Scottish Community Land Newsletter
December 2005
The Scottish Community Land Network (SCLN) aims to encourage and support
community land initiatives (CLIs) in Scotland through promotion, the
sharing of experience and networking of Scottish CLI groups.
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News - Woodland & Forestry - Renewable Energy – Funding & Support –
Events – Jobs – Housing - Training - Bits & Pieces –
A View from the Hills – Featured CLI – Links - etc.____________________
Hi all,
I’m working hard to make this a less weighty tome but you insist on
pursuing new or extended CLIs. I had only a modest response on last
month’s request for information about groups from Argyllshire, but I
will give it one more try this month. I’m interested in what your group
has achieved, is progressing or is aspiring to in Aberdeenshire. I look
forward to hearing of your projects. Have a festive holiday season.
Nollaig Chridheil agus Bliadhna Mhath Ur
Steve
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Congratulations to the Ford Community Project (FCP) who are the latest
group to successfully register their CLI with the
Register of Community Interests in Land. FCP located in mid-Argyll will
now pursue the purchase of 2.5h of Forestry Commission land under the
National Forest Land Scheme. Their hope is to build a community centre
with a shop, post office and bar/social club/drop-in centre, in/outside
sports facilities, play area, educational/evening class facilities,
visiting clinics and even the 'Screen Machine'. It is also to be a
stopping point for tourist information regarding fishing, forestry
trails and archaeology of area (part of Kilmartin Glen). If they’re
hoping to squeeze anything else in they’ll need a bigger site!
Riverview Caravan Park, a residential caravan park at Mundole and
Balnageith near Forres, is the centre of the latest aspiring CLI,
Mundole Futures Community Company (MFCC). MFCC had previously been
accepted in August for inclusion in
Register of Community Interests in Land under Part 2 of the Community
Right to Buy of the Land Reform Act (Scotland) 2003. They are now
planning an ambitious program of projects including: Reinstating and
improving the caravan and camping park; Creating a nature trail;
Providing a dog walking area; Providing a trim track; Planting trees
and shrubs; Re-opening the office, laundrette, shop and function suite;
Providing a small number of low-cost/low density homes; Finding a
suitable use for the farmhouse and outbuildings, perhaps as arts/crafts
workshops/Backpackers hostel.
Taynuilt Working Group supported by the North Argyll Community Trust
have worked together to improve access to the Admiral Lord Nelson’s
Monument. An all abilities path with disabled access and signposting
has been created. This Scheduled Ancient Monument was the first
monument to be raised to the Battle of Trafalgar victory some 200 years
ago by the local workers at the Bonawe Iron Furnace who supplied cannon
balls to the navy. Partners in the funding include
Heritage Lottery Fund, Argyll and Island Enterprise and
Argyll & Bute Community Economic Development Program.
The Holmhill’s appeal against the Scottish Executives decision on late
registration (see SCLN’s November Issue) has been postponed due to the
Sheriff taking ill. It will resume 16th December, with a decision
expected in the New Year.
The idea of commonly held property for the good of the whole community
is not a new idea but one that has been revisited by humanity many
times. Andy Wightman and James Perman look at the recent demise and
mismanagement of important Scottish community heritage, Common Good Land.
Just published by the Caledonia Centre for Social Development is a new
study Common Good Land In Scotland – A Review and Critique available
printed & bound from the Centre for £10 or downloadable from the
website.
Historic Scotland has awarded £162,000 to assist
Urras Eaglais na h-Aoidhe, the Chapel of Uidh Trust in Lewis, to assist
in re-roofing the historic Chapel to be able to bring the building back
into community use. Other funding partners include
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, Western Isles Enterprise and
The Heritage Lottery Fund. For full story see the Stornoway Gazette
The small village of Dallas (pop.200), Moray, has seen a turn in its
luck with the completion of the refurbishment and extension of the
village hall. Having recently lost its shops, post offices and pub, a
still strong community spirit raised funding of £10,000 of a £190,000
project. Funding partners include the Scottish Executive and
The Dalriada Project, based in Knapdale and Kilmartin Glen Mid Argyll,
has been awarded a £2 Million Heritage Lottery Fund Award to take
forward its Landscapes in Time heritage project. The project aims to
improve access to the area’s natural features, preserve its historic
buildings, and encourage both visitors and locals to explore and enjoy
the area. Specific projects planned are restoring woodlands, improving
access to historical sites, a local history project and training for
local people.
The South Uist Buyout Steering Group has disbanded to become Sealladh
na Beinne Moire, the community trust formed to pursue the acquisition
and management of the South Uist Estate. It recently had its directors
elected by the local community on a 79.4% turnout (500 of 615). You
can’t get a community much more involved than that. The trust’s agenda
will now consist of: negotiating the purchase from the current estate
owners; accessing the funds for purchase; identifying and preparing
projects for supporting the case for purchase; managing the estate and
developing the projects identified for the benefit of the whole
community. One hurdle to overcome is the interposed leases. These
interposed leases, agreements struck between landlords and the
developers of a major wind farms in anticipation of community buyouts,
may be challenged in law. An opinion was sought by the CLU from
Professor Roderick Paisley of Aberdeen University and is anticipated
that this will be used by the Scottish Executive to challenge the
leases in the Scottish Land Court.
Just when we thought we were safe from old landlords (as in pre-
community-owned estate types) Schellenberg has risen from the ashes to
help Eigg put right all the transgression of the current
democratically-elected community trust. You see there is the matter of
all this money being wasted on infrastructure, ferries and piers,
improved housing, sustainably managed environment, improved community
amenities and facilities and to cap it all an upcoming community
renewable energy project to give at last a reliable, cheap and
environmentally-friendly electricity supply. Personally I think
Eiggach’s would all be happier living in black houses with no windows
and a peat fire!
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Woodlands & Forestry
You’ll have to excuse my previous cynicism but the Forestry Commission
Scotland has at last produced the documentation to support the fanfare
of the National Forest Land Scheme announced some months earlier. You
can now download Guidance Notes and Application Forms from this link.
Sleat Community Trust, South Skye, is pushing forward the possible
acquisition of Kinloch forest under the National Forest Land Scheme.
The Milton Community Woodland Trust has been raising what is probably
the biggest round-wood, oak-pegged spruce barn on the planet. For
updates on the project phone David Russell, the community forester on
01862 863238.
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Renewable Energy
The communities on the west side of Lewis have overwhelmingly voted
against AMEC windfarm proposals. 329 voters out of a possible 480 from
Barvas to Galson took part. The vote stood at 230 against and 96 for
giving a vote of 70% against from a turnout of 69%.
Orkney continues on its unfaltering path to becoming the world centre
for renewable energy through its European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC).
Recently it achieved a world first when the facilities have been
officially ratified by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS).
This means that renewable energy developers can use EMEC as hi-tech
facilities to gain an internationally recognised verification of the
performance of their wave-energy devices.
Tayvallich Energy Awareness steering committee organised a competition
to encouraging local householders to reduce their energy consumption.
The home that uses the least amount of energy during the next year will
have a hot water solar panel worth £3,000 installed courtesy of the
Highlands and Island Community Energy Company. ALIenergy that promotes
energy efficiency and renewable energy successfully applied to the
Scottish Community Householder Renewables Initiative for funding for
the solar panel prize.
The Isle of Eigg Heritage Trust has received £250,000 from the
Big Lottery Fund. It puts them another step closer to achieving their
24hr island–wide community renewable electricity supply.
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Funding & Support
The Big Lottery Fund (BLF) is to invested £1/4 billion in Scotland's
communities between March 2006 and March 2009. BLF recently announced a
275 million future funding program, Investing in Communities.
Significantly BLF will be become an investment funders rather than a
grant maker. It will be putting more resources into pre-funding support
with advice and guidance; and follow-up support to manage those funds
during the lifetime of their projects. The funding will be applied as
follows:
the Scottish Land Fund, extended to all Scottish communities both
rural and urban.
up, growing old, moving out and moving on.
moving societal change.
improvements to the capacity and infrastructure of national,
intermediary or second tier organisations.
It is good to see that the Scottish Land Fund’s success has been
recognized and will be used as a model for assisting the development of
all Scottish communities.
Is your community group a Development Trust?
Development Trusts Association Scotland (DTAS) may help support and
help your group’s interests. Angus Hardie of DTAS gives a question and
answer session on the Rural Gateway. Apparently land or property-based
Development Trusts are called Asset-based Community Development (ABCD),
a recognised sector in the social enterprise movement. It has a
weightier ring to it than Community Land Initiative (CLI).
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Rural Housing Service Conference - 23/24 February 2006 Dunkeld
For upcoming events see website at SCLN Events
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Community Forester Post - Milton Community Woodland Trust
Project Manager - Reforesting Scotland
Local Project Co-ordinator Sunart - Reforesting Scotland
For the latest employment opportunities see the website at SCLN Jobs
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Housing
The Chancellor has recently reversed the original decision to allow
self-investment personal pensions (Sipps) to invest in residential
property. This could have only further aggravated the desperate housing
situation in rural Scotland.
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The CLU is running a series of training programs for community groups,
by community groups. These are open to any community group in Scotland
but are entirely free to those of the HIE area.
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Bits and pieces – Ideas from all over
North Yell Development Council (NYDC) sees a future in community-owned
hotels. NYDC which has already succeeded in building a pier, an
industrial estate at Cullivoe and progressing a windfarm have persuaded
Shetland Enterprise and Shetland Islands Council to commission a
feasibility study. NYDC Secretary Andrew Nisbet said:”We have no hotel
accommodation on the island and there is not a lot of opportunity to go
out for a meal. No private individual has come forward to build a
hotel, so the only chance of getting one is if we do it as a community
enterprise”. The community-based Northmavine Development Co is already
investigating the possibility of taking over the 105-year-old St Magnus
Bay Hotel, in Hillswick, which has been closed for 18 months.
Community-owned land is often misperceived as a Highland & Island
solution to a rural problem so it is good to see the gospel is being
spread wider. Recently representatives from 7 Community Development
Trusts and 6 Community Councils from West Stirlingshire attended a
presentation on the Community Right to Buy & Common Good Land by
Andy Wightman. It was organised by the
Balfron Community Futures Development Trust and Strathblane Community
Council.
For a one-stop shop for all things volunteering check out
Scottish Council for Voluntary Services (SCVO). SCVO seeks to advance
the values and interests shared by voluntary organisations by fostering
co-operation, promoting best practice and through the delivery of
sustainable common services.
The Scottish Crofting Foundation (SCF) has appointed Donald Murdie, a
crofter and horticulturalist from Bernera, Lewis, to a new post
managing the SCF’s new sustainable crofting land use programme. The
programme, funded with support from Esmee Fairburn Foundation, the
Carnegie UK Trust and the Highland Council, will promote training,
horticultural development, tourism and land access, and setting up and
supporting producer groups.
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The announcement that the Big Lottery Fund is to invest over a £1/4
billion into Investing in Our Communities over the next three years has
got to be good news. Significantly it is allocating £50 million to
Growing Community Assets. This is to replace and build on the
Scottish Land Fund’s (SLF) exemplary record of not just assisting
communities in buying the primary rural community asset, the land, but
supporting the management and development of this resource. This will
quite rightly be extended to all communities throughout Scotland both
urban and rural. I can’t help feeling though, that the succinctly named
‘Scottish Land Fund’ (it does what it says on the tin!), with a smaller
pot of money dedicated to communities of less than 10,000, dealt
effectively with the specific rural investment issues. £50 million
could easily be swallowed up by the equally important needs of much
larger regeneration projects of urban communities. I wonder will rural
communities share equally in this largesse or be dismissed as a small
marginal population whose needs don’t compare in scale to urban
communities. Investment in rural communities is an issue separate from
urban regeneration. Rural areas are not just green and empty spaces for
amenity and recreation of urban communities but have a right to thrive
in their own right. Ultimately rural communities often have only one
real opportunity to change their situations and that is the through
ownership of the land.
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Featured CLI – Strathfillan Community Development Trust
This month Strathfillan
Community Development Trust, consisting of the
community of Crianlarich, Perthshire and Tyndrum, Stirlingshire is
highlighted. A very busy community trust having started in 1997 to
secure affordable rented housing, it has moved on to be much more. For
the full story see SCLN Featured CLI
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For relative links, resources or community groups see the respective
links at SCLN Links, SCLN Resources or SCLN Community Groups
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This newsletter has been generously funded by
Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), Lomond & Rural Stirling Leader+
and North Highland Leader+
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--------------------------------Disclaimer-----------------------------
The views and opinions expressed in this newsletter are for general
information and do not represent those of the Community Land Unit,
Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Lomond & Rural Stirling Leader+ or
North Highland Leader+
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