£56,691 for Moniaive Initiative

Dumfriesshire group receives Scottish Land Fund cash to create community hub.

Moniaive Initiative receives £56,691 to purchase a commercial unit on Moniaive High Street and convert it into a charity shop, information point, office space and multi-purpose accommodation for a variety of local clubs and organisations.

Moniaive Initiative Chairman, Bill McLarty, said: "We are delighted that this grant will enable us to purchase a building that has stood empty and declining on our High Street for many years. Now it will become a new centre at the heart of our community, providing some of the services and amenities that we require to make life easier and more sustainable in this beautiful but remote area."

Moniaive Initiative currently has a lease on the building and has been running a six month 'trial hub'. With help from local volunteers they have redecorated the building using donated paints and equipment, and ‘upcycled’ wooden doors from a nearby house renovation into internal fittings and furniture.

A large number of local people turned out for the official opening and since then the shop has been consistently busy, with the new Community Library, which replaces the recently-withdrawn mobile library service, proving to be very popular.

The shop has also attracted a new start-up business, which is hiring a room for two days a week, and there are plans to launch workshops offering practical skills.

Moniaive Initiative 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.

Furnace Community SCIO
Award - £164,065

This group will purchase the village shop in Furnace, Argyll, and the adjacent bungalow, in order to maintain essential shop and post office services in this rural community.

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.