Anstruther Improvements Association (AIA)
The Anstruther Improvements Association (AIA) supports a thriving and resilient community, helping to improve Anstruther for all.
The AIA’s charitable purposes are to benefit the communities of and visitors to the former Burghs of Anstruther Easter, Anstruther Wester and Kilrenny (“the Area”) by:
- protecting, managing and developing community buildings in the area
- advancing heritage, culture and the environment of the Area;
- advancing community development in the Area through educational and social events; and
- promoting the effectiveness and/or efficiency of other charities working inter alia within the Area in furtherance of these Charitable Purposes.
In 2021 we launched the Anster Community Development Project (ACDP), appointing our first employee, a part-time community development worker funded by the National Lottery Community Fund (NLCF). The ACDP sets out four key outcomes:
- People feel more connected to their community and to each other
- People feel supported to take action and make things happen
- People have more opportunities for volunteering and feel supported to do so
- People improve their quality of life and therefore experience greater wellbeing.
ACDP has enabled us rapidly to expand our proprietary programming and support new community-led initiatives, like the Dreel Burn Project.
The AIA, representing the local community, initiated the Dreel Burn Project due to an identified need as part of our Anster Community Development Project.
For the Dreel Burn, we are committed to:
- promoting the connection to nature/ the waterway/ green space to improve wellbeing.
- to act as the voice of the burn (and its inhabitants), representing the burn in planning and efforts to conserve and protect it for future generations of human and non-human beneficiaries.
- funnelling community concerns about the environment and the climate emergency, and support the community to take local collaborative action (e.g. flooding, resilience, invasive non-native species).
The AIA will facilitate community engagement for the Dreel Burn Investment Readiness project, to ensure that the community’s voice is represented and the project meets the community’s needs and aspirations. AIA will include co-ordinate with the current DBP Steering Group, share and gather on-the ground information, support volunteers and citizen science and educational activities.
This will contribute to supporting a thriving and resilient community and improving Anstruther for all. It will also advance the area’s heritage, culture and environment, as well as community development.
Through partnership working the AIA will also promote the effectiveness and efficiency of other charities working in the area in furtherance of the AIA’s charitable purposes.