The council’s community planning and regeneration committee agreed this week to recommend the establishment of a Short-Life Working Group that will oversee the delivery of the regeneration strategy and draw together the numerous strands of regeneration work already in place to tackle disadvantage and deprivation and promote social justice and economic growth.

These include work already underway to boost the priority areas of Cultenhove, Fallin, Raploch, Cornton, Cowie, Top of the Town, Hillpark and Plean and rural development elements of Stirling’s ambitious £200 million City Development Framework.

In Cornton, the council, community and local businesses worked together to plan and deliver lighting and other improvements to rejuvenate the local shopping precinct and community centre.

Pilot projects taking place in a number of communities are also looking at ways of building the capacity of these areas to lead their own regeneration.

Stirling Council’s director of communities and partnerships, Stacey Burlet, said: “The range of regeneration work already taking place within the council to support our communities means there’s a unique and exciting opportunity to promote social justice and economic growth, building on current developments and sharing learning from them.

“The emphasis is very much about working with communities to identify the priorities that are important to them and the short-life working group, if approved by council, will be looking at ways of further supporting community leadership and building knowledge and expertise to promote growth at that local level.”

At its meeting this week, the community planning and regeneration committee also approved plans to progress the use of more than £500,000 approved as part of this year’s council budget to tackle poverty and promote growth across the Stirling area.

Funds include £100,000 each in support for community events and apprenticeship opportunities plus £105,000 to tackle child poverty in particular.

The committee agreed to delegate responsibility for progressing use of the community events money to the director of communities and partnerships, with more detailed plans for the other funds to be developed.

Stacey Burlet added: “Taken together this funding represents an excellent opportunity to promote social justice and drive forward regeneration on a variety of fronts for maximum impact.”