Scottish Land Fund puts Sanquhar community in control
29 May 2014 04:31 PM
A community group in
Sanquhar, Dumfries and Galloway, is poised to take control of an unused
building and garden, thanks to a Scottish Land Fund award of £62,442
announced yesterday (29 MAY).
Upper Nithsdale Arts and Crafts
Community Initiative Ltd will use the grant of £62,442 to purchase a
vacant three storey building and garden on Main Street in Sanquhar. The
acquisition brings this unused building and large garden into community
ownership with the option of including it as part of the adjacent community
owned A’ the Airts Centre. This will increase the services and activities
of the Centre and create new opportunities for the community.
Announcing the funding, Scottish
Land Fund Committee Chair, John Watt, said: “We know from experience that
communities can achieve great things when they own and manage local land and
property. The purchase of this empty building and disused garden area by Upper
Nithsdale Arts and Crafts Community Initiative will bring fantastic development
potential and increased economic opportunities. This is one of two projects
receiving funding which reflects the pioneering steps people will take to
address problems or challenges in their own areas.”
Anne Foley, Centre Manager,
A' the Airts, said: “The Board, staff and members of Upper Nithsdale
Arts and Crafts Community Initiative are absolutely delighted that the Scottish
Land Fund has granted funding to purchase a building in Sanquhar High Street.
Owning this property, which is adjacent to A’ the Airts Community Arts
Centre, provides us with much needed additional accommodation and an
opportunity for redevelopment which will extend and enhance the centre’s
existing facilities and services to the local community. The refurbishment of
the building, which has been unoccupied for several years, will also vastly
improve the streetscape of Sanquhar. It comes with a substantial area of
garden, currently neglected and overgrown, which we now plan to turn into a
pleasant community garden with areas for growing healthy
food.”
Minister for Environment and
Climate Change, Paul Wheelhouse, said: “The awards of these grants to
communities throughout Scotland to buy land and buildings will help them to
make a real difference to their future development.
“I am delighted to see a diverse range of community land and buildings
projects gaining financial support from the Scottish Land Fund from the Western
Isles to Dumfries and Galloway. I am confident that the grant awards from the
Land Fund will make a tangible difference to the development and future
sustainability of these communities. These projects – funding for an
estate and a building in a High Street - are examples of communities
identifying how land and buildings can be a catalyst for community development;
both creating and realising ambitions. The Scottish Government is committed to
supporting rural communities throughout Scotland buying land and land assets
for their sustainable development.”
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.
The Carloway Estate Trust
receives a Scottish Land Fund grant of £207,500 to purchase an area of
land on the north-west coast of the Isle of Lewis that includes the renowned
Callanish Standing Stones.
For more information on
this release please contact
Big Lottery Fund Scotland
landa.rolland@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 244238
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