£13,960 for Carradale Community Trust

Kintyre community receives Scottish Land Fund cash to develop village recycling facilities

Carradale Community Community Trust receives £13,960 to buy 4.75 acres of Seneval Woodland in Carradale order to create a local recycling facility and improve access to surrounding woods

David Prag, Trustee, Carradale Community Trust said: “The Scottish Land Fund has kick started our project to develop a garden composting site and footpath to the shore. Carradale is 15 miles from the nearest point to tip garden waste and this is via a difficult winding road. The footpath will join paths leading from one side of the village to the other making a pleasant walk to the shore and avoiding the road. We are very grateful to the The Scottish Land Fund for providing the funds to purchase the land for our two projects the first of which we aim to complete this summer.”

Trust 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.

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.

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.