Stakeford Environmental Project

Stakeford Environmental Intermediate Labour Market Project, Dumfries

In 2003 Irvine Housing Association, in partnership with Dumfries and Galloway Council, Communities Scotland, Scottish Enterprise and The Wise Group commenced an environmental Intermediate Labour Market project in the Stakeford Estate.

Following on from the £5.9 million internal modernisation of the Associations 382 properties in the Stakeford Estate Dumfries, Irvine Housing Association embarked on the Stakeford Environmental ILM project to help empower the local community of North West Dumfries to address the social, economic and environmental issues in response to:

The need to tackle rural poverty and exclusion.
The skills shortages and labour demand identified in the construction, landscaping and service industries throughout Dumfries.
The need for physical environmental improvements to gardens and perimeter fencing throughout the Stakeford estate.

Minister For Communities, Margaret Curran MSP, launched the project on 20 October 2003 along with Dumfries local MSP, Dr Elaine Murray and local councillor David McKie.

The project provided unemployed locals an opportunity to learn new skills and increase their prospects of attaining employment that would have otherwise been unavailable to them, and improving the garden areas of the estate for residents at the same time.

Over the duration of the project Irvine Housing Association and its partners provided 26 training places to unemployed residents over a period of 124 weeks. A total of 80 beneficiaries were recruited to the Stakeford project between April 2003 and December 2005.

The project achieved a positive trainee outcome rate of 67%, with 35% of trainees progressing directly to sustainable employment and 32% progressing to positive training or educational opportunities.

As a direct result of the ILM project, almost £500,000 has been paid directly into the local economy through trainee wages.

The project was completed in December 2005 and has been highly regarded by local Stakeford residents. In a recent tenants’ satisfaction survey, 92% were ‘satisfied’ with the results of the project, of which 55% were ‘very satisfied’.