Steve's Newsletters
2005 September
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- Friday, 30 September 2005 00:00 Steve McCombe
Scottish Community Land Newsletter
September 2005
The Scottish Community Land Network (SCLN) aims to encourage community
land initiatives (CLIs) throughout Scotland by the promotion, sharing
of experience and networking of Scottish CLI groups.
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Hi all,
Windpower seems to dominating the CLI news. It easy to forget that
there are has many other options in renewable energy including bio-
fuels, hydrogen production, heat pumps, passive solar power and micro-
hydro schemes to name a few. I had enlightening meeting with a group of
developing-world post graduate students from University of Flensburg.
They spent a month doing a field study of North Harris’s renewable
potential, partnering their studies with the North Harris Trust and the
Highlands and Islands Community Energy Company (HICEC). Speaking with
one student from the highlands of Bangladesh, I asked him what he hoped
to achieve when he returned home. He stated that they needed
electricity for refrigerators and tellies. I was surprised that their
needs were for such advanced consumer goods and wondered if he had
misunderstood me. No he replied it was refrigerators for keeping
medicines in that could not be stored in such a hot climate and tellies
as a medium of education for schools. I was humbled and left wondering
what he must think of our desires for our 2.5MW project to supply us
with an income stream. Their main hurdle on returning home is
finding any funding source at all to achieve their aspirations for
their communities. On a lighter note their finds report that solar
power is a real possibility, the sun’s energy in Harris was only 10%
less than in Paris. I don’t believe a word of it!
Cheers
Steve
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News
The community of Orbost, North-west Skye, is the latest community to
take forward a buyout. A postal ballot of the 31 strong community gave
an overwhelming 86% (on a 90% turnout) in favour of pursuing the
buyout. HIE the current owner of Orbost estate, has encouraged the move
and will now begin negotiations for the sale of the estate. Originally
bought by HIE as a nationally significant experiment in rural
regeneration, including the creation of new crofts. It is now these
same families that are now bringing the ownership of the land into a
community collective. Good Luck! Read what’s happening in Orbost in the
The Galson Trust (Urras Oighreachd Ghabhsainn), North Lewis, has had a
significant breakthrough in its negotiations with the current owners,
Galson Estate, having reached an agreement to sell to the community,
52,000 acres of North Lewis. This enables them to forgo the need to
use Part 3 of the Land Reform Act (Scotland) 2003 to force a buyout. It
also prevents the proposed AMEC wind power project, having yet to have
received planning consent, from inflating the value of the land. The
purchase has to be ratified by community members of the Trust at an EGM
on 4th October.
Cameron MacIntosh has suffered a setback in his plans to encourage a
community buyout of North Morar Estate. The community has indicated it
has no interest in a buyout but continues to support the crofters’
desires. This proposal attempted to thwart the Bracora crofters in
their plans to exercise their right to buy their croft land under the
Crofters (Scotland) 1993 Act. He has now come up with a new tack, rent
racking. The act gives the crofters the absolute right to buy their
crofts at fifteen times the annual rent. Sir Cameron has suggested that
since the rent hasn’t been reviewed in 10 years he might apply a
notional rent of 75 pence an acre, an effective rent increase of 1500%.
Of course there is protection through the Scottish Land Court against
unfair rent increases. He has also been considered this, stating that
it would advantageous for both parties to come to an amicable agreement
and have to avoid going to the courts and involving expensive lawyers,
a thinly veiled threat. He reassures the rest of the crofters on the
estate that there will be no rent rise for them, a sort of enticement
to remain tenants of such a benevolent landlord.
Andy Wightman has called on Scottish ministers to intervene in the
Pairc community buyout in Lewis. Objections by
Scottish Rural Property and Business Association (a name change from
Scottish Landowner’s Federation is hardly going to make them community
friendly!) to the proposed buyout have been deemed invidious. This is
the first community buyout to proceed under the Crofting Community
Right to Buy, Part 3 of the Land Reform Act (Scotland) 2003. Under the
Act only those who are directly affected have the right to formally
object, as has been done by two crofters and the existing landlord.
SRPBA is using the opportunity to advance its own political agenda.
An exciting proposal for a multi-purpose forestry development in
Broadford, South Skye, was presented to a public meeting of over a 100
to unanimous support. Presented to community by Willie McGhee from the
Borders Forestry Trust this plan, formulated from various community
consultations, is looking to purchase 20 h of the 370 h wood from the
Forestry Commission Scotland under the National Forestry Land Scheme.
It is hoped to include a camp site, an event site, possibly a permanent
venue for the Skye Music Festival, in addition to sawmill and
woodworking facilities. The larger area is it hoped to be managed by
partnership with the forestry Commission including harvesting and
replanting. The Broadford Environmental Group (BEG) has formed
Broadford & Strath Community Company with over a 130 local members to
take forward ambitious proposal. For further info contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
of BEG or to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. of the Woodland Management Group.
Highland Council raised the possibility of community ownership of the
seabed under land reform legislation. Under the present system, the
Crown Estate’s (CE) Marine Estate controls about half the foreshore and
almost the entire seabed out to a distance of 12 miles. It profits a
turnover £28milliom annually on this, a sort of tax on coastal
communities. Communities need to take an interest in the fact that
offshore renewable energy could be marketed and developed without any
consultation of, or benefit to local communities. This would repeat the
experience of seabed leases to aquaculture industry in the 70s and 80s.
We should make sure that offshore energy, be it tidal, wave or wind, is
for the benefit of these communities. However a Scottish Executive
spokeswoman said that while community’s right-to-buy under the
Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 includes the foreshore next to land,
currently it does not extend to the seabed, adding the decision to sell
the seabed is a matter for the CE commissioner. Ian Pritchard (CE)
ruled it out stating the Crown Estate’s policy is to retain ownership
of the foreshore and seabed. You’ll find this not to be exactly true as
riparian landlords have been buying up foreshore rights for several
hundred years to protect their migratory fishing rights. With a 1000
year history I wonder if the Crown estate qualifies as the oldest
quango in Britain (or to be PC a NDPB!).
The Scottish Land Fund along with the HIE’s Community Land Unit are the
main pillars of support underpinning the successful CLI movement. Did
you know that the SLF has only until the end of 2006 to run
(applications by March ’06) in its current form, remit and delivery?
Though highly regarded as a successful application of New Opportunity
Fund (NOF) aims, it is being reconsidered so to be more inclusive of
other types of communities. For further discussion check these links:
- New Opportunities Fund - Scottish Land Fund Programme
- New Opportunities Fund Scottish Land Fund Programme Evaluation
- Scottish Land Fund Programme Year One Report
- New Opportunities Fund Evaluation of Scottish Land Fund Programme Evaluation
- Big Lottery Fund - Scotland Missions and Values
- Scotland Consultation
- Scotland Phase 2 Consultation
HIE may dispose of 3500 acres of the Cairn Gorm Estate including the
ski slopes and the route of the funicular railway. HIE says it will
ensure that skiing, which has been at the centre of decades of
controversy will continue. One environmentalist has described the move
as the most important ownership changes that Scotland has witnessed.
Community-ownership of one of Scotland s wildest and most
environmentally sensitive areas, which includes the summit of Cairn
Gorm (4082ft), is a real possibility. At the opening of the £19.6m
funicular railway in June 2002, Dr Jim Hunter, HIE’s former chairman,
said he wanted to give the community of Aviemore and Strathspey a
meaningful stake in the land. Others were calling for ownership to be
passed to the new Cairngorm National Park Authority. A land management
specialist has been appointed, to determine the full range of potential
ownership options, which is expected to be completed by the end of the
year. The estate was originally transferred from the Forestry
Commission to HIE s predecessor, the Highlands and Islands Development
Board (HIDB), in 1971 by the then Scottish Office.
Holm Community Association, Orkney, has been successful in its bid for
lottery funding to help with the creation of a recreation area and
sports pitch for community use. The hall committee in Holm has been
awarded £9242 from the SLF and a further grant from the Community Fund.
Work at the site got under way in May, the when original contractors
Balfour Beatty donated £8000 towards the project. Orkney Islands
Council has also given £7500, with a similar amount coming from Orkney
Enterprise.
A Moray community group is celebrating a £16,500 lottery award to help
secure its long term future. The Dufftown Community Resource Centre,
known as The Hub, now hopes to buy the premises it rents after
receiving the money from SLF. A further £4,180 has been awarded by the
CLU. The Hub was officially opened last May and provides a community
advice and information point, as well as an IT training centre. It was
backed by £20,000 of funding from the then Moray Badenoch and
Strathspey Enterprise.
Two projects in the Highlands also benefited from SLF assistance The
Assynt Foundation received £38,872 to take forward plans for the
Glencanisp and Drumrunie estates. In Lewis, the Barvas Estate Steering
Group was awarded £14,365 and £4,788 from the HIE CLU to help with the
possible purchase of the estate.
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Energy
The Galson Trust presented to the community the outline plans for a
small wind energy project feasibility study remit. It is envisaged that
2-3 turbine project of up to 3MW which will effectively deliver the
electricity needs of the community. The Chair, Norman Thompson said
that this of course rested on what the community wanted, and the final
proposals would be put before the community for a ballot. This is not
to be confused with the larger AMEC proposals that would entail the
siting of up to 80 turbines on the Galson Estate alone.
The issue of community trusts being used by for-profit businesses as a
tool, rather than being genuine democratically-representative community
organisations, has again reared its ugly head this time in Caithness
(see A View from the Hills – July Issue). Baillie Wind Farm Ltd is
insistent that though it is considering setting up a county-wide
community trust fund, it wants to retain control by handpicking who
would sit on such a fund. Sounds like a tool for some well placed
lubrication to make sure that the necessary hurdles are overcome for
such a development. Just call me cynical.
On the same note it seems at the least some communities are able to
extract genuine reciprocal benefits from corporate business. A 92MW 40
wind-turbine development by Npower at Farr, Inverness-shire, will
directly benefit the community through the Strathnairn Community
Benefit Fund Ltd. The Strathnairn and Strathdearn communities hope to
benefit to the tune of £1million up-front and £110,000 annually that
will be index-linked for 25 years. It could be called bribery but to
struggling rural communities this with give the quantity of funds to
help reverse their declining and ageing populations by providing the
quality infrastructure and social amenity support that urbanites and
suburbanites take for granted. May all communities have such success in
extracting their fair share of any commercial developments.
The North Harris Trust (NHT) has been being hosting a group of
university students from Germany. 11 Post-graduate students accompanied
by two of their lecturers from University of Flensburg have been
collaborating with NHT and HICEC. For the past couple of weeks the
renewable energy students have been conducting real-life research
renewable energy projects in North Harris such as hydro power, wind
energy, solar water and space heating, heat pump and biomass. The
results of the study will be made available to the Trust and form part
of it’s commitment to encouraging renewable energy for community
benefit.
The Northern Isles again announces a state-of-the-art community
renewables energy project this time in Stronsay, Orkney.
Stronsay Community Trust is proposing a project to produce hydrogen
from surplus energy production, a project piloted by PURE in Unst,
Shetland. Hydrogen is currently the only truly portable and storable
non-fossil fuel available. To get an idea of how far ahead these
islands are read the Orkney Renewable Energy Forum (OREF)
Chairman’s report which includes a list of all the home-grown
contractors from planners to engineers making a living from renewables
in the islands. A model to emulate.
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Woodlands & Forestry
A well-established network exists for CLIs with woodland or
forestry interests at Community Woodlands Association. Checkout their
website and see if this active association can support your
communities’ needs. Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for further info.
The National Forestry Land Scheme was launched with much fanfare three
months ago at a gala affair at Abriachan Forest Trust. Having wheeled
ministers and other mandarins from Scottish Executive and assorted
quangos to be paraded in front of the Press, its seems someone forgot
to order the application forms for the scheme. I just hope it is only
as something as silly as that and not just another announcement, mostly
spin with little substance.
Laide and Aultbea Community Woodland group near Gairloch in the
Highlands has successfully secured funding of £12000 to clear the
damage caused in the January storms. The group were the most severely
affected community woodland and have spent the past few months trying
to overcome the access problems the 2,500 tonnes of windblow has
caused. When the windblow is cleared they will be able to take forward
their development plans for a visitor/education centre and bunkhouse.
Culag Community Woodland Trust a year ago secured funding for a large
all-abilities facility on their community owned estate near Lochinver
on the north west coast of Scotland. The project budget was in excess
of £450,000 and construction has now been successfully completed. The
2½km walk, shelters, compost toilets and fishing facility has been
providing visitors and locals with a new experience and they have
received many letters and emails praising the venture. If you would
like to visit or know of any disabled groups who may wish to visit then
contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or phone 01571 844368 for more details.
Forestry Commission Scotland funding is available from the
Scottish Forestry Grant Scheme (SFGS) for up to 90% of specific works
to be carried out in projects such as path construction, bridges,
signage, etc. In particular S8 grants offer up to £5000 per year for
developing community involvement. Community involvement can mean
volunteer training programmes, participatory appraisals, community
consultations, feasibility studies for management plans, etc. The grant
structure can be difficult to follow so try your local Forestry
Commission Officer or alternately try This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. at the
Community Woodlands Association
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Funding & Finance
The North Harris Trust has recently completed a vehicular bridge on a
popular walking route in Glen Meavaig to Loch Scours. This project was
achieved through assistance from the Army Officer Training Company,
which assist communities with engineering projects. The cost of the
project was reduced with NHT having only supply materials and
accommodation for the officer Cadets. Additional preparation work was
accomplished by the Community Employment Initiative.
Scottish charity law changed significantly with the passing of the
Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 in June 2005. It
applies to all existing Scottish charities but Community Land
Initiatives CLIs must register with the
Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) to be included in the
Index of Charities. The advice is to do it now, as the process is time
consuming. See SCLN docs for a model template and advice. Additionally
aspiring CLIs must comply with sections 34 & 35 of the
Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003; only then can a CLI register an
interest and ultimately acquire the land.
The Tubney Charitable Trust is a charity with a
limited life and is gradually spending down its endowment over an
expected eight to ten year period. Given the Trust’s short lifespan,
the Charity seeks to support sustainable, high-quality projects that
deliver a long-term impact. The Trust’s open grant making programme
focuses on: conservation of the natural environment of the UK through
achievement of Biodiversity Action Plan targets (this could include
land purchase); and the improvement of the welfare of farmed animals
both in the UK and internationally.
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Bits and pieces – Ideas from all over
A belated congratulation to Strathfillan Community Development Trust
and Isle of Gigha Heritage Trust who last year won highly commended in
the prestigious Calor Scottish Community of the Year Awards in their
respective categories for 2004. The entry for 2005 year is now closed.
A Scottish firm, Ocean Power Delivery is underway with its first large
scale tidal power project, in Portugal. A market leader in the field
there is a concern that pre-commercial development will follow to where
actual development is taking place. The good news is that part of the
fabrication will take place in the Arnish yard in Lewis. The question
is why Scottish communities aren’t following this lead and whether we
miss the boat once again and fiddle while Scotland withers.
Muness Castle was recently put up for sale at a London auction house
with no one willing to match its £175,000 reserve price. Muness lies on
Unst, Shetland, Britain’s most northerly inhabited island. For that
price you get 185 acres, entirely under the tenure of 6 crofters and a
grade one listed castle. Hard to see why there were no takers.
Seil has raised almost £100,000 to fundraise for a new community hall
and to improve access and facilities of the Kilbrandon and Kilchattan
church. The community is awaiting the news of application of £250,000
to the Big lottery fund to assist in the total project costs of
$500,000.
Village and community hall committees in Scotland can now access a
website that will help them manage their buildings. The brand new
Village Halls site will provide up to date information on the
increasingly complex issues involved in managing a hall. The website
will also provide an opportunity for isolated rural halls to network
with each other and share their experiences. The website has been
developed by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO)
with funding from the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust.
Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has launched the
Highlands and Islands Local Food Network (HILFN) a new
local food network aimed at supporting local food in the Highlands and
Islands – by helping local producers grow more food for local
consumption and helping people identify where they can buy local
produce. It will bring consumers and growers together to provide
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), which involves consumers making
a commitment to buy produce from local farmers. This in turn provides
the stability the farmers need in order to start-up or increase the
amount of produce they supply.
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A View from the Hills
Rum, Eilean na Daione (or so the ironic t-shirt says!), is our nation’s
iconic National Nature Reserve. Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), Rum’s
caretaker, is to undertake the Habitat Restoration Programme (HRP), a
10 year programme to restore Rum’s biodiversity. They hope to plant
¾ million native trees. To their embarrassment nearly 50 years of
careful environmental stewardship has not yielded a single tree by
natural regeneration and has severely restricted it potential
biodiversity. In fact it has created a rather a desert on the third of
the island that is enclosed to the total exclusion of grazing animals.
Additionally they cannot let grazing animals into the existing planted
native trees because in the wisdom of the time it was deep-furrow
ploughed. The programme interestingly states that the island’s
residents are to be expected to be involved in the programme. Well
that’s a surprise considering the island is exclusively populated by
SNH employees.
The regeneration of communities is not unlike native tree regeneration.
It doesn’t thrive if it is fenced in, and excluded is all the nasty
threatening things like people and grazing animals. What develops is
rather an uninteresting mono-culture of knee-high stature. Perhaps if
as much time, effort and thought was spent on allowing the
establishment of an independent community it too might flourish. You
can over-manage environments and communities both. Rum has plenty of
scope for the complimentary and symbiotic development of both a natural
and social environment; they are not mutually exclusive. To quote the
island’s manager talking of HRP, and equally about communities, it is
about striking a natural balance. Certainly the castle, housing stock
and it’s surrounding, but not so unique, policy woodland could be left
for the community manage sustainably without affecting in the least the
management of the island’s NNR designation. This could facilitate
better use of SNH’s limited resources and they could concentrate on
restoring their view of a natural habitat on the rest of the island. Or
perhaps this unique “natural” environment wouldn’t stand the impact of
a human neighbour.
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Links
Highlands and Islands Enterprise
Lomond & Rural Stirling Leader+
Land Reform Act (Scotland) 2003
Scottish Rural Property and Business Association
Land Reform Act (Scotland) 2003
New Opportunities Fund - Scottish Land Fund Programme
New Opportunities Fund Scottish Land Fund Programme Evaluation
New Opportunities Fund Evaluation of Scottish Land Fund Programme Evaluation
Big Lottery Fund - Scotland Missions and Values
Cairngorm National Park Authority
Community Woodlands Association
Culag Community Woodland Trust
Scottish Forestry Grant Scheme
Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005
Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator
Development Trust Association (UK) Annual Conference
The Reforesting Scotland Annual Gathering
Kirkhill and Bunchrew Community Trust
Strathfillan Community Development Trust
Calor Scottish Community of the Year Awards
Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations
Highlands and Islands Local Food
Highlands and Islands Local Food
Community Supported Agriculture
A Guide for the Voluntary Sector to Scottish Executive Grants 2005-06
Scottish Community and Householders Renewables Initiative
Highlands and Islands Community Energy Company
Caledonia Centre for Social Development
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