WIREDGOV

Two communities in North Uist and Wester Ross will take control of their own futures, thanks to the latest grants announced today from the Scottish Land Fund. 

Grimsay Community Foundation in North Uist receives £139,460 for the purchase of the former Free Church building and grounds on the island. Community ownership will enable the group to develop the building and grounds to be used as a post office, cafe, meeting space, community allotments and a covered space for a growers’ market.

Treasurer, Mary Norton, said: “Every community needs a centre. This thought inspired us to acquire a cherished local building, the former Grimsay Free Church. The new Centre for Grimsay will be a social, cultural and economic focus for the island. Grimsay has maintained its cohesion and traditions even though all our shops and schools were lost within the last generation. The Centre for Grimsay will become a home of our own and a focus for the island’s future. “

An award of £149,500 will take Kirkton Woodland and Heritage Group a step closer to buying the Kirkton Woodlands at the edge of Lochcarron Village in Wester Ross. The woodland will be developed to provide a wide range of economic, social and environmental benefits for the local community including picnic areas, bike trails and a playground. The group will create employment opportunities for local people in roles such as forest management.

Commenting on the purchase which would be made through the National Forest Land Scheme,Kirkton Woodland and Heritage Group Director, Vicky Stonebridge, said: “We are all overjoyed and very relieved to have been awarded this funding.  Our committee and volunteers have worked hard for many years, with the support of the whole community, to be ready and able to take on Kirkton woodland. This asset will mean employment, training, recreation, heritage, cultural and environmental projects can now go ahead, ensuring a sustainable, vibrant future for Lochcarron and the surrounding area.”

Announcing the funding, Scottish Land Fund Committee Chair, John Watt, said: “Since opening to applications in June 2012, the Scottish Land Fund has helped to renew momentum to community ownership in many parts of rural Scotland. Today’s funding in Wester Ross and North Uist will enable a further two communities to follow the path of ownership. On the island of Grimsay, the funding will help to secure the future of the local post office while developing new local services. In Kirkton it will offer a new way of generating a sustainable income while creating new employment opportunities.”

Environment and Climate Change Minister Paul Wheelhouse, said: “I am delighted to see the range of projects that are being funded in this latest round of awards from the Scottish Land Fund. These awards will help to make a real difference to communities in Argyll, Perthshire, North Uist and Wester Ross and will assist them in realising their goals and aspirations through community land ownership.
  
“Support to communities from the Scottish Land Fund is an important way to develop communities and help them realise their goals and aspirations. The Scottish Government remains committed to community land ownership and to supporting it through the Scottish Land Fund until 2020. 
 
“I look forward to watching these communities grow and develop their projects and to see them realise their goals and aspirations.”

The Scottish Land Fund is funded by £9 million from the Scottish Government and administered by the Big Lottery Fund in partnership with Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

For more information on this release please contact

Big Lottery Fund Scotland
lorna.mcniven@biglotteryfund.org.uk
0141 242 1451

Scottish Government Press Office 
chris.nabney@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
0131 244 2018

Highland and Islands Enterprise Press Office 
kim.thain@hient.co.uk 
01463 244 238

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