old Drumchapel Community Council were offered a third of a million pounds.

To help as many people as possible, using different methods, vote on priority projects previously identified through community engagement which included installation of streetlights, CCTV, paths and picnic benches, a children’s play area and a multi-use games area. The Community Council set up a steering group with local stakeholders to organise and oversee all the actions. Early on the steering group identified who should be the focus of their community engagement, including People from Black, Minority and Ethnic groups, Primary School Children, Parent Councils, Nursery School Children, Nurseries, Secondary School Children, Young People, Adults and Older People.

To help as many people as possible choose which projects are important to them, using online and in-person voting, the Community Council attended a Community Fun Day at Blairdardie Primary School, organised online voting, posted information on social media, successfully applied for funding for publicity, distributed flyers and posters with a QR code to schools, nurseries, flats and houses weeks in advance of the events and the online voting opening. To help older people who might want to vote in-person a special meeting of the Community Council was held. All the votes were counted by the end of August 2025 and a report including the priorities decided by the local community was provided to the Area Partnership for approval.

Paul Maher, Chair of Blairdardie & Old Drumchapel Community Council said, “From a Community Council point of view, we looked on the Neighbourhood Infrastructure Improvement Fund as an opportunity to vastly improve our area which has been under funded for years, with assets been lost. We set up a steering group, we engaged with different bodies in our community and brought them on board. We hope this work will raise awareness of the good work we do and encourage young people to join the Community Council to help make a difference and improve the area”