WIREDGOV

Plans for community ownership of the historic Castle Toward Estate in Argyll have taken a step forward with a £750,000 Scottish Land Fund award announced yesterday (23 September) 

South Cowal Community Development Company will put the funding towards purchasing the 143 acre estate which will preserve the buildings and create new jobs for local people. Castle Toward Estate includes the Grade B Listed Baronial Mansion House, which will be leased and developed by a national outdoor education company and the Gate House buildings which the community plan to develop for a range of activities including a tea-room, bunk-house, self-catering units and retail workshops.

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 across rural Scotland. Today a further six Scottish communities are being supported to take control of their own futures. In Argyll, plans to purchase and preserve a historically significant estate will lead to a substantial number of new jobs being created which will help to build a more sustainable future for those living there now and in the future.”

Welcoming a Scottish Land Fund award of £750,000, South Cowal Community Development Company Chairman Alan Stewart, said: "This kind of news doesn't happen very often and it will certainly lift spirits here in South Cowal. The local community have been behind the community buyout 100% over the past six months, attending open days, local meetings, fundraising events and even a record turnout for community ballot on the estate’s future.

He continued: “This level of funding now means we can proceed in our continuing negotiations to purchase this estate for the community. It does feel as if the whole community has been rewarded.”

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.
 
“These awards demonstrate the great diversity of projects that communities are involved in – from a local park and facilities to developing a 143 acre estate which will enable the preservation of a Baronial Mansion House and the creation of local jobs. I am confident that these projects will demonstrate how community land ownership is an important way to make communities a better place in which to live in, work, and enjoy. 
 
“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
landa.sullivan@biglotteryfund.org.uk
0141 242 1458

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