Lochaber Woodland Buyout Goes Through!
Yes, we bought a wood!
Sunart Community Company(SCC) has purchased the 88 hectare Longrigg Wood,Strontian, for community use.
The woodland sits up on the western edge of the community, with incredible views towards Loch Sunart, a popular destination for wildlife-watching and itself a Marine Protected Area.
The buy-out, which was supported with Scottish LandFund (SLF) funding, is another success for Forestry andLand Scotland’s (FLS) Community Asset Transfer Scheme, which SCC first engaged with back in 2018, when FLS offered the community first refusal after having identified the woodland for disposal.
Sunart Community Company Director Andrew Hughessaid; “Ours is a very strong-knit community, but like many other rural populations, developing and strengthening that cohesion is vitally important, especially for our young people. We have a vision of ‘Keeping Sunart a great place to live,work and visit’ and we saw how Longrigg Wood, which sits on the edge of the village alongside the crofting township of Ardnastaing could make a real contribution to helping us achieve that.
“It’s been a long journey to get to this point but we can now set about bringing all of our aspirations and plans to life. The community has really come together around this project and I would recommend other communities around the country to take a closer look at the Community AssetTransfer Scheme and the potential on their own doorsteps.”
The SCC plans to use income from timber and firewood production to underpin initial work, such as creating access into the woodland, while it develops volunteering and community projects, as well as further access and recreation opportunities.
You can read the press release about the acquisition from Forestry Land Scotland here.
For more information, or to join our steering group, please email becky@sunartcommunitycompany.co.uk