Aigas Community Forest

Scottish Land Fund Grant Confirmed

11 February 2014

We are delighted to announce that Aigas Community Forest have been offered a grant of £221,000 towards the part purchase of Aigas Forest by the community and the employment of a Development Officer for two years. Following the investigation of a number of purchase and lease options over the past five years, Aigas Community Forest are now planning a part purchase / part lease solution which would see the Community buy 49.15ha of the Forest immediately surrounding Crask of Aigas and then look to take a long term lease from Forestry Commission Scotland for the remaining 235ha, thus bringing the entire woodland under community control. This is the proposal the Scottish Land Fund have accepted and they have offered a £171,000 grant towards this purchase. The purchase price was set at £170,000 by the District Valuer so we need to raise some match funding to cover our legal and related conveyancing costs. We have also been offered £50k over two years towards employment of a Development Officer. We would like to increase this with a small pot of unrestricted funding which will allow us to deliver on a number of our priorities relatively quickly. These include a new Forest Design Plan, which sets out our felling and planting plans for the next 25 years and preparation of which will involve significant community consultation. We would also like to deliver improved access opportunities and in particular a path network linking Aigas Forest to Teanassie Primary School.