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The following reports were compiled by Duncan Peter of Ellon Advertiser
AN EUROPEAN project which could place Aberdeenshire at the sharp end of European practice took a huge leap forward as delegates from Sweden, Scotland and Greece joined their Polish hosts for the second INTERREG IIIC Sustaining Small Expanding Towns conference in the coastal town of Leba, Poland last week.
Building on the initial work undertaken at the Swedish conference in September, representatives of all ages from Ellon, Inverurie and Stonehaven took the themes of tourism, town planning, environment, youth dialogue and identity to the next level during a series of presentations and workshops designed to forge permanent links between towns from the four corners of Europe.
The 20-strong group from Scotland travelled from Dyce to Copenhagen and on to Gdansk last Wednesday, some with experience of the SusSET project and others taking part in the potentially huge scheme for the first time.
A late reception at the Hotel Wodnik in Leba - a two hour drive from Gdansk - gave the opportunity to meet with the other participating countries and enjoy the first taste of Polish hospitality, including traditional meat and fish dishes as well as the popular pickled vegetables.
As hard as socialising can be, the real work got underway the following morning, as the extent of the project became evident.
Politicians, town officials, businessmen and women, young people and volunteers were all represented at the 10-hour conference, ensuring that all areas of the community were afforded the opportunity to input their ideas and influence future developments.
Presentations on each of the individual Polish towns - Leba, Puck and Lebork - allowed the other nations to make initial comparisons with their own situations regarding issues such as road infrastructure, attracting tourism and the importance of town centres, before the afternoon session focused the delegates' attention on debating specific issues in smaller groups en route to the ultimate aim of creating a model for European small towns by 2007.
"I was pleased with the input in the workshops, particularly that all the nationalities were represented in each," said project manager Dr Nick Brown.
"In truth I was apprehensive about the final workshops and my expectations were exceeded in some areas, and not met in others.
"I had hoped that there may be a bit more creativity and my ultimate aim was to spark some enthusiasm."
At the end of a long day, the Inverurie delegates set off for Lebork and the Ellon representatives for Puck, leaving the group from Stonehaven to take in the sights of Leba.
Each enjoyed a series of talks, guided tours and free time over the next two days in a bid to learn as much as possible about the Polish way.
In Puck, deputy mayor Jolanta Podhajska identified her town as a centre for a number of key services within the Pomeranian region, citing centralised emergency services, the public library and a strong tourist tradition.
Roads are a significant problem for all towns in Poland although positive steps are being taken to address the situation, not least plans for a roundabout at the entrance to Puck and a concerted effort to develop road and rail networks in Lebork.
As in Aberdeenshire, the coast line of Pomerania is a major selling point with agriculture, forestry and the maritime economy all easily identifiable as common to the Scottish North-east as well.
Representatives from all three Scottish towns were able to see many areas for cooperation and lessons which could be learnt to the benefit of all involved.
Delighted with the progress made during the second leg of the project, Nick told the Advertiser ("We clearly have identified opportunities for exchanges and secondments and certainly to establish web links and tourism partnerships.
"It's important that small towns work together.
"Europe is like a shopping centre and small towns are like businesses who must work hard to compete with the supermarkets.
"We must be on the ball - it's sink or swim."
He added: "A lot of personal time has been given up by the people here and I didn't see one person at the conference who wasn't prepared to give a strong commitment to the project.
"The general aim is to broaden people's horizons and get a chance to see what is going on elsewhere in the world.
"Coming home now, even more so, I feel vindicated that the efforts have been all worth it given what people seem to have taken from the project."
With clear objectives and a firm commitment, a new group of delegates will head to Greece in May for the next stage of the SusSET project.
But as Nick noted, the Greek conference will take on a slightly different slant.
"The conference in Greece will be slightly different," he said.
"A different group will be going but they will all be key players.
"I expect it to be more of an interactive programme, possibly involving a series of seminars and town interaction.
"It should involve more people of influence and will be practical rather than theoretical."
He added: "In simple terms, Sweden was about identifying the issues, Poland was about taking them forward and Greece will be a study of how the first stages have gone."
THE POTENTIAL benefits of being involved in the SusSET (Sustaining Small Expanding Towns) project were underlined by the experiences of Ellon, Inverurie and Stonehaven during their time in Poland.
The partnerships which will be fully formed by the time of the Scottish conference in late 2006 have been cemented further by the interaction and cooperation undertaken in Poland and project manager Dr Nick Brown noted that his faith in the future of the initiative has been steadied by the evidence of a strong will to succeed which was shown by all the Scottish representatives.
"The INTERREG IIIc programme exists to foster EU integration, co-operation and learning.
"Unfortunately, the programme doesn't permit investment in one's backyard, so it's always going to be difficult to prove its merits at the local level, since you can't actually touch it.
"However, if we don't use the programme, someone else will.
"I, and my ATP Board, feel it's worth my energy to get the three towns involved, especially since there's no other EU programme available to them."
He added that the levels of commitment shown by the delegates from Scotland were proof positive that the time and money spent on SusSET was a sound investment.
He said: "I am strongly of the opinion that the three towns will be better equipped for the future as a result of the project's process, never mind its products, but I'm happy for others to judge if I'm right.
"Clearly what (was) witnessed in Poland was a bunch of Scots completely
committed to their towns and/or their public services.
"If the Swedish conference was anything to go by, they will be even more committed than before, and certainly more wise and aware of issues affecting small towns.
"That can only be good for the towns and the North-east."
For more information on the SusSET project visit www.susset.org.
TAKING a huge step towards cementing vital partnerships between the four corners of Europe, delegates from Scotland, Greece, Poland and Sweden came together for the second of four conferences aimed at creating a model of best practice for small towns in the EU.
Community leaders covering business, youth and the voluntary sector in Ellon, Inverurie and Stonehaven joined forces for the second leg of the INTERREG IIIC Sustaining Small Expanding Towns project in the polish town of Leba last month, meeting delegates from the other participating countries to disseminate ideas across a range of topics from tourism and town identity, to youth dialogue and the environment.
In last week's Ellon Advertiser , we told how a one day conference, combined with a series of workshops, had taken forward the ideas first formulated at the earlier Swedish meet in September.
All areas of the community were afforded the opportunity to input their ideas and influence future developments, with presentations on each of the individual Polish towns - Leba, Puck and Lebork - allowing the other nations to make initial comparisons.
Following the conference, the individual towns - which were twinned according to their similar experiences and locations - went their separate ways, with Inverurie setting off for Lebork and the Ellon representatives for Puck, leaving the group from Stonehaven to take in the sights of Leba.
This week, the Ellon Advertiser looks at the individual findings of each of the Scottish delegates in their respective towns.
(B) Lebork
BOASTING a population of 37000, Lebork is treble the size of Inverurie but like it's Gordon counterpart, lies in close proximity to a major city in Gdansk.
This has led to a strong commuter base to the Tri-city area.
As with Inverurie, the town is surrounded by beautiful countryside and a clean environment and as a result, has developed a well-established tourist trade, often as a centre for day-trippers.
Mayor Witold Namyslak noted that the close proximity of Leba, noted for its popularity with tourists, had a direct benefit for Lebork.
He said: "Tourists regularly take a day ticket to Lebork from Leba.
"As a town, we want to continue to take advantage of this."
Lebork's main attraction is the pedestrianised area of the town centre, allowing locals to sit and enjoy ice cream and coffee surrounded by a plethora of shoe shops and a scattering of intriguing bars and restaurants.
And this is one feature which Inverurie Business Association member and chairman of Inverurie Environmental Improvement Group, Ranald Allan, felt Inverurie could benefit from.
He said: "I was impressed by the 'can do' attitude of the Lebork council.
"The members have taken brave and imaginative initiatives to solve their town centre traffic issues and to improve the local environment for locals and visitors.
"The introduction of a landscaped pedestrianised shopping area coupled with an underpass, to take traffic under their railway line, have succeeded in enhancing the town centre and improving traffic flow."
He added: "The council has also managed to retain the historic external character of town centre old buildings yet allowing free reign to modern, internal improvements."
The major services such as education, health and business are adequately covered in Lebork although Mayor Namyslak noted that with unemployment at 30 per cent, the issue of young migration is an issue.
Investment has centred around sewage treatment and an emphasis on clean water for fishing, modernised parks within the town and an emphasis on developing cultural events.
"Because of the SusSET project we will have much more funds for our promotion," said Lebork town council vice chairman, Janusz Lisiecki.
"I think our partnership will bring the possibility for development to all of us."
SusSET project manager Dr Nick Brown agreed that the signs were that Lebork was well placed to develop a strategy of self-promotion.
"As the largest town, Lebork offers a different dimension to others," noted Nick.
"It is clear that they have an appetite and enthusiasm for marketing and promotion and encouraging the tourist industry.
"They are very outward looking and this is bound to stand Lebork in good stead in the future."
(B) Puck
DESPITE the decline of the fishing industry in Puck, its sheltered location on the Baltic coast has allowed the town to develop a reputation as a yachting port and a centre for water sports.
A population of 12000 puts Puck slightly ahead of Ellon's 9000 but the similarities are evident between the two.
Located just 52km from Gdansk, Puck is a commuter town, very much like Ellon with it's close links to Aberdeen.
This trend has been further developed by major investment in the roads system within the area.
"There is a strong tendency for the people of the tri-city area to live here in a nice, quiet town," said mayor Adam Zazemblowksi.
"But being close to the tri-city area offers more chance for work.
"On the other hand we are a town of 12000 people but have one of the lowest unemployment rates in the region."
The pace of the transition of Puck has been marked over the past 30 years, with the increase in foreign investment most evident in the growth of major chains such as IKEA and Tesco.
Formartine area manager Keith Newton was able to note a large number of similarities which exist between the towns.
"It was very interesting to note that despite their many differences, there
were some significant similarities between what the towns of Ellon and Puck
are working to achieve," he told the (BI) Advertiser (EBI).
"In both towns there is the prospect of developing the heritage resource and I think we can share some experiences approaches.
"There is clearly an interest in developing tourism and revitalising the
heart of their communities."
The Ellon contingent were shown plans for the improvement of the main square in Puck, and were able to pass on their own experiences regarding the approach to redeveloping the Ellon riverside and how the community had become involved.
The Polish proposal involved the Square itself but also the surrounding buildings, something which Keith noted was worth considering for future improvements in Bridge Street.
"A conscious decision has been taken to preserve the overall appearance and
facades of the Square in any redevelopment," noted Keith.
"Involving local architectural students in putting forward ideas for discussion seemed a very positive approach to take."
Mayor Zazemblowski admitted that the Puck town centre had room for improvement but was confident that the centre could be used as a focus for whole town regeneration.
He said: "Our town centre is admittedly held back and is not in the modern times.
"But I think it could be a great driving force for the whole town's development.
"We are lucky to be a town with a market square located so close to the sea front."
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