WIREDGOV

A grade A listed octagonal church in Renfrewshire is set to be bought by the local community following a £233,300 grant from the Scottish Land Fund.

Lochwinnoch Parish Church

Lochwinnoch Community Development Trust will purchase the former Lochwinnoch Parish Church and develop it as a community hub, with space for a range of services and activities.

The grant is amongst eight, totalling £829,692, that have been announced during this year’s Community Land Festival, which celebrates community landowners and their achievements, and runs until Sunday, 3 November. (https://www.communitylandscotland.org.uk/community-land-festival/)

Other groups receiving funding to pursue their community ownership ambitions include Glen Urquhart Rural Community Association SCIO, which has been awarded £217,340 to purchase a piece of land in Drumnadrochit, Inverness in order to develop a community sports, health and wellbeing hub and Sanday Development Trust, which has been given £98,098 to acquire a three-bedroom detached bungalow on the island of Sanday, Orkney. The house will be used to provide affordable rented accommodation for the community, primarily aimed at key workers.

The Scottish Land Fund reopened to applications in April 2021. The programme is funded by the Scottish Government and delivered in partnership by the National Lottery Community Fund and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, both of which have extensive experience of helping communities to acquire and develop their assets for over a decade.

Click here for the full press release