Facts & Figures |
| Organisation Name: | Comrie Development Trust (CDT) |
| Individual Name: | |
| Area Served: | Comrie and the surrounding rural area in the heart of Perthshire. |
| Population: | 3000 |
| Sketch: | Comrie is a highly motivated community with at least 56 local organisations active in the village. Comrie is the name given by the Scots invaders of the 7th century and is derived from the Gaelic Conruith meaning ‘flowing together’ as our village sits where the three rivers of the Earn, Ruchill and Leadnock meet. In the 21st century it is a place where ancient rivers are meeting new ideas through our new Development Trust. |
| Legal Form: | Company Limited by guarantee with Charitable Status |
| Volunteers: | 50 |
| People Benefitting: | 3000 |
| Staff: | 1 |
| Turnover: | £180 000 (in 2007/08) |
| Earned Income: | From Grazing Lease on Cultybraggan Hill Land – nominal. |
| Assets: | Own the Cultybraggan Army Training Camp and 90 acres of land |
| Value of assets: | £350,000 |
Roots & Links |
| Origins: | In May 2005 the Comrie Development Group was formed following an exceptional presentation in the village by the Westray Development Trust from Orkney. Those attending were inspired by what can be achieved by a local community to secure the long-term health and vitality of their area. Over the next year the Comrie Development Group worked with local people and groups to explore the potential of a Development Trust for Comrie. In October 2005 a major community meeting was held and it was agree to establish a Development Trust for the village. The aim of the Development Trust is to promote the sustainable development of the village for the benefit of local people, groups and businesses. |
| Governance: | There are 12 elected seats and 3 co-opted seats on the Board. One of the co-opted seats is reserved for a member of the Community Council. Membership of the Trust is now nearly 600 – this makes it one of the best represented trusts in Scotland, a status it achieved only six-months after formation. 40 – 50 people regularly attend monthly open meetings and 6 working groups lead project areas prioritised at community meetings. |
| Community Links: | The trust emphasizes the importance of working in partnership with the 56 local groups while developing new ideas and projects. A Community Council representative sits on the Trust’s governance board and the trust has close links with Comrie in Colour and local businesses. |
| External Links: | CDT has strong links to the Perth and Kinross Council, Scottish Enterprise Tayside, Historic Scotland and the Woodland Trust as well as a range of funders and financial institutions including the Big Lottery, Tudor Trust, Lloyds TSB and the Triodos Bank. |
Activities |
| Physical Hub: | Plans are being progressed to develop Cultybraggen as a physical hub for the community, with an additional site in a shop unit in the village |
| Builds Local Capacity: | Through active involvement on the board and through our working groups |
| Delivers Services: | Buying and developing the Cultybraggan site has dominated the first two years of the Trusts existence. However, the trust has also advanced a range of projects that have been crucial to building the success of the Trust. These include youth drama workshops; the establishment of a community cinema; development of a skateboarding park; renewable energy projects; music events; open days at Cultybraggan; an oral history project; local economic projects to support local businesses including ‘buy local campaigns’ are in the pipeline. |
| Develops/Manages Property: | In September 2007 the CDT purchased the Cultybraggan Army Training Camp, including 90 acres of land from the Ministry of Defence, for the benefit of the community. This historic and major community buyout of land was effected under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act . CDT are currently developing a business plan to develop Cultybraggen for optimum community use. |
| Other: | The community turnout for the ballot under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act was 72% with 97% of those in favour. This is the most conclusive ballot in Scotland to date. Funding for the £350,000 purchase price was obtained from the Tudor Trust, with the Big Lottery fund via HIE and Scottish Enterprise supporting business planning. |
| Main Achievements: | Purchased 90 acres of land for community benefit
Attracted over £950k of investment
Built strong partnerships with charities, banks, government and local groups
Have an unrivalled network of volunteers advancing projects from youth drama to renewable energy
Have been short listed for the Big Green Challenge £1 million prize fund to reduce their carbon footprint. Been awarded 3 year funding to be one of the Climate Change Funds national exemplar projects.
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What Next |
| Biggest Challenge: | Filling out forms!!!!!! |
| Lessons Learned: | To numerous to mention but mainly – “Hold your nerve!” |
| Aspirations: | We are a community determined to take care of our village and rise to the economic, social and environmental challenges of the 21st century. Our plans and aspirations include developing Cultybraggen for a range of community uses including:
- Local food production, allotments and enterprises
- Workspace for local tradesman and businesses
- Sports, leisure and recreation
- Heritage interpretation visitor attraction
- Commercial development
- Low cost home ownership (shared ownership eco-housing)
- Quality land management and habitat protection
- Developing off road access between the village and the camp.
We also plan to work with the whole village to reduce our carbon footprint. This will include working with residents, schools, local organisations and businesses to encourage a focus on both personal and collective responsibility and involvement in community composting activities, recycling, energy audits and exploring alternative energy sources.
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Contact |
| Name: | Alan Caldwell |
| Title: | Board Member member |
| Address Line 1: | Mill of Ross |
| Address Line 2: | PH6 2JS |
| City: | Comrie |
| County: | |
| Telephone: | 0774 058 7336 |
| Fax: | |
| Email: | alan@alancaldwellassociates.co.uk |
| Website URL: | www.comrie.org.uk |
| District: | |
