It’s almost two months since the Trust’s Annual General Meeting and those members who attended will recall the various presentations which outlined the Trust’s achievements to date. Against the priorities highlighted by the community which were collated in the Development Plan, significant progress has been made in a relatively short time. The community now owns an extremely valuable asset in Stronafian Forest which offers tremendous potential for regeneration of the area. Employment opportunities; jobs creation; affordable housing and amenity use all have the potential to impact on community confidence. Increasing the economically active population will, in turn, help improve the local economy; create service provision; and help secure the local school.
A great deal of time and effort has been expended on the Forest project to date and Mark, our Forest Officer, is promoting an open evening (with homemade soup!) on 13th September (6-8p.m.)in Colintraive Village Hall when local residents can learn how they can be involved in influencing what happens in the forest.
The Community Development Plan highlighted Stronafian Forest as the “Flagship” project and now that this is well and truly underway, the Trust is considering the next priority to be tackled. This is the optimum time to inspire the next phase of development, so why not consider joining the board and influencing what major project should be tackled next. We currently have a board of 5 dedicated individuals but additional directors would help move projects forward sooner rather than later. Whilst it’s true that Directors have certain responsibilities which demand a degree of diligence, these are not onerous and there is no threat to any individual – or their assets – as the liability of members is limited to £1 should the Trust ever be wound up.
Progress towards the aspirations of the Community Development Plan can be accelerated with the commitment of additional board members. Could you be that addition? Would you like to talk it over with an existing board member? Directors can be contacted for an informal chat without any obligation (contact details below).
The Trust has helped both Colintraive and Glendaruel Village Halls to upgrade and is currently supporting a further phase of improvements to the Glen Hall; the feasibility study has been completed for the Cowal Way; renewable energy projects, both wind and hydro, are currently being investigated and several other priorities contained in the Development Plan are under investigation.
Please consider exploring the possibility of joining the Board – your community needs you!