The Sunart Community Company serves the economic, social and cultural interests of the entire across the Sunart region, providing the support, skills and infrastructure to help the community grow and prosper.
Founded 2007
The company was established in 2007 to enable the local communities to acquire the land and amenities being sold by the Scottish Government under the Land Reform Act 2003. The belief is that community-owned organisations are best placed to serve the needs of their local area, and being able to own and manage local amenities allows them to improve the economic, environmental, social and cultural life of all those living, working and visiting each area.
Since then, the Sunart Community Company has gone from strength. It is now one of many community development trusts across Scotland, each sharing the common goal of making their communities great places to live, work and visit.
Land Reform Act
This Act did three things:
- Formalised land access – the right to roam.
- Protected crofters with the right to buy.
- Gave local communities the right of first refusal to purchase land and amenities if they came onto the market.
Effectively, the Land Reform Act allowed the Sunart Community Company to take on its first community assets. These included the angling rights to the Strontian River and a number of blocks of common land. Each of these are still held by the company, with the angling tickets continuing to provide regular income for the charity.
Key milestones
| 2011 – 2015 | Established and developed the hydro scheme. This is now run in collaboration with Sunart Community Renewables. |
| 2012 – 2014 | Commissioned the Sunart Community Action Plan. |
| 2015 | Commissioned the Housing Needs Analysis. |
| 2017 | Purchase and opening of the Oakwood Tourism & Crafts Centre. |
| 2016 – 2018 | Employed our first two part-time development officers. |
| 2021 | Set-up the Mens Shed. |
| 2013 | Carried out a Community Consultation to understand the future needs of the Sunart community |
| 2023 – 2024 | Acquisition of the Longrigg Woodland to provide an income stream and future development opportunities for the community |
| 2024 | Established the Community Endowment Fund to provide a secure investment for future project seed funding |
| 2023 – 2024 | Creation and opening of the Electric Vehicle & Car Share Scheme |
| 2023 – 2024 | Distribution of Christmas bonus payment to all qualifying Sunart households |
| 2023 | Our first Christmas Market held in collaboration with other community organisations |
| 2024 | Free community Paella Party |