Projects in Highland Council’s Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh ward are to share Community Regeneration Funds worth £79,725.20.
Today (Monday 19 January) members of the Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh Committee approved financial support for four organisations.
• Wester Ross Biosphere - £ 38,093.00
• Lochalsh & Skye Swimming Pool Association - £16,380.00
• Dornie & District Community Trust - £11,130.00
• Create inspire Project CIC - £ 14,122.20
Committee co-chair Councillor Biz Campbell said: “All the projects we have supported today will help improve facilities and local services at the very heart of our communities – they bring benefits to health, well-being, the environment and culture, supporting rural people of all ages.
“I am delighted to see these funds approved. These decisions will make a positive difference to people living and working in our ward.”
About the projects
Wester Ross Biosphere Ltd (WRB) is the community-led charity that manages the region’s UNESCO Biosphere designation. At present it is experiencing a significant shortfall in capacity and resources during a period of high demand. The funds will support the WRB’s work to complete the region’s first 10-year Periodic Review, which is a mandatory requirement from UNESCO for maintaining the designation beyond 2026.
Lochalsh & Skye Swimming Pool Association owns and operates the community swimming pool, gym and health suite which has served wider Wester Ross, Lochalsh and South Skye since 1992.
The funding will help address both the resilience of the Centre and its environmental sustainability. Plant and services are reaching end of life and options for increasing resilience of the building and reducing the operating costs need to be explored.
Dornie & District Community Trust took ownership of their local old shop building in July 2023 and have been successful in securing funding and fundraising to extend and redevelop the existing building into a community hub.
This funding will help complete the renovation of the community hub and enable it to open. Once re-opened it will consist of a shop and all year-round café, which will double as a community space.
The Travelling Imaginarium is a nine-month creative and cultural outreach programme that will be run across five remote and rural communities in the Northwest Highlands: Achiltibuie, Kinlochbervie, Coigach, Ullapool and Garve.
At the heart of the project is a small team of musicians and artists seeking to deliver high-quality creative experiences in each community. In each location, the programme will deliver four workshops and conclude with a final showcase.
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Monday’s meeting also gave approval to the sale of local playpark, for the sum of £1.
Members agreed to the sale of the land of the former Torridon Playpark to Torridon District Community Association under the terms of The Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act.
These powers give a right for community bodies to request to own, lease or use public sector assets.
The agreements effectively gave the local group a 100 per cent discount on the market value of the park, which is estimated at £20,000.
The new playpark will become a much-needed facility for children who live in the settlements in the Torridon area as well as those from the neighbouring areas of Kinlochewe and Shieldaig.
Currently there are no play facilities in the village, and the nearest playpark for local children is in Shieldaig, which is a 14-mile round trip from Torridon with no regular public transport.
Committee co- chair Councillor Liz Kraft said: "I am especially pleased to see us continuing to support community ownership, through our financial support and in the transfer of assets to local groups, as we see in Torridon.
"Taking ownership will hopefully support the provision of enhanced facilities, and an important community resource. The causes that the committee is supporting today are all important as we look to address the causes of rural depopulation as well as to boost economic recovery and tackle the climate emergency."
Ends.
Notes to editors
• Community Regeneration Funding is an umbrella term for a number of funds that are available for communities and organisations to access in Highland.
• It currently comprises elements of the Highland Coastal Communities Fund (HCCF) and the Place Based Investment Programme (PBIP), both of which are Scottish Government Funding streams to support economic regeneration and sustainable development in Highland.
• Area Committees are awarded devolved allocations, according to approved formulae and decision making, on which projects should receive funding sits with elected Members.
• The CRF allocation for The Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh area totalled £555,393 for 2025-26.