Greetings! Although the Trust has been quiet on the News front lately, a lot has been happening in the background over the past few months.
Forestry Buildings
In April, we announced that the Scottish Land Fund (SLF) had awarded the Trust a grant of £134,796 to purchase the Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) buildings at Lock 8 in the village and carry out essential repairs and refurbishment.
Since then we have appointed and instructed Solicitors to make the offer to purchase the FLS Buildings and start the legal process to complete the Transfer of ownership. As we had feared, the legal process is taking longer than we had hoped but we expect the transfer of ownership to go through in September and we will let the Community and Stakeholders know when this happens.
Appointment of Hub Development Manager
The Trustees are very pleased to report that as of 1st September, we have appointed Nadine Stuart as the CCT Hub Development Manager and she will now manage the repairs and refurbishment of the FLS Buildings for the Trust. Nadine will also have responsibility for Community Engagement and working on Funding Applications.
We are delighted to have appointed someone with Nadine’s experience in managing similar Community Projects including working in a similar role for The Tayvallich Initiative. The Hub Development Manager post is a Part Time role and it has been funded by the Scottish Land Fund.
How can we all help and support the work?
We will be in contact with the members of the community that kindly volunteered to assist with their skills, energy and time so that the buildings can be made safe and suitable for the community and general public.
If you haven’t previously offered your assistance, we would very much welcome your help in whatever way you can, just Contact Us to let us know what you can offer.
Fundraising
Although CCT has been awarded some significant funds to purchase, refurbish and repair the FLS Buildings in Cairnbaan, we will still require further funds for the ongoing work.
Additionally, as soon as we take ownership of the buildings, we will have ongoing costs such as Electricity and Insurance etc. Key members of the Trust are working to apply for more of the funding available but members and supporters can also help with this by making a Donation to the Trust.
Donations can easily be made via our Donation Page which links to our Just Giving account.
Please remember to complete the ‘Gift Aid’ option if you can as the Trust then receives an additional 25% of your Donation through Tax Relief.
All Donations will be gratefully received and put to good use for the benefit of the Community.
Trust Membership
You can also help, just by becoming a member of the Trust which is free and doesn’t commit you to anything. The Trust is always looking for more residents to join so if you have not yet done so, please join up by completing the online form on our Membership Page.
OTHER NEWS
Dunardry Rolling Bridge
We are working with Scottish Canals with a view to assisting in their efforts to explore the possibility of restoring the Dunardry Rolling Bridge at Lock 11 over the Canal at Dunardry and we will update the Community when there is news about that project. In the meantime, you can find out more on the Scottish canals web site here.
Mixter Maxter
In August we were pleased to collaborate, for the fourth successive year, in Mixter Maxter, a traditional music workshop led by Nigel Gatherer. Nigel is a nationally well known tutor of adult learners and the workshop, spread over two days, started off in the Cairnbaan Hotel.
We’ve had to relocate to the excellent Ardrishaig Public Hall and had more the 30 adult learners making music connected with the Dundee newspaper and comic magnate DC Thompson. This clip gives a flavour of what is possible under Nigel’s expert and inclusive leadership – YouTube Video
AGM
Save the date – the Trust AGM will be held on Thursday 6th November 2025.
