£164,065 for Furnace Community SCIO

Furnace Community SCIO receives £164,065 to purchase the village shop and adjacent bungalow in order to maintain essential shop and post office services.

Carol Watt, Furnace Community SCIO said: “I’m delighted that Furnace Community SCIO has obtained a grant from the Scottish Land Fund to enable them to buy the village shop and post office. Losing our shop would have ripped the heart out of the village, not to mention the immense inconvenience of having to travel the 15 mile round trip to Inveraray for our essential supplies.”

And fellow Furnace Community SCIO committee member Val Whale said: “'It is brilliant news to hear that the bid has been a success. Buying the shop and post office will not only benefit the youth of the village but also the older generation, especially those with no transport. It’s great to see that this vital service will continue for the community.”

Both also praised those HIE advisers who helped them with their bid, saying: “Their help at both Stage 1 and Stage 2 was invaluable and very much appreciated.”

Furnace Community SCIO is one of seven groups across Scotland sharing in £706,126 of Scottish Land Fund cash and Minister, Cabinet Secretary for Land Reform Roseanna Cunningham said of today’s grants: “Today marks an important milestone for the seven projects that have had funding approved by the Scottish Land Fund, enabling local residents to push on with their plans to acquire and develop vital local assets.

“I’m pleased that such a diverse range of projects - from turning a former bank into a business hub in Huntly, to securing land for affordable housing on Raasay – have been successful in their applications, and look forward to these groups now realising their ambitions for community ownership, benefitting communities for years to come.”

John Watt, Scottish Land Fund Committee Chair said: “The successful projects all share a vision for strengthening their communities and have identified key assets that will enable them to start delivering on their plans. Through the Scottish Land Fund, towns and villages across Scotland are receiving the backing they need to make a real difference in their local areas through bringing land and buildings into community ownership and putting them to good use.”

Sandra Holmes, Head of Community Assets at HIE, said: “These groups are working really hard to make their community ambitions a reality and it’s great that they have secured SLF funding to help achieve this. We are delighted to see seven communities being successful in this round. The awards will bring important assets into community ownership and give them the resources and control they need to deliver exciting projects for the benefit of people living and visiting their areas. We wish them all the very best in their new ventures.”

Other projects receiving Scottish Land Fund cash today are:

Huntly & District Development Trust

Award - £56,500

This group will purchase will purchase the former Royal Bank of Scotland building in the town’s main square in order to develop it as affordable accommodation for small businesses and start-up companies.

Carradale Community Trust
Award - £13,960

This group will purchase 4.75 acres of woodland from Forest Enterprise Scotland in order to create a garden waste recycling facility for the village and to provide access to walks and wider woodland in the area.

Moniaive Initiative
Award- £56,691

A commercial unit on Moniaive High Street will be purchased and converted into a charity shop, information point, office space and multi-purpose accommodation for a variety of local clubs and organisations.

Raasay Development Trust
Award - £68,230

This project will purchase two acres of land in the village of Inverarish to develop four community-owned homes, which will be available for affordable rent, two self-build plots and a plot to be sold to a local Housing Association for the development of a further two homes.

South Cowal Community Enterprises
Award - £256,680

South Cowal Community Enterprises will acquire an established convenience store and Post Office in order to retain the only village shop and they plan to convert the unoccupied upstairs flat into a bunkhouse and community space.

Upper Tweed Community Enterprise
Award - £90,000

This group will purchase and re-open the former village store in the village of Broughton. The shop closed in March 2018 resulting in the loss of five jobs and entailing villagers in a 12 mile round trip for basic provisions.