About The Trust

Colintraive and Glendaruel Development Trust held its inaugural meeting on 9 November, 2008 and is owned and managed by the community of Colintraive and Glendaruel.

The Trust is established as a Company Limited by Guarantee (SC350010) and is registered as a Charity (SC040002)

The Trust’s Governing Document, the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Company, can be viewed here

Main activities are summarised as follows –

  • Regeneration of the Col-Glen community
  • Strategic planning and development through community consultation
  • Local project delivery
  • Partnership working with public sector and other organisations
  • Capacity building and skills development

Governed by a Board of Directors, elected from and by the community, the Trust Board comprises (2013-14) Charles Dixon-Spain (Chair), Colin Boyd (Treasurer), Sandra Wilson (Secretary), Alex McNaughton, James Mcluckie and William Carlow. Director profiles can be viewed here.

ACHIEVEMENTS TO DATE

Employment – Since inauguration in 2008, 15 people have been employed by CGDT in various ways; part-time; freelance; full-time; and contracted.

Income – CGDT has attracted £3.5M+ of funding into the area; in addition, local contrac- tors have been employed to carry out specific tasks, and local facilities and businesses have benefitted from the extra business brought by CGDT’s activities.

The Loch Lomond & Cowal Way – With the attainment of Great Trail status in October 2018, capped a successful multi-year, Coastal Communities funded project which employed two, and upgraded all 57 miles of Cowal’s long distance trail. Over the 5 years of the project an extra £2M of visitor revenue was generated along the length of the Way, with accommoda- tion providers through ColGlen reporting significant uptick in accommodation for walkers. The benefits of this work are ongoing. Coronavirus Response – Working closely with the Community Council’s Resilience Group, CGDT has raised funding for the response to the epidemic. In the first lockdown, CGDT was granted nearly £28K of funding to purchase and distribute the food boxes, goodie bags, newsletters, PPE and other items which the community needed. Over 400 food boxes and 600 goodie bags were delivered to the community, along with five editions of the newsletter. As the time of writing CGDT has several live applications for the community’s ongoing response to Coronavirus – news of which will emerge before Christmas.

Warmer & Greener ColGlen – CGDT developed two carbon-saving projects taking advantage of the Climate Challenge Fund, and these insulated the village halls, built our poly tunnels, set-up composting locally and created carbon savings in the community. Once built, the trust handed over the ownership and manage- ment of the tunnels to the ColGlen Growers Assoc. Stronafian Community Forest – The purchase in 2013 of the Community Forest was intended as the first step to providing a longterm income for the community through renewables. With the rejection of CGDT’s application for turbines in 2016, the trust has been concentrating on amenity and forestry uses as it reconfigures its approach to the land.

People and Communities Fund – A major success for the Stronafian Forest Project has been increasing skills and employability locally for those seeking jobs. Over three years the trust provided courses in the woodlands for over 30 young people, many of whom went on to find work in the forestry and horticulture sector.

Kyles Community Broadband (KCB) – For three years to mid-2019, CGDT supported KCB’s quest to provide Broadband to our region. After two phases of procurement, KCB was unsuccess- ful. However because of these efforts South-west Cowal now has a much higher weighting than all but 10 high profile areas in the Highlands and Islands in the Scottish Government’s ongoing procurement for R100. The trust continues to monitor this situation and will ensure that weighting is applied when R100 is implemented.

Development & Consultation – A significant proportion of the trust’s time is spent developing potential projects to the point that the community can feedback on their viability and/or desirability. Examples of this include technical surveys on the potential for microhydro in ColGlen, consulta- tions on the creation of a community hub in the Clachan of Glendaruel (ongoing), and feasibility studies on the potential for a pontoon in Colin- traive. CGDT also interacts with the wider context of regional and national developments, including feedback on Community Right to Buy Legislation and Community Benefits on Renewables.

Permanent residents of the Colintraive and Glendaruel communities are welcome to join as full voting members of the Trust and non-residents with an interest in the Trust’s activity, are welcome to join as associate members.   Membership is only £1.00 annually for both categories. Join up here.

As a Company Limited by Guarantee with Charitable status we are able to take donations:


Our bank details for direct transfer are:

Acc No.: 06001424. Sort Code: 80-13-46