Creative Intervention: Dalbeattie

What’s Happening in Dalbeattie?

The ambition is to create an engaging and people-centred portrait of Dalbeattie’s active travel story, centred around the work of Dalbeattie Community Initiative (DCI), but inclusive of the broader community, places and people that shape movement in the town.

The project will:

• Celebrate DCI local initiatives that support walking, wheeling, cycling and bus use in and around Dalbeattie
• Highlight the role of DCI in building long-term change through partnership, participation and local action
• Capture the voices of local residents and community members in relation to travel, health, place and connection
• Create a marketing strategy and content package for DCI to build visibility for Dalbeattie’s active travel offer now and into the future

Story development will focus on everyday movement and lived experience, rather than abstract policy or infrastructure. The emphasis is on people, routines, shared spaces and moments of connection.

Electric Shores will work with DCI, residents and partners to identify stories such as:

• How people currently move through Dalbeattie
• What has changed, or is beginning to change
• How hubs and initiatives fit into daily life
• The social, health and community benefits of active travel
• First-person testimonials of the benefits of the project

These stories will be captured through a mix of photography, informal short-form video (including mobile capture), quotes and written narrative. Content will be created in a way that feels natural and unobtrusive, allowing participants to feel comfortable and genuinely represented, while applying editorial and media-led thinking to ensure the stories are clear, compelling and able to travel beyond the immediate community.

Where appropriate, this may include light-touch media pitching to regional or specialist outlets, positioning Dalbeattie’s active travel story within wider conversations around place, connectivity and rural sustainability. The final suite of content will be adaptable across platforms and audiences, supporting both local engagement and wider regional storytelling.

Alongside content creation, a practical marketing strategy will be developed for DCI to help structure how these stories are shared now and in the future. This will include key messages and themes, priority audiences (local residents, young people, visitors and regional stakeholders), guidance on tone and channels, and suggestions for future content and community-led storytelling.

The strategy will be designed to be clear, usable and realistic, reflecting DCI’s capacity and enabling the organisation to build momentum without reliance on ongoing external support.

Planned Creative Outputs

By the end of the project, the aim is to achieve:

• A shared narrative that clearly communicates DCI’s role within Dalbeattie’s active travel ecosystem
• Increased awareness and understanding of the local hub
• Stories that encourage participation and behaviour change by making active travel feel visible, achievable and relevant
• A set of assets and messaging that DCI can continue to use for local engagement, regional visibility and future advocacy
• Evidence of impact to support conversations with partners, funders and local authorities

Success will be measured less by reach alone, and more by confidence, clarity and ownership both within DCI and across the wider community.