CGDTNew 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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Grants will be available on a first come first served basis and the scheme will close on 31 March 2012.
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SNP Parliamentary Candidate for Argyll & Bute, Michael Russell MSP – who lives in Glendaruel – has given a warm welcome to the vote by local residents which will start the process of community purchase for the Stronafian Forest by the Colintraive and Glendaruel Community Trust.
Mr Russell said:
“As a former Environment Minister as well as a Member of the Trust I am a strong supporter of community land purchase and particularly the purchase of forests and woodlands by communities. The ambitious plan by Colintraive and Glendaruel Community Trust to seek to acquire Stronafian Forest and use it as a community resource shows a positive belief by that community in a better and more secure and sustainable future for the community. I am therefore delighted that the local ballot of residents has resulted in two thirds backing the plan.
“The community now have 18 months to raise the necessary finance and put in place a sustainable business plan for the forest. There are a lot of good ideas around and some very positive models elsewhere in Argyll to look at, including the North Mull Forest and the newly purchased woodlands at Kilfinan and on Bute.
“There will be much hard work ahead, but this vote is a vital and very commendable next step in the process. I am sure the community will get every help and encouragement from the Forestry Commission and from other public bodies as the plans develop as well as from local business and from local elected representatives.”
The story about the ballot on Stronafian Forest is in the Dunoon Observer today, page 4 lower right.
We’re beginning the count at 3pm on Friday 8th October. Shirley McLeod from the council is officiating and we expect to have a result within half an hour. The question is will the refreshments be coffee and tea or champagne?
… reads as follows:
Small Community, Very Big Plans
The Community of Colintraive and Glendaruel is about to vote on the purchase of 600ha of Forest in one of the most ambitious community buy-outs Cowal has yet seen.On the afternoon of 8th October the count will start on one of the most keenly awaited results in the community woodlands sector this year. The Colintraive and Glendaruel Development Trust will find out whether the people it serves agree with it that Stronafian Forest represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the community.
With a valuation of £1.55M finding the funds to make the purchase might seem too big an ask for such a sparsely populated area, “Except,” says Charles Dixon-Spain, chair of the Development Trust, “we have some very ambitious plans for this forest which will secure this asset for the community within the 18 month time-limit Forestry Commission Scotland has set.” He adds, “Our vision is that this forest can be an asset not only for our community but for the rest of Cowal and Bute.”
The Development Trust has published an options appraisal on their website which recommends mixing commercial forest management with low-impact woodland management, offers forest crofts and affordable housing as answers to acute local economic and social needs, and shows that the forest will have manifold amenity uses, from Mountain-biking and archaeology, to a woodland school and astronomy.
Charles continues, “We’ve carried out community surveys, had consultation days and even organised a community visit to Mull, and what we have found is that a forest like this can be profitable, can invest into communities, and can create jobs. We hope the community votes for this opportunity because there is every possibility that greater and more significant projects will develop from the purchase.”
Both animateurs handed their reports in today, and very pleasing reading they make too. Lots of interesting and varied points have come back from the community, much of which has helped in directing the information we will have available on Sunday for the Stronafian Sandwich at the Glendaruel Village Hall. We’ll publish the documents shortly for everyone to access (they’ll also be on noticeboards and by request from directors).
Rhona and I also had a short meeting to look at the ballot for the NFLS, more of which on Sunday.
… I think the poster below says it all doesn’t it?
Tonight in the Colintraive Village Hall members of the community are invited to attend an initial meeting to investigate the possibility of creating a working group to look at the future of the village, and in particular its role as a community centre.
At the board meeting today we decided to move forward with Gordon Gray Stephen’s advice on community consultation. To this end we’re going to pursue three main threads:
All three will be critical to the formation of the business plan / extended options appraisal that we will need to complete for our application under the NFLS.
For Gordon’s full option appraisal have a look at our publications page.