Category: Stronafian

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Environment Forestry Glendaruel Housing News Opportunities Press & Publicity Projects Recruitment Renewables Stronafian

Afforestations of Delight

Colintraive and Glendaruel Development Trust (CGDT) have purchased Stronafian Forest and are now recruiting for a dynamic Community Forest Development Officer. 

CGDT are delighted to confirm that they have now purchased Stronafian Forest on the Cowal Peninsula, Argyll. The forest, purchased for £1.55M from the Forestry Commission under the National Forest Land Scheme, will provide the community of Colintraive and Glendaruel with opportunities to create sustainable housing, woodland crofts, renewable energy sources and wonderful amenity spaces.

The Trust has been working since early 2010 on the acquisition of the 600ha+ woodland, developing a thorough-going business plan, as well as working on the funding package which includes £1.3M from a commercial tenant for the rights to the commercial forestry over 99 years. Alongside this tranche of money, raised from the private sector, the trust has also raised over £300,000, both for the balance of the purchase price, but also the legal fees and a two year Community Forest Project Officer post. The trust believe this is the first purchase of its kind to combine private and public sectors in a community woodland acquisition.

Come Work With Us
The Trust are still recruiting for the post which offers an exciting blend of community engagement, project management and business development in a forest context. The Community Forest Project Officer will be tasked with taking forward a community wind turbine, developing 4-6ha woodland crofts and preparing building plots for self-build and affordable homes, as well as making the forest accessible to the local community and its visitors. This is an opportunity to work with one of the West Coast’s most innovative trusts, in an environment of outstanding natural beauty, with a community whose Hogmanays are reputed to be the best in Argyll. To apply download our application form here.

CGDT’s chair, Charles Dixon-Spain said, “We are thrilled with this acquisition which is confirmation of the momentum our community has been building over the last five years. Colintraive and Glendaruel is a community that has been in decline for many years, and the Trust feels this purchase signals the renewing of our community, of bringing people in and services back and of ensuring the future of those services that we have held onto. Thanks to everyone who has helped us get to this stage!”

CGDT wish to thank Forestry Commission Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Argyll and the Islands LEADER, the Scottish Land Fund, the Big Fund, Aitchesse Ltd. and our tenant for all their help, financial support and encouragement over the last three years.

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Environment Forestry News Projects Renewables Stronafian

Updated Stronafian Business Plan Available

For those of you keeping an eye on our developing plans for Stronafian, we have just published the updated Business Plan on our publications page.

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Colintraive Community Notices Environment Forestry Glendaruel News Opportunities Stronafian

CGDT Fundraises using Give As You Live

Help us raise funds for the Stronafian Forest Project:
  1. Download the Give As You Live Plugin for your browser (its really very easy)
  2. Shop online with thousands of stores and raise money for your favourite cause with every purchase – at no cost to you
  3. Get great offers from leading brands that raise funds for your favourite cause

To begin contributing, please visit our fundraising page here.

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Forestry Glendaruel News Opportunities Stronafian

Stronafian Newsletter Published

Our update on all things Stronafian has now been published here.

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Clachan CRtB Forestry Glendaruel Glendaruel Hotel News Projects Stronafian Working Groups

The Next Stage of the Glendaruel Working Group

At the last meeting of the working group we spent two hours poring over the decision matrix we had developed in the previous session. With Donald’s ongoing and able help we were able to develop some ideas about the types of solutions we would need to look at for various initiatives.

Over the next week the remainder of the group will revisit several of the most important themes, score them and send those back to Donald for collation and summary. That summary will be then submitted to the DT board for consideration.

Its been a long process, but very well worth it, and has developed some decision points for the community which will be presented at our next appropriate public meeting.

Here is the present working document for download.

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CRtB Forestry Glendaruel News Opportunities Press & Publicity Renewables Stronafian

Presentation to LACPG in Cowal Courier

New local news website Cowal Courier has a report on the presentation CGDT’s chair Charles Dixon-Spain recently made to the Local Area Community Planning Group regarding our plans for Stronafian Forest and a medium scale community Windfarm.

The presentation, which seemed to be well-received by the committee of over 20 people and audience, is reported on the pay-for-news website here.

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Forestry News Projects Stronafian

Proposed Land Use Areas



The board met on Monday 22nd August to populate a map of Stronafian with initial proposals for where certain activities could be located in the forest.  This will be passed onto our forest consultant for his comments.

Proposed land use areas
key

You can view a Google Map of the above areas here

The board felt the amenity area should be close to the Clachan since this would form a base for people to go into the forest from. The Forest School would also be located in this area.  It was decided some investigation would be required to provide access directly from the hotel to the forest.  Paths to an area higher up where there is little forest cover would provide an area for views, picnic sites and possibly an area for stargazing.

The areas for silviculture were chosen based on selecting areas close to existing access routes and with relatively level topography.  Activities here might involve commercial wood fuel production as well as the possibility of forest smallholdings for low impact silviculture.

It was felt the only suitable location for affordable housing on forest land was in Stronafian since this was relatively level ground, on a road and near existing housing.

We welcome your feedback on proposals below!

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Clachan Colintraive CRtB Forestry Glendaruel Glendaruel Hotel Kilmodan Primary School News Projects Stronafian

A Community Working Together

Over the last weeks there has been an unprecedented level of activity in the community looking at our future and the projects we might like to take forward. The ‘Ship-to-shore’ and the ‘Colintraive Gateway’ steering groups have met and made reports to the board, while the Clachan working groups have both reconvened and made recommendations as to the next steps they would like to take to further their work.

The board has also pushed forward with the process to purchase Stronafian Forest, on which we have a right to buy, as well as the community windfarm.

Russell Gill our intern has been working hard to put some shape on initiatives and ideas that have emanated in the community, and we hope to have some papers on matters as varied as mountain-biking, astronomy, and bridleways in hand by the end of the month.

Lastly, Russell and Rhona spent a very enjoyable morning with the Kilmodan school children as they had a forest school session. Both came back damp but delighted!

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Forestry News Press & Publicity Stronafian

We Can See The Wood For the Trees!

The Community of Colintraive and Glendaruel wins the right to buy Stronafian Forest in south-west Cowal.

Community ownership of one of the most ambitious community buy-outs came a step further this week when the Forestry Commission granted the right to buy 600ha of Stronafian Forest in south west Cowal through the National Forestry Land Scheme.

The £1.55m price tag is a tall order for the small community of Colintraive and Glendaruel but ownership of the land is seen as the catalyst in reversing the area’s economic and social decline.   Plans for developing the forest include leasing small parcels of land at sustainable rents to allow small, low-impact silviculture operations to be encouraged, alongside other entrepreneurial pursuits suited to a woodland situation and developing community.

Proximity to the school offers opportunities to develop an outdoor classroom or forest school, a development of the existing curriculum which is proving increasingly popular elsewhere as an educational  resource.  Indeed areas of the forest, particularly those close to the Clachan of Glendaruel, are rich in archaeological remains, natural history and landscape heritage which will add to the significant amenity resource that the woodland represents.

Charles Dixon-Spain, Chair of the Development Trust said “The scope of the Forest is enormous and our ambitious plans include investigation of wind and hydro sites, the most promising involving creation of a community owned 30 MW/h extension to the Cruach Mhor windfarm.   With national renewable targets to reach and our commitment to help achieve these, there is much to accomplish in the 18 months in which we have to raise the finance”.

“The price tag may appear daunting,” Charles continues, “but we are confident development of our plans alongside our forestry consultant and potential funding agencies will secure this tremendous asset for the long term benefit of not only Colintraive and Glendaruel but for our neighbouring communities.”

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Forestry Glendaruel News Stronafian

Progress on the Application to Acquire the Right to Buy Stronafian

At the last NFLS panel meeting in late January, at which the decision on our application was to be taken, important questions were raised regarding the timescales of the purchase and how that would affect our business plan for the forest, in particular our management of the forest itself. The panel therefore decided to defer their decision until 5th May to allow us to look at the implications of this.

The Development Trust has now fed back regarding the changes it has made to its business plan to effect purchase of the entire forest within 18 months of the approval of our application.

We will communicate the panel’s decision as soon as we have news but in the meantime will keep our fingers crossed.