Moray projects receive £300,000 boost

TWO Moray communities are celebrating after successful bids to the Scottish Land Fund.

Forres Area Community Trust (FACT) has been awarded £116,365 to purchase Forres Town Hall to provide community facilities, meeting rooms, study and workshop areas, training facilities and co-working hot desks.

In Tomintoul, the site of the former secondary school is to become plots for affordable homes, following the award of £183,800 to Tomintoul & Glenlivet Development Trust (TGDT).

The group will buy the site, which closed in 2000 because of a falling roll, and demolish the building in order to create plots for 12 community-owned affordable homes for sale and rent.

Trust vice chair Tilly Smith said: "The grant is the culmination of 12 months’ hard work by TGDT and partners and recognises the strong support shown for the project.

"The award will allow our community to realise our vision for a sustainable, vibrant and resilient community as set out in our community development plan."

Forres Town Hall has been a feature of the High Street since 1829.

FACT development manager Debbie Herron said: "We are delighted at the news that Forres Area Community Trust has been awarded the Scottish Land Fund funding to buy Forres Town Hall on behalf of the community. This endorsement of our work means that we can continue to work to support the development and resilience of our community into the future."

The grants made in Moray are two of 11 projects across Scotland to share in a total of £1,15 million awarded as part of the latest round of funding.

Cabinet Secretary for Land Reform, Roseanna Cunningham, said: "The Scottish Land Fund continues to support a wide range of projects and these most recent awards – from woodlands to shops and from community centres to housing – demonstrate the quality and variety of community projects right across Scotland.

"The Scottish Government will continue to support and encourage communities, both urban and rural, to realise their ambitions and take control of their own futures and I look forward to community ownership continuing to grow and prosper in the years to come."

The Scottish Land Fund, which reopened to applications in April 2016, is funded by the Scottish Government and delivered in partnership by the National Lottery Community Fund and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

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