Nine rural & island communities share £300K from Crown Estate Scotland

People in nine Scottish communities are celebrating after they were awarded grants by Crown Estate Scotland to support a range of social enterprises in their local areas.

This year’s awards show a particular focus on transforming underused and dilapidated properties into thriving community assets. The projects receiving funding include the renovation of a disused Orkney lighthouse to become a visitor centre, the repurposing of a former Kirkcudbright police station into a support centre for autistic young people and the restoration of a historic Art Deco lido in Aberdeenshire to support tourism.

The Community Capacity Grants are part of Crown Estate Scotland’s Sustainable Communities Fund which has, since its launch in 2020, distributed more than £1.7m to a wide range of innovative projects across the country.

The grants seek to provide early-stage interventions supporting projects that may otherwise struggle to secure initial funding.

The latest successful Community Capacity projects, delivered in partnership with Foundation Scotland, are:

• Friends of Tarlair Community Group (Aberdeenshire) – £43.9k. To support design drawings for final stage of restoration of a landmark historic coastal Art Deco lido and outdoor swimming pool.
• Tiree Community Development Trust (Argyll and Bute) – £23k. Towards a feasibility study for redevelopment of local harbour and creation of a community storage facility.
• Arrochar & Tarbert Community Development Trust (Argyll and Bute) – £48.5k. Help to provide public toilets in a popular coastal tourist spot.
• Scalpay Community Association (Eilean Siar) – £38.5k. Redevelopment of a heritage centre in this coastal community, which will utilise renewable energy sources and provide improved tourist facilities.
• Torridon District Community Association (Highland) – £20k. Support for economic development in the form of a new campsite for this coastal area.
• Coigach Community Development Company (Highland) – £42.5k. Towards RIBA Stage 4 costs (architectural drawings, building warrants etc) for 10 community-owned affordable homes for this coastal community.
• Cumbrae Community Development Company (North Ayrshire Council) – £29.5k. To enable development of a business plan and procurement support for a community bid to operate Millport Marina.
• North Ronaldsay Trust (Orkney) – £20k. Support for the repurposing of a lighthouse engine room as a community facility, with plans for a café, gift shop, and visitor centre, bolstering the local economy.
• Resonate: Creating Communities (Dumfries and Galloway) – £31k. Transformation of a former police station in the coastal town of Kirkcudbright to become a mental health support centre for autistic young people.

Catherine Phillips, Founder of ‘Resonate: Creating communities’, said:

“We are incredibly grateful to Crown Estate Scotland for believing in our project and understanding the many benefits that this new support centre for young people with autism will bring to Kirkcudbright and the wider region.

“Having this support at this stage of the project is absolutely vital to assist with initial costs, and will not only provide practical financial assistance, but will also help in our efforts to attract more funders to give us their backing.

“This Community Capacity Grant funding has given everyone involved in the project a huge boost, as well as the confidence to help us move forward. We are convinced that this will be an amazing project and one which will benefit many young people across the local community.”

Pat Wain, Chair of Friends of Tarlair Pool, said:

“This funding will help complete the final stage in a restoration project for one of Scotland’s most iconic coastal Art Deco outdoor swimming pools. Having finished work on the pavilion, terraces, and inner boating pool, this money from Crown Estate Scotland will help us to bring back to life the main swimming pool – the focus of the whole complex.

“Having opened in the 1930s and having been enjoyed by thousands of people until the 1990s, we cannot wait to welcome back members of the public who we are sure will be as impressed as we have been by this beautiful community resource.”

Penny Coles, Head of Partnerships with Crown Estate Scotland, added:

“This latest round of funding awards – the fifth since the Sustainable Communities Fund was launched – features projects which all demonstrate an ambition to make a tangible and lasting improvement to local people and visitors alike.

“We at Crown Estate Scotland are excited to be supporting the delivery of such important and positive projects which will help bring about improvements to the lives and economies of communities across Scotland.”