Land for housing in the Highlands, new plans for an old ceramics factory and a community garden in Glasgow all set to benefit from the Scottish Land Fund.
Coigach Community Development Company
£1,972,701 for 16 projects across Scotland
The site of a former hydroponicum in Achiltibuie in the Highlands, where vegetables were once grown without use of soil, will now provide land for affordable housing and an amenity space following a grant of £304,7000 to Coigach Community Development Company from the Scottish Land Fund.
The development, which will help to strengthen the community's long-term viability, has received one of 16 grants totalling £1,972,701 that have just been awarded to projects across the country by the Scottish Land Fund in their latest round of awards.
Other groups to benefit include Dunoon Community Shed, who have been awarded £153,000 to acquire a former ceramics factory in Dunoon from where it will continue to offer multiple activities to the local community in order to build skills, reduce isolation and provide a community gathering space; and Concrete Garden, an urban community food growing project in Possilpark, Glasgow, which received £140,287 to buy two sites, one currently used by the group and another vacant site nearby where the project plans to expand its growing, creative play and outdoor services.
Richard Williams, Chair, Coigach Community Development Company, said:
“We are delighted that our application to the Scottish Land Fund has been successful. This funding will prove a real game changer for Coigach, allowing us to now purchase what for the past 12 years has been a derelict piece of land in the centre of our village.
“Once in community ownership we have ambitious plans to transform this site for the long-term benefit of Coigach - by constructing a range of housing types and tenures, realising a long-held goal and key aspiration for the community.”
John McGhie, Chairman, Dunoon Community Shed, said:
“It is with real excitement that we are to become the owners of the industrial unit that we have called home for the last six years. Whilst we were renting half of the unit our membership has doubled to 120 and the number of activities we undertake has blossomed beyond our expectations, we need room to grow, and the Scottish Land Fund are giving us the resources to do so.”
Rev David K Wostemholm, Chair, Concrete Garden, said:
“This funding will make a huge difference in our community. Ownership will ensure our much loved and valued Community Garden is preserved and enhanced. It will also create space to expand our outdoor play and learning project, ensuring children in our community have protected space for outdoor play for generations to come.”
Cara Gillespie, Scottish Land Fund Committee Chair said:
“Every one of these grants allows for the provision of assets and services that individual groups have identified as being essential to their areas. This localised approach helps to strengthen both urban and rural communities.”
Sandra Holmes, Head of Community Assets at Highlands and Islands Enterprise, said:
“The successful projects announced today across Scotland are all great examples of people taking control of local resources for the long-term benefit of their communities. The Coigach Community Development Company, through the purchase of the land at the former hydroponicum site, will now be in a position to build much-needed affordable community housing. The new homes are vitally important to create a sustainable future for the area.
“All these projects announced today will help retain the population, attract visitors and create jobs. Ownership will give the community groups greater control over important assets that will reap rewards for people now and for generations to come. We wish all the successful groups the very best in their new ventures."
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