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Island hotel gets funds for community buyout

Rob Farrow/Geograph Lochranza Hotel, ArranRob Farrow/Geograph
Lochranza Hotel is to be turned into a community meeting place

Communities across Scotland have secured funds for projects that include saving a hotel and a village shop.

The Scottish Land Fund has awarded more than £1.3m in grants.

Among the big winners is North Arran Community Benefit Society, which has been given £484,000 towards buying Arran's closed-down Lochranza Hotel.

Nith Valley Leaf Trust has been awarded £210,900 to acquire the village shop and its accompanying house in Closeburn, near Dumfries.

Shapinsay Development Trust has been awarded £190,881 to purchase a cottage in Shapinsay, Orkney, for redevelopment as affordable rented accommodation.

Glen Urquhart Rural Community Association has secured £135,936 towards its takeover of Drumnadrochit's Blairbeg Community Wood.

Cara Gillespie, Scottish Land Fund Committee chairwoman, said: "From projects that will create rural housing to shops offering vital services and open spaces that play an important role in community life, this round of grants from the Scottish Land Fund will help to strengthen diverse communities across Scotland."

Other community projects to benefit from the funding round are:

  • £124,560 to Dunbar Community Bakery so it can purchase the shop it trades from
  • £98,812 for Thurso Community Development Trust towards buying a building in the town where it will create a "climate hub" hosting a zero-waste shop, office, workshop, and storage space
  • £73,030 to Newstead Village Community Trust to help it purchase Newstead's village green and develop the space as a local amenity for the community
  • £19,420 towards Uig Development Trust's plans to develop a plot at Eireastadh, Lewis, as an amenity area and for building new business units

North Arran Community Benefit Society wants to run the Lochranza Hotel as a community inn with a bar and community space to combat rural isolation, and provide a year-round meeting space for the community.

The society's Chris Traill said: "The hotel is the focal point of our community and its absence has been keenly felt by many people living on and visiting this fantastic Island.

"With this support we hope to get the business back on its feet, providing a fantastic resource for many years to come."

Dunbar Community Bakery Dunbar Community BakeryDunbar Community Bakery
Dunbar Community Bakery has been given money to help it buy the shop it uses
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Dunbar Community Bakery's purchase of its shop will allow it to continue providing a community bakery and training opportunities for young people.

Josephine McNamara,of the bakery, said: "This award comes at a crucial time for us.

"We've survived many ups and downs since we opened eleven years ago but current energy costs are a real challenge."

The funding awards have been welcomed by Environment, Biodiversity and Land Reform minister Mairi McAllan.