Carbrain Annual Update 2024

We’re catching up with the eight communities we work alongside as part of Corra’s People in Place programme and so far have shared updates from Blacklands, Cumnock, Langlees and Castlehill.

Next up we are visiting Carbrain, a neighbourhood in Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire. Over the past few years, the active community here have created various spaces and many occasions to get together, including a new community hub, local green spaces, groups, events and regular activities for local people to get involved in.

Updates from the Carbrain community in 2024 include:

Understanding community rights – with lots of development projects underway in the area, local leader Kate Fromings has been working to amplify the voices, opinions and ideas from the community within planning processes. Craigieburn Community Garden, working with Planning Democracy, organised a workshop around this – a huge success, resulting in local residents having a better understanding on how to input into these consultations.

Thriving community spaces

• Craigieburn Community Gardens continued their wonderful growing projects. The treasured community space also received a Certificate of Distinction, the highest level award from Keep Scotland Beautiful, following the hard work and dedication of the community garden volunteers, Carbrain Community Council and local partners, a huge achievement!
• The Carbrain and Cumbernauld Community hub has continued to be a hive of local activity – so much so that they have outgrown their current space and have identified a new preferred location to run the many services and groups they host – fundraising to secure this new space is underway.

Events getting locals together – several local groups have put on events in the community this year, including North Lanarkshire Ethnic Minority Association who organized The Rise Festival as part of Refugee Scotland Festival – a vibrant afternoon of music, games, activities and food to celebrate diversity in the area and it’s welcoming communities. We hear more from Janiece Ndoyne on setting up the North Lanarkshire Ethnic Minority Association in the full update.

If you’d like to find out more about the work in Carbrain, look at previous annual updates, visit the Carbrain Place Page or contact Shazia for a chat at shazia@corra.scot.