CGDTThe Annual General Meeting of the Colintraive and Glendaruel Development Trust will take place at the Glendaruel Village Hall on Sunday 1st October 2017 at 2.00pm. We will be sending out further paperwork shortly. Members welcome!
There will be a community meeting afterwards, from 3pm, with presentations on the various projects the Development Trust has been working on this year. All welcome.
On Wednesday 5th October, CGDT convened our 8th community consultation meeting to discuss the Clachan Hub. While we reported on progress towards the funding application, the main business of the meeting was to consider the draft plans from our architects INCH. To that end, and to continue the dialogue regarding the building, and also, because of technical difficulties in presenting the full treatment at the meeting, CGDT are publishing INCH’s presentation here now.
The document begins with the general design treatment, how it sits in the landscape, and its appearance. It then moves onto exemplars of various kinds around materials, shape and construction. Finally, the presentation discusses the internal layout.
While CGDT is very happy with the general concept, because it embodies all the feedback we have had from the community from our previous 7 meetings, the details are still very much in discussion, particularly the location of the bar / servery area in Building 01 and the access to the changing rooms in Building 02. We would welcome any comment, positive or negative, as well as thoughts on layout and structure. And of course if you have questions, please don’t hesitate!
Here’s the PDF of the entire document, please click to download –> 122-cgdt-hub-initial-proposals-b4
All feedback to cgdt@cgdt.org
With regard to the offer made to the community council by the CGDT chair to hold a public meeting to discuss the community project to build two wind turbines in Stronafian Forest, the determination of the Development Trust board on the matter is as follows.
After much discussion the board have decided not to go ahead with a public meeting. There are several reasons for this:
1. The planning application is being processed and further discussion will not add materially to the outcome of the council’s deliberations.
2. We have invested over £120,000 in this project as part of a CARES loan. We have match-funded this investment at a rate of 5% of Forest Development Funds. This is a significant commitment for the trust, with these funds being applied for and granted in the full light of community scrutiny through AGMs, published minutes and community plans. We are bound by that commitment to follow the process through and we believe that while it is everyone’s right to have a view on a planning application, we are disappointed that the community members who are now so strenuously objecting didn’t make their views known at an earlier juncture and in a spirit of consensual community planning.
3. We are further disappointed that these concerns were not raised when the initial planning decision to allow a met mast to be constructed was made.
4. Furthermore, and in the light of 2 & 3 above we are more than content that there were sufficient public consultation meetings over the last 2 years for the community to be fully appraised of the project. The Community Council is well aware that owning and running our own renewables project has been a primary objective for the Trust since 2009.
5. We are not convinced that a further meeting will provide any level of resolution for either those who support the trust’s application or those who do not. We are concerned that if we provided a community forum in this format there is likely to be a deepening of the adversarial climate which has emerged over the issue.
6. The Development Trust has maintained a transparent stance with regard to the project, and have always encouraged members of the community to come to the board, individual directors or our staff to express concerns.
7. As we have said repeatedly at AGMs and other meetings, the Development Trust would rather those whose are dissatisfied with our progress, step up, become directors or members of working groups and help direct the trust’s agenda.
8. We stand by our assertions of the benefit of this development to the whole community: in its ability to offset many of the cuts the council is having to apply; and in its support of the development plan (redrafted in 2013) which the Development Trust is following (and which is published through the CGDT website).
9. Lastly, planning consent if we receive it, is only one step along a much longer road which involves subsidy levels, funding rounds, finance and business planning – all of which will dictate whether or not this is a viable project. To go forward this project must earn the community at least £57,500 per annum on average in combined profit and community benefit.
CGDT, which has been enabling the KCB steering group to move forward, is pleased to say the KCB website is now fully functional and available at www.kcb.scot. We have also included a link in this website’s menu for everyone’s convenience.
The website will be used to update the area on the project’s progress, will take signups to the newsletter (which will help evidence local demand for the service) and publish as much of the documentation as commercial confidentiality allows.
If you live in Colintraive & Glendaruel, Kilfinan or Bute Community Council areas, and you aren’t within 1 km of a BT Next Generation Enabled telephone exchange, this is for you:
PRESS RELEASE – ISSUED 27TH NOVEMBER 2015
Follow the link to view the progress of the Broadband Project.
We hope to see you at the Community Consultation meeting on Sunday 17th January 2015 – 2pm in the Glendaruel Village Hall.
COMMUNITY FOREST DEVELOPMENT OFFICER
A varied role with sustainable woodland development its core and community revitalisation its heart.
Colintraive and Glendaruel Development Trust is recruiting for a new Community Forest Project Officer to work with the board over the coming year to maintain the momentum in our high profile and highly successful Stronafian Forest Project.
Purchased in February 2013 for £1.55M Stronafian forest is the trust’s flagship project, providing a focus for the community’s aspirations to increase local employment, housing and visitor attractions, as well as sustainable income through renewables. In our first year we met and exceeded many of our funder-led objectives, but it is in our second year we expect the project to take off and provide the foundation for an ongoing and exemplary community endeavour.
On the agenda for a successful candidate will be woodland crofts, the chambered cairn, a wind turbine, woodland burials, access design and management, deer management, woodfuel, walker and mountain bike use and a potential dark skies park. Of course there will also be funder liaison, including claims and report writing, as well as all the necessary administrative tasks which come with that, and equally important will be liaison with the community, our commercial forestry tenant and their clients.
The role is therefore multi-faceted, needing a person with the strategic vision to manage the project, and also the experience both at a commercial and community levels who understands the forestry context.
With potential to continue beyond the period we are now advertising for, the focus in the coming year will be to continue with our highly successful and motivated community working groups as well as pursuing positive outcomes with the wind turbine, crofting, housing and biomass.
Based at the Colintraive Village Hall office, the successful candidate will become part of a highly successful team at the trust which is presently delivering excellent and ongoing Climate Challenge Fund Project “Greener ColGlen”, as well as planning the revitalisation of the Cowal Way, a Community Broadband project for Southwest Cowal and a further community asset acquisition.
We are open to applications from candidates who cannot commit to a full-time contract but are willing to share it on a pro rata part-time basis.
Application packs are available by writing to Colintraive and Glendaruel Development Trust, The Village Hall, Colintraive, Argyll, PA22 3AS, via email at cgdt@cgdt.org, can be downloaded here, or by telephoning 01700 841358. Applicants should be available for immediate start. Closing date for applications Monday 28th April 2014
Work with Archaeology Scotland on this brand new project to discover the chambered cairn, working in Colintraive Village Hall and on site at the Cairn. If you are unable to attend both days or for all of the sessions, that’s fine.
Everybody is welcome, with any level of archaeological knowledge. This will be a 2 year community project. Your knowledge and input are very welcome and you will be in a position to help interpret and access the Cairn from the very start.
“Adopt-a-Monument is a nation-wide Community Archaeology scheme that provides volunteer groups with the practical advice and training they need to care and conserve their local heritage. The project encourages groups to get involved in hands-on activities to improve the condition, accessibility and interpretation of their chosen site. Between 2011 and 2016, we will work with 40 community groups to equip volunteers with new skills in archaeological fieldwork and conservation, which can be used again and again to promote the heritage of their local area. More information on Adopt-a-Monument can be found on our website www.archaeologyscotland.org.uk .
While the aims for this project are still being decided, we felt we can help with the following aspects.
• Provide training to survey, record and monitor cultural heritage assets within the woodland [Field Survey, detailed site survey/ desk based research]
• Help advise with path creation, interpretation (both with panels and leaflets, but also through digital interpretation)
• Help create a management plan for the cultural heritage assets within the woodland
• Help advise on future fundraising, project planning, insurance
• Can help the group network with other community archaeology groups within Scotland
We are keen though for the project to develop how you, the participants want it to! If you are particular interested in a particular archaeological feature or are keen to develop a specific archaeological skill, we will try (when possible!) to build that into the project.”
Lunch and refreshments are provided on both days. Participants must dress for the weather conditions and sound footwear is strongly advised. The access route to the Cairn can be quite challenging and demands a certain level of mobility and fitness. If you decide not to walk the route there will be other archaeological activities on site. If you would like to participate in the weekend event please email Mark at mark@cgdt.org or phone the office in Colintraive on 01700 841358. Thanks and we look forward to seeing you there.
We’re looking for two dynamic people to help us implement our latest project, Greener Colglen (more details here).
If you are interested please contact us through the contact form on this website, cgdt@cgdt.org or at the DT office 01700 842 358.
Closing date for applications 18th October 2013