Local ambitions for a community buyout of Geilsland Campus in Beith, North Ayrshire will now become reality as the Scottish Land Fund today (8 SEPTEMBER) announces over £1/2 million to Beith Community Development Trust.

Thanks to an award of £512,200, the Trust will now be able to purchase the former Geilsland House and School Campus site, which extends to 5.24 hectares, thereby securing its future as a community asset.

As Jane Lamont from Beith Community Development Trust explains, the community hope to position the campus as the ‘Gateway to North Ayrshire’  providing new job opportunities and delivering from it a range of economic activities including a range of accommodation and business support, start up and incubator units.

She said: “Geilsland Campus is a beautiful and important community asset not only for Beith but also North Ayrshire. To own it as a community is beyond what we once thought was possible.  We are genuinely thrilled about the scope of possibilities and opportunities that will now become a reality for the community of Beith.   We are grateful to the owners, Crossreach, who recognised the significance of Geilsland for the community of Beith and have worked alongside us to make it happen. It’s been an empowering process for the whole community.

Minister for Land Reform, Aileen McLeod, said, “It is great news that the latest round of awards from the Scottish Land Fund will help seven communities in Aberdeenshire, Highlands, North Ayrshire and West Lothian bring land in into community ownership. It is encouraging to see that the local community in Beith has taken the initiative and put forward proposals to operate Geilsland as a Sustainability Hub to create conditions which the hope will attract skills, talent and wealth into the wider Garnock Valley.

“These projects, together with the wider Scottish Government work on Land Reform, through both the Community Empowerment Act, and the Land Reform Bill, will support the Scottish Government aim of bringing more land into community ownership by 2020.  I am looking forward to watching these communities thrive as they develop the land on which they live and work to realise their goals and ambitions.” 

Scottish Land Fund Committee Chair, John Watt, added “This project is an excellent example of how a local community can transform ambition into reality. The community purchase of Geilsland Campus offers a unique opportunity for local people to shape the future of Beith, along the way creating jobs, new enterprise and local entrepreneurship. I am delighted that the Scottish Land Fund will help make this possible while giving the community complete control over its future direction.”

Beith Community Development Trust is one of seven organisations today sharing in £1,201,200 from the Scottish Land Fund. Full details of all successful groups can be found athttps://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/news-and-events.

The First Minister announced in her Programme for Government that the Scottish Land Fund will be increased to £10 million from 2016-20.

For more information on this release please contact

Big Lottery Fund Scotland press office
colin.calder@biglotteryfund.org.uk
0141 242 1484

Highland and Islands Enterprise Press Office 
calum.macfarlane@hient.co.uk 
01463 244244

Notes to Editors

• The Scottish Land Fund has £9 million over four years to assist communities in rural Scotland to acquire, develop and manage local land and land assets. The programme is funded by the Scottish Government and delivered in partnership by the Big Lottery Fund and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, both of which have extensive experience of helping communities to acquire and develop their assets for over a decade. 
• The SLF Committee was appointed following the normal procedures for public appointments. Committee members are non remunerated.
• The BIG Lottery Fund distributes lottery funding to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK. It also uses its expertise in grant-giving to distribute non-Lottery funding. Full details of the BIG Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website: http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk. BIG Lottery Fund Public Enquiries Line call: 0300 123 7110
• Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) delivers the Scottish Government Economic Strategy across more than half of Scotland - from Shetland to Argyll and from the Hebrides to Moray. It aims to support businesses and social enterprises; strengthen communities and fragile areas; develop key sectors, and create the conditions for a competitive and low carbon region. HIE has an annual budget of more than £75m and employs around 250 people in locations around the Highlands and Islands. See more at www.hie.co.uk