The changing landscape of community-led regeneration in Scotland

Across the world efforts are being made to devolve power to the local level, giving communities greater responsibility for tackling the problems they face. For some this process is part of a wider movement towards community-led governance, which seeks to promote democratic ideals through the creation of an active civil society, while for others it is part of the drive for more efficient and effective service delivery (Edwards 2008; Lowndes and Sullivan 2008). However, how does community-led regeneration work in practice? While there are many examples of successful community-led initiatives, there is also evidence to show that the reality does not always match the rhetoric with communities remaining at the margins of regeneration without much influence in decisions (Taylor 2007; Davies 2007; Illsley and Coles 2009). It is therefore important to examine lessons from the past for, as the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (2011: 4) recently stated, ‘a clear knowledge of what has gone before, and of what currently exists, is a key requisite for planning successful future work in communities’. This chapter examines recent experiences of community-led regeneration in a Scottish context and considers whether the Scottish Government’s new community-led approach will put communities more in control of their areas.