Scottish Community Land Newsletter – November/December 2006
The Scottish Community Land Network (SCLN) aims to encourage, support and inspire the community land sector in Scotland through shared experience, networking and promotion of Scottish community land initiatives. - Current circulation - 1565
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News - Woodland & Forestry - Renewable Energy – Funding & Support – Events –- Training - Bits & Pieces – A View from the Hills – Featured CLI – Jobs - Links - etc.
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Merry Christmas All,
I hope you all had a peaceful and relaxing Christmas. Another year has past and we’ve had more successes for communities than can be listed. The end of the year brought the South Uist community a successful buyout, superlative in every sense, and better than we could have hoped for. What can we expect in the New Year; Galson Trust community buyout is imminent with celebrations scheduled for 12th January, and Pairc Trust continues to plough its lonely furrow in the misbegotten legislation of Part 3 of the Land Reform Act. The only radical section of Scottish land reform, Part 3 is an endless legalistic and bureaucratic quagmire. Not likely a positive outcome there, though I would be happy to be proved wrong. Visionary hopes; I heard mention of a whole west-coast community buyout of Cal Mac, now that could only be a win-win situation!!!
I would like you to remember those untold thousands of volunteers putting in hundreds of thousands of hours of unpaid voluntary time to make all these community ventures work, and indeed succeed. Like raising families you will rarely be thanked for all the hard work put in, but in the end you can feel satisfied with the legacy you leave behind; Vibrant, vigorous, self-reliant, sustainable communities - forever!
May you all have a Happy New Year and find whatever your desires, hopes and aspirations lead you to!
Bliadhna Mhath Ùr,
Steve
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Congratulations to the communities of Eriskay, South Uist and Benbecula in their Independence Day achieving the latest community buyout. On St Andrews Day, Sealladh na Beinne Moire (SnBM), the community trust took title to the land and all the associated assets for the community. This is the largest community buyout ever in Scotland. It is superlative achievement in all measures but specifically in terms of population (2900 approx.), area (92,000acres), crofts (850) and purchase price (£4.5 million). The purchase has been secured with support from the Big Lottery Fund’s Growing Community Assets (GCA) (see Funding and Support for all the first round GCA Awards) award of £2 Million and HIE’s Community land Unit’s (CLU) award of £1.97 Million. The community is actively raising the shortfall and there is additional support from Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (CnES). For the full story see Featured CLI – Sealladh na Beinne Moire
Congratulations to this year's Calor Scottish Community of the Year 2006 winner, New Deer Community Association in Buchan. Other communities successful in the category awards are:
Environment Winner - Furniture Plus - Dysart, Fife
Highly Commended - GreenFerry Trust - South Queensferry
Communications Winner - Girvan Community Council & Girvan Online
Highly Commended - Woodhead & Windyhills Community Trust
Business Winner - Furniture Plus
Highly Commended - Shawbost Old School Trust
People Winner - Raploch Community Partnership
Highly Commended - Fusion
Galson Trust (Urras Oighreachd Ghabhsainn) after 15 months of negotiating and conveyancing will finally celebrate the handing over of Galson Estate to the community. On January 12th, the old New Year, they will celebrate by having a symbolic signing of papers at Galson Farm with a formal gathering followed by a family Ceilidh.
Community Land Trusts, an increasingly popular community–ownership model, basically captures land value to work for local needs. Richard Clarke is helping people to get on the housing ladder in Etwall in South Derbyshire. He’s pushing for a community land trust which would give people outright land ownership to build affordable homes. Read about it on the BBC Action Network
Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has made a significant contribution towards the purchase of Eriskay, South Uist and Benbecula by the community. £150,000 has been awarded. the vast majority community buyouts have outstanding natural heritage, could this be an accident or perhaps the result of hundreds if not thousands of years of enlightened stewardship by communities practising sustainable land management? We all look forward to SNH backing all future community stewardship to such an extent.
It seems to be an endless life of conferences for me. Last month we were in Isle of Gigha, for the Communities Housing Summit, the very last of the Community Land Unit’s training programme. We were treated with great hospitality at the 4 star B&B at Achamore House; truly a sumptuous treat. The Gigha community certainly lived up to its reputation. With all the exceptional press coverage I must admit I didn’t really expect Gigha to match the hype. In the area of local housing provision it has to be the community leader. They started from a very low an ebb, with an island population of 99, school roll 6, and 47 houses of which 95% were below tolerable living standard. Today 4½ years after the community buyout the population stands at 151, school roll 27, with 14 houses completely renovated or under renovation and 18 new homes built for local rent. They didn’t just run with the housing agenda, they blasted–off with it!
Of course every diamond has its rough edges and Gigha is not the brilliant cut it seems. Despite all the publicity there is apparently serious shortcoming in the much vaunted demographics. We are well informed (by the Gigha Administrator no less!) that there is a dearth of 30-something males on the island. This should not be treated lightly and all serious suggestions will be passed on to the proper benefactors. I understand from inside source that the CLU has a surplus of free 30-something males. Amazingly the connection has never been made before!
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Woodlands & Forestry
The Community Woodlands Association (CWA) annual conference was hosted by the Sunart Oakwoods Initiative at Arrain Shunainert in Strontian with over a hundred delegates from Dunnet to Wooplaw attending. CWA is the directly representative membership organisation for community woodlands groups throughout Scotland. Project funding of over a £100,000 has provided members with benefits in training, networking, consultation and promotion. Amongst other CWA business the new board was elected and Piers Voysey from Anagach Woods was appointed as Chair.
Newtonmore Community Woodland have had good news in the form of a 'stay of execution' on the closure of the Wildcat Centre from a private benefactor who has generously offered to cover running costs for the rest of this year while they look for top-up funding to the five-year plan.
Are you an urban community hoping to create, manage or increase access to an urban woodland? Look no further than Woodlands In and Around Towns (WIAT), an excellent scheme run by Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS). It has involved communities in over 70 woodland projects including the active management of 5200h and the creation of over 600h of new urban woodland involving over 5000 participants, 2000 pupils and 200 partner organisations with over £5.4M spent. for more details check the FCS WIAT site or download the WIAT programme review.
The North Highland Forest Trust (NHFT) is an independent charity giving free information, advice and support on woodland related issues to community groups, crofters and other individuals across Sutherland and Caithness. They are circulating a tender brief for a Business Development Plan and Fundraising. This is a revised brief from the one issued a month ago. Tenders are to be submitted by Noon 17th January. Details of the tender brief downloaded here.
The Scottish Executive’s Scottish Forestry Strategy was recently released. A broad-looking vision statement, it try’s to be inclusive of the many and sometimes competing interests and promises to be the blueprint of Scotland’s forestry future. It will be interesting to see if the support of implementation is as strong as the vision. Download the SE Scottish Forestry Strategy document here.
The North West Mull Community Woodland Company's purchase of 1600 acres from Forestry Commission Scotland is the first to be approved through the National Forest Land Scheme Sponsored Sale of Surplus Land. Having won the funding from the Scottish Land Fund and HIE Community Land Unit, the Company has now raised the remaining funds despite a long delay in gaining its charitable status. The shortfall includes funding from the Robertson Trust (£5k), the Hugh Fraser Foundation (£2k) and intensive local fundraising. Over £11k was raised through local donations and fundraising dances, prize draws, raffles, race nights and a 24hour cafe running during the Tour of Mull Rally in addition to a private interest-free bridging loan. The purchase of West Ardhu and Langamull woodlands represents a unique opportunity for the North West Mull community in terms of its potential for the provision of social housing, sustainable development and enterprise, habitat improvement and recreation. The community celebrated the purchase on 10th December with a bonfire, torchlight procession, their first community Christmas tree and a dance in the Dervaig Village Hall.
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Highlands and Islands Community Energy Company (HICEC) has recently issued their latest newsletter with features of various successful community renewable energy initiatives. Down load the latest newsletter here.
HICEC has recently expanded its staff with five new graduates to assist with the current teams’ ever expanding workload and to give new opportunities to young people wanting to live and work in the Highlands and Islands. Congratulation and welcome to the new recruits: Rona Wormersley, Georgy Davis, Melanie Macrae, Kevin Dickson, and Rab Lees an old hand from ALIenergy. Download the full HICEC press release.
Users of three community centres in the Western Isles will be much warmer in coming winters thanks to recent grants from Highlands and Islands Community Energy (HICEC). In total, grants of £253,000 will fund installation of more sustainable forms of heating, using a combination of heat pumps and wind energy, which will help meet running costs, and provide a high degree of comfort within these new community buildings. The grants are part of a Scottish Executive scheme, the Scottish Community and Householder Renewables Initiative, and HICEC deliver the community stream for this scheme in the Highlands & Islands. Download the full HICEC press release.
Of the utmost concern for renewables energy industry in general and community energy renewables sector in particular are the proposed changes to the Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs). These are of course the main vehicle of support to the renewable energy industry. Following the 2006 Energy Review, UK Government proposes changes to the Renewable Obligation and has opened a period of consultation on the matter. The Highlands and Islands Community Energy (HICEC) is concerned that these proposals will have an adverse effect on community-scale projects and has submitted its response (pay particular attention to answers to Question 1 – 11) to this consultation. HICEC have issued a press release highlighting the issue. If you wish to respond to the DTI and add you own comments on this issue, please send to:
Nicola Barber
Renewable Energy Policy
Department of Trade and Industry
Bay 2106,
1 Victoria Street London SW1H 0ET
Tel. 0207215 2651 or Fax 0207215 2890 or Email. roco.info@dti.gsi.gov.uk
Response to Part 1 will be accepted until 5 January 2007 although Part 2 must be received by 15 December 2006.
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A great feel-good story is the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Muhammad Yunus for “efforts to create economic and social development from below” by pioneering support of microcredit in Bangladesh and which is now being rolled throughout the world. Started in 1974 over £5.7billion has been lent to individuals, mostly women, with outstanding payback rates of over 95%. This is significantly helping to reverse the desperate poverty trends of this region. While we aren’t facing the same scale or depth of poverty, our most disadvantaged individuals are facing credit traps of high-street and credit card interest rates and this might be a model to imitate throughout our most disadvantaged communities to eliminate the relative poverty of our society. See the Senscot summary for more details.
If you like me has struggled with the change from the Scottish Land Fund to the Big Lottery Fund’s Growing Community Assets (GCA) then you might find this succinct Power Point presentation explaining what GCA is all about, and how to apply some help. Download the presentation here.
Most lottery award winners take their cheque straight to the bank, but a group in East Renfrewshire are going to actually buy the bank. The Neilston Development Trust is one of 13 lucky recipients of cash totalling nearly £5 million – the first money to flow from the Big Lottery Fund’s new £257 million Investing in Communities portfolio. So here are the first 13 awards:
The project aims to increase the range of services and facilities in Neilston and stimulate a spirit of enterprise within the community. It plans to open a community café, a service information point, and office space that will be available for rent by local businesses or social enterprises. Training opportunities will be provided through modern apprenticeships or vocational qualifications.
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Rural Housing Service Conference 2007 - Sustainable Rural Futures
22/23 February 2007 @ The Birnam Institute, Birnam, By Dunkeld
Galson Trust Community Buyout Celebration
12th January @ Various locations in Ness, Isle of Lewis
Contact the Galson Trust for further details
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Social Firms Scotland (SFS) and Scottish Business in the Community (SBC) have come together in Aberdeen from across the private, voluntary and social enterprise sector to deliver a series of 8 workshops in key areas of business and organisational development under Sharing the Knowledge and 13 workshops under Sharing IT Skills. These workshops are free and places will be allotted on a first come, first served basis. Download details for Sharing the Knowledge and Sharing IT.
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Bits and pieces – Ideas from all over
Robin Callander currently the adviser to the Crown Estate Review Working Group (CERWG) has been investigating the potential for the Crown Estate in Scotland to deliver greater public benefits, particularly in the Highlands and Islands. Setup by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and the six local authorities covering the region, they have produced “The Crown Estate in Scotland – New Opportunities for Public Benefits” a very comprehensive document now available in its second draft form. Download the report here and send your comments to Robin Callander.
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The newly proposed Coastal & Marine National Park (CMNP) candidate areas are perhaps an excellent opportunity for communities or equally yet another vehicle of obstruction of sustainable community development but perhaps we shall never know. The current consultation has been a case of recklessness and the cheap and cheerful; a back of the van exercise in the local car park, carried out by PR consultants with no depth of knowledge of the proposals, ticking off a 10 minute survey (colloquially referred to as CCC or 3Cs; Co-op Carpark Consultations!). They were not advertised widely if at all. If the Scottish Executive’s Natural Scotland really wants a CMNP to be designated with communities support then they must look to the longer term to allow communities to consider, question and ferment what is really needed and wanted for their areas. The 2 existing national parks in Scotland (Cairngorms and Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Parks) were both allowed an evolutionary consultation process with community involvement over some 5 years before the designations were passed. Exactly what is all this undue haste for? Is there an unexplained agenda here? The consultation finishes on the 10th January allowing all those in the communities being considered to make a response. The HIE’s excellent response considers the proposals from a sustainable community point-of-view. Download the Natural Scotland Questionnaire to facilitate your response.
Agree, disagree or have another opinion you like aired, contact steve@communityland.org.uk
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Featured CLI – Sealladh na Beinne Moire
A stormy night of rain and gales was not enough to prevent the latest community buyout from marking this, their historic night with a series of beacons across their land. The communities of South Uist, Eriskay and Benbecula have freed themselves from the dead hand of 400 years of absentee landlordism. On St. Andrews Day rechristened Independence Day by the community, all the land and all of the assets of South Uist Estate once again belonged to the people. Congratulations on their success after a struggle of some 3 years of negotiating, ballots, application forms, business plans, solicitors and accountants. Even more importantly congratulations for undertaking the commitment of stewardship of not only the tangible assets of land and property but of the intangible assets of community and heritage. In perpetuity.
Father Calum MacLellan watching the bonfires being lit reflecting on the symbolism of the buyout offers the community, the opportunity to cast the anger, loss and frustration caused by the loss of centuries of depopulation, ”After the nights fire had subsided, the smurach (ashes) would remain, in the dawn would be rekindled by hopes of the future. This is where the New World is now.”
This community, collectively known as Sealladh na Beinne Moire (Gaelic for the view from Beinne Moire, the largest hill and the iconic feature of South Uist), has achieved a buyout of superlatives. It is not only the largest community buyout it is now the largest community-owned estate, some 92,000 acres, in Scotland (Britain?). It has surpassed the grand daddy of all community estates, the Stornoway Trust, a title held for some 80 years. The exceptionally nature of this community doesn’t end there. The SnBM is almost exclusively under crofting tenure. The 850 crofters represent 5% of the entire crofting tenancy of Scotland and the largest community of crofters under one landlord, community or private. The population of 2900 is second only to the Stornoway Trust. The purchase price is £4.5M the most paid by a community for their own land.
Angus Macmillan, Chairman of SnBM, speaking on behalf of the community said
"We believe that the community ownership of South Uist, Benbecula, and Eriskay presents us with a unique opportunity to develop appropriately the resources that we have. Over the years to come, we will seek to determine the sustainable economic regeneration of these islands, using every means at our disposal. The people living on the islands have always been the principal guardians of their unique environment and culture. We have carved out a living from the sometimes meagre resources around us and we have expressed our soul in an unparalleled richness of language, music, song, and poetry. We have a common history and share common values. We are a community that is resilient and resourceful, welcoming and hospitable, and we want to make the best of what we have for the benefit of all our people living here and all who come to visit us. Through this we hope to reverse decline and depopulation and to reduce dependency. We wish to create a community which is confident in its future and which determines the direction of its own development.”
The celebration is about this community and for this community but everyone would like to share in it. They were sent messages of congratulation by other community-owned estates including North Harris, Gigha, Eigg, Knoydart and Assynt. And of course by many politicians.
Rob Gibson, SNP MSP for the Highlands and Islands, said he welcomed the "liberation" of 850 crofters from a private landed syndicate. "Wherever crofts were made, populations clung to their land. Now South Uist, Eriskay and Benbecula can forge an independent, prosperous path. Today, as the triumphant South Uist buyout team celebrate the handover of their land in the teeth of a Hebridean gale, the words of an old song come to mind - it's a case of 'Blow, you winds of freedom, blow'," .
Brian Wilson acting as advisor to the buyout said, “Everyone here tonight knows in our hearts this is about not about reversing history, it is about bringing the land and the natural assets that go with it, under the people who live here and know what can be achieved.”
Alasdair Morrison, the Labour MSP for the Western Isles, said he was sure that the estate would follow the same pattern as other communities "where the entrepreneurial spirit and talents of people which were stifled will now be allowed to flourish. For centuries, we have been preparing our brightest and best for emigration. Securing the land and other assets allows communities to flourish ... a truly great day."
The first steps on this journey were taken some 3 years ago by the community to consider launching a bid to buy the estate. Private negotiations were begun with the consortium which has owned the sporting and crofting estate since 1961, some 45 years. A ballot by the local population two years later provided convincing support to pursue a purchase and earlier this year an offer of £4.5m by SnBM which was accepted.
Community ownership is not the end but the beginning of something much more exciting. It is of course a significant milestone and should be marked and celebrated. More importantly for the community the buyout will lead to significant regeneration of the economic, social, environmental and cultural fortunes of the area, bringing about new revenue earning projects. It will also release land for housing, social and commercial development. The funding of the community purchase though significant is justified not by community ownership but by sustainable development. Why does this community need support for sustainable development? The population trends alone make the case. South Uist and Eriskay showed a population decline of 15 per cent between 1981 and 2001 and Benbecula decreased by 31 per cent, as against a rise in the Highland area of 3.5 per cent during the same period.
The funding of buyout was achieved through £2 million from Big Lottery Fund’s (BLF) Growing Community Assets (GCA) and £2 million from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) Community Land Unit (CLU) towards the £4.5 million purchase price of the estate. A further £150,000 has come from Scottish Natural Heritage, £100,000 from CnES as a loan, while the community raised £50,000 from local fundraising and an international appeal and is to borrow £260,000 from the bank.
The BLF award of £2 M will go towards the acquisition of shares in the companies that collectively own the assets of the vast estate. This represents 44.22% of the cost of the acquisition. The grant is part of BLF GCA scheme, which is administered by a consortium led by HIE’s CLU. Growing Community Assets is all about giving power back to communities, helping them to share aspirations and to grasp opportunities that will help them to become more enterprising and self reliant.
The Big Lottery Fund has made sure that this community buyout is supported with development costs built in and the continuing support of the HIE led consortium that will work with the community over the coming years. A further £251,566 will contribute to the costs of two and a half posts for four years to develop various projects based on the assets to be acquired.
Dharmendra Kanani, Scotland Director of the Big Lottery Fund: said: “We want Growing Community Assets to lead to a step change in community-led regeneration, funding projects that pass on learning and inspiration to communities and policy makers. This is about taking community land ownership back to its roots. We also want to give communities more power over their lives to help them become stronger, with shared aspirations and the ability to achieve these together. I am delighted to announce this grant as the first of this cash to flow out into communities where it will start to create a people’s devolution. Today’s funding will allow the local communities of South Uist to make a claim over their heritage and their future.”
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The £2,079,953 contribution to the purchase by HIE is broken down into £1,962,000 - a 43 per cent share of the total purchase price, and £117,953 - a 25 per cent contribution to funding the posts of development manger, development officer and general manager over the next five years.
Andrew Anderson, head of CLU said: "This is the biggest investment that HIE has made in assisting a community to take control of its future. At the heart of our support is the long-term and strategic objective of stemming and then reversing population decline. This bid by SnBM brings a huge boost to local morale and HIE is pleased to be able to support its endeavours with this significant contribution and will continue to assist islanders in the challenges that lie ahead."
In order to ensure value for the public investment, HIE appointed a team of accountants and solicitors to advise directors on taxation issues, purchase procedures and to understand the drainage and coastal protection liabilities that come with ownership
So what is the community to do with these vast resources? SnBM has created a commercial arm of the Trust, Stòras (Gaelic for wealth) to take forward the business developments. SnBM has been busy formulating plans for the islands' economic regeneration. These proposals include:
It is hoped the combination of these efforts will stabilise population decline and in time grow a vibrant, sustainable population as well as enhancing the area for the benefit of all.
And in this venture we wish this community and the vision they have for the whole community our heartfelt congratulations. Good luck!
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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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Current circulation - 1565
Thanks to contributions from Neil Gerrard, Diane Campbell, Marion O’Hara, Lucas Chapman, Lorna Andrews, Bill Ferguson, Derek Louden, Angus Robertson, Bill Taylor, Jean Rankin & Angus Macmillan
This newsletter has been generously funded by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), Lomond & Rural Stirling Leader+ and North Highland Leader+
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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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