Thoughts about establishing a local development trust grew from a number of things rather than a single trigger point or idea. The Community Council’s The Road Ahead consultation in 2017 identified a number of priorities such as traffic management and housing, however a community council isn’t the best vehicle to take forward development projects. There was also a growing recognition that across Scotland more and more local communities are getting themselves organised, setting their own agenda, and taking on local priorities through a local development organisation.
Following The Road Ahead consultation an open meeting/s was held [date / dates 2018??] in Plockton Village Hall to discuss the merits, or otherwise, of setting up a Trust. Quite a few individuals volunteered to join a steering group to consider this in more detail. It was an informal grouping, and attendance varied, but the most regular attendees are listed below.
Getting something off the ground is always a bit ‘chicken and egg’ as until something exists it’s difficult to promote it and engage fully. We are just starting so have not set our agenda. We hope you will get involved and help shape our future plans.
Also, we are very conscious that we are very Plockton-centric at present. We want our membership to reflect the whole of Plockton & District and to have Trustees (board members) from throughout our area.
Steering group regulars:
Alexander Mackenzie, James Krisp, Brian Harvey, Malcolm Mackenzie, John Maclean, Sandra Holmes, Mary Jane Campbell, Catherine Will, David Skilling,
Now that we exist legally, we can invite people to become members. We have three classes of membership: Ordinary, Associate and Junior.
The Trust is controlled by the Ordinary Members as only these members can vote at annual meetings and the majority of our Trustees (board members) have to be elected Ordinary Members. Ordinary members must reside in the Plockton and District area, be over 16 years of age, and be on the voters’ roll for this area.
We can accept membership applications now, or at any time in the future. See here for our membership form.
Once we have established our membership, the Ordinary Members will elect up to nine Ordinary Members at the first General Meeting, to serve as Charity Trustees.
Until such time as we hold the first General Meeting the Trust is run by an Interim Board of Charity Trustees. Our Interim Trustees are Mary Jane Campbell, John Maclean and Sandra Holmes.
Community councils are the most local tier of statutory representation in Scotland. They bridge the gap between local authorities and communities, and help to make public bodies aware of the opinions and needs of the communities they represent. Local authorities have statutory oversight of community councils and are required by statute to consult community councils about planning applications and licencing matters.
Community trusts, or community development companies, are local organisations that are community-owned and led. They engage in the economic, environmental and social regeneration of a geographically defined community. Unlike a community council they are a legal entity so can own assets, enter into contracts and employ people in the organisation’s name. They are social enterprises with members rather than shareholders, so any profits are reinvested into the work of the organisation. Community trust activities are varied but often include running a local shop or post office, developing affordable housing and providing local facilities such as public toilets and play parks.
KLCT was established in 2012 and serves the whole Lochalsh area. This is extensive, including Attadale, Dornie, Cluanie and Glenelg & Arnisdale as well as Plockton & District. Whilst KLCT is very active and benefits from a number of employees it has limited capacity to lead on development in each of the communities it serves. Its project work has up till now been focused on the Kyle area, but more recently it has been very active leading and co-ordinating the local COVID-19 response across Lochalsh.
The recent pandemic highlights the benefits of having a Trust serving the wider area as public authorities can’t engage with every local trust or organisation and there are many communities within Lochalsh that don’t have such a local organisation. We very much support the work of KLCT and appreciate all their efforts during recent times.
So, although we are covered by KLCT we are better placed to drive forward projects in Plockton & District. We will work collaboratively with KLCT on pan-Lochalsh interests, such as the Lochalsh Collaboration , a Lochalsh-wide conversation on needs and priorities that KLCT is leading on for the whole area.
Being able to feed into the work of KLCT on strategic, pan-Lochalsh matters, whilst driving forward projects and initiatives in our more local community area only strengthens both organisations. Plockton & District is well represented on the KLCT Board and residents of our area can be members of both Trusts.
In addition to ourselves, there are also local development trusts in Achmore (Fernaig) and Glenelg & Arnisdale.
We don’t yet have a list of potential projects as we have just been formed. We’ll need to consult with our members and the wider community to agree a way forward. However we have the results of The Road Ahead consultation and in time we’ll have information from the Lochalsh Conversation which will provide some direction.
However, our steering group has already achieved a couple of ‘wins’.
Last year, through the Community Council, we made a strong case to Highland Council that a recently vacated council house in Harbour Street, Plockton, should be retained as a council house and re-let. The Council’s plans at the time were to sell the house on the open market. By working with the Community Council and securing the support of local councillors, particularly Biz Campbell, we were delighted to learn that Highland Council has recently agreed to retain this property as a council house. In a village where recent house for sale have all been purchased by commercial operators for short-term holiday lets, this is a most welcome development.
More recently, again through the Community Council, we submitted a ‘participation request’ to Highland Council to enter into an Improvement Process to review traffic management in Duirinish and Plockton. Using this legislative tool we will work with Highland Council and local interests to seek improvements to traffic management and parking. We understand this is the first participation request that has been agreed by Highland Council. We will keep the community and key stakeholders informed as this develops.
