Scotland: National Rural Network
Five communities in Scotland are a step closer to receiving up to £400,000 from the Big Lottery Fund for a new enterprise venture and having their progress filmed for a BBC prime time television programme.
Lochinver in the Highlands, Catrine in East Ayrshire, Isle of Kerrera west of Oban, Eskdalemuir in Dumfries and Galloway and West Wemyss in Fife are among 28 villages in the UK who have been shortlisted for Village SOS.
Village SOS is an initiative by Big Lottery Fund and the BBC. All 28 shortlisted villages will be offered a development grant of up to £10,000 to develop their business proposals. The final six rural villages will be announced in May 2010 and will be funded to develop their new business ventures.
Chair of the BIG Lottery Fund Scotland Alison Magee said, "We had a fantastic response from groups all over Scotland and I am delighted that projects from across the country are represented on the shortlist. All five of these groups have made it this far on merit and it is not that the competition really starts. Through Village SOS we aim to revive rural communities and create jobs and we at BIG wish all thse projects the very best of luck towards realising their ambitions."
'Village Champions', chosen through a nationwide search, will live and work in the six communities to help the villages achieve their goals. The 28 villages will be paired with their champion through a 'matchmaking' conference and shortlisting process which will see the villages interviewing potential candidates and inviting them to their villages, before deciding who to work with. The final six villages will be announced in May 2010 and their Village Champions will move into the village for one year. The six-part television series following their progress from start up to trading will be shown on BBC One in Winter 2010.
Assynt Community Association aims to buy a disused fisherman's mission and turn into a sustainable community hub including a Maritime and Sea Life Centre. By combining a visitor centre with accommodation and a cafe it is hoped tourism will benefit while aslo creating jobs, training opportunities and wealth for the local economy.
Roger Glover from the Assynt Community Association said, "We are absolutely delighted to have made the shortlist. We intend to push ahead with this project regardless of the final result and this development money will allow us to edge closer to our ambition. It's an ambitious project but as a small community we feel we have to be prepared to fend for ourselves. We realise that the voyage with Village SOS has just begun and we hope to last the distance."
Catrine Community Renewables is based in Catrine, East Ayrshire. They want to establish a recycling facility for used cooking oil. The project would convert waste oil to create transport fuel and fuel for generators to be installed at various businesses and community venues. A hydro-electric plant and visitor centre is a second phase of the project. The project would create jobs and training opportunities as well as reduce the area's carbon footprint. They want to use any profits to buy small electric cars for community use.
Powerdown Officer with Catrine Community Trust, Hugh Hutchison said: "I am still in shock . . . this news will give the whole village a lift. Catrine has always tried to lead the way through innovation, gas was piped through our streets two years before London and this should regenerate that kind of spirit.Our bio-fuel project aims to continue this tradition, taking a waste product which most people wouldn't think twice about throwing away and using it to create a nice wee sustainable business for our village. We would also be able to re-establish ourselves firmly on the tourist map."
This project, based in Dumfries and Galloway, plans to secure wood supplies from the Forestry Commission and then process and sell them from a new site on bought or leased land, as the first stage of a renewable energy supply system. Once this operation was established the group would like to purchase community woodland in order to produce a sustainanble supply. As a social enterprise, the project would provide revenue for other local projects and create jobs in the area.
Nick Jennings from the Upper Eskdale Development Group said: "We're really over the moon to have been given this opportunity. We are surrounded by trees but people here have no way of actually using this resource. Our project would provide renewable wood powered energy to homes in the area. Initially we'd build a wood yard and later we plan to establish community woodland to take control of our supplies. We have a lot of enthusiasm in the village but perhaps we need that little bit of business nouse to really take this project forward. With a village champion I think we could do that and we are really looking forward to building up a solid case to realise our ambitions."
The Isle of Kerrera, was of Oban, has no school, no shop, no village hall, no policeman, no doctor, no nurse and no pub. Their plan is to build a multi-use community centre with accommodation for visitors. The space will include a meeting hall and a cafe and could be used for local projects and to host events like weddings. A commercial kitchen will allow business to start up on the premises. the project would provide local job opportunities, bring the community together and also promote tourism.
Project officer with the Isle of Kerrera Development Trust, Louise Moran said, "We are all just really, really delighted and excited with this news. We feel as though a door has opened and we are peeking through to a bright and sunny opportunity. The Isle of Kerrera has virtually none of the public services that other communities may take for granted. Our school closed some twelve years ago andour children have to go by small open ferry to Oban. We have no shop, no village hall, no policeman, nodoctor, no nurseand no pub. Our project will build a community centre which will be so much more than that. It will providea place for our community to meet and socialise together. In short, this would transform the lives of our islanders."
The West Wemyss Development Trust Steering Group in Fife want to turn a disused pub into a community hub which could house a licensed bistro, a village shop, meeting rooms and holiday accommodation. They also want to create small allotments and a woodland burial site, and are also considering the installation of wind turbines. The hope the venture could be self-sustaining.
West Wemyss Eco-Energy Development spokesman, Blair Denwette, said, "We are absolutely ecstatic about this news. We have such a beautiful village to look at but we have nothing here for people - no shop, no pub no hotel - nothing to really bind the community together. If successful with this we will finally have the focal point we need. . . . We need this project to give people living here that little bit of belief that could really help us transform life in the village. With a village champion we think we can make this happen."
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