A 10-year vision has been published to help drive forward improvements in a Moray community and increase career prospects and boost lifelong skills.
Several events have been held in Buckie to establish what local residents consider priorities to make the town and neighbouring Portessie better places to live and work.
These meetings raised concerns about barriers to employments, varying experiences at school and problems surrounding transportation in the local area.
Now, a newly-formed group, comprising representatives from local charities, businesses, Buckie High School and other volunteers, has been tasked with helping to build the links to allow improvements to be made.
There are plans to develop more links between the secondary school and local groups to increase career options while encouraging organisations to work together.
Buckie councillor Sonya Warren said: “A lot of information has been gathered as part of the process, which identified there are barriers to employment in the area.
“The High School already has links with Cullen Sea School, which provides fantastic opportunities to young people, which can perhaps be replicated elsewhere to increase skills and boost the confidence of students.”
The priorities for the eastern part of Buckie and Portessie have been categorised under the themes of learning and life skills, young people, connectivity and community voice.
Graham Leadbitter, chairman of the Moray Community Planning Partnership, which spearheaded the initial stages of the plan, explained the newly-formed Buckie Central East Community Monitoring Group would help to improve the lives for all in the area.
He said: “This particular group brings together all the organisations who are trying to make a better Buckie.
“Ultimately, we all have the same goal and that is to improve the prospects for all who live here and for the town to live up to its full potential.
“I see lots of people trying to make a difference in communities around Moray and to see progress by this group in Buckie is already heartening.”
Group member Susan Chalmers added: “As the plan has come together, it’s been reassuring to see that the issues raised by local folk during the consultations have been heard and are being addressed.
“We hope it will encourage others from the community to get involved in making Buckie an even better place to stay.”
