Dunvegan Community Trust seeks “ambitious and bold” local views

Dunvegan Community Trust is running its first online conversation to find out how residents feel about their community and what they think could be improved in the village and surrounding area.

“As a trust, we are elected to work on behalf of our community to support and encourage local initiatives,” said DCT Chair Jason Bold.

“In the last couple of months, we have revamped the website with a link to membership forms, set up a Facebook and Twitter account, compiled and distributed 300 newsletters to every household, and opened a two-week community conversation with the local community.

“Obviously COVID has curtailed our plans, but we are holding a socially distanced drop-in community event in the village hall on 26th September from 11 am – 3 pm. 

“The event ‘Dunvegan: Past, Present, and Future’ will be a walkaround, beginning with a look at archive photo memories of the area. It will also offer a chance to contribute thoughts on two recent development opportunities. 

He added: “One is to connect with a new cycle path project linking Edinbane and Dunvegan. The second is the opportunity for the community to be involved in securing Orbost Forest as a community asset, of which the Trust has initially registered an interest.”

Dunvegan Community Trust manages a fund on behalf of Falck Renewables and has distributed over a quarter million pounds since the fund was established in 2009, following the opening of Ben Aketil windfarm. 

The majority of funding is granted to local constituted groups that operate in the Dunvegan area.

Vice-chair Carole Inglis said: “We hope that as many as feel safe to do so will come along and chat to us. The event will be an opportunity for us to share the results of the survey, so please visit our website or Facebook page and have your say. 

“We would like to hear from individuals, community groups, and businesses about the here and now, but also to imagine how our community might look in ten years’ time. So be ambitious, be bold, be brave!”

The survey is open until Monday 14th September and can be accessed by visiting: at https://tinyurl.com/DunveganCommunityTrust

For information, you can visit the Dunvegan Community Trust Facebook page by clicking here and the website by clicking here.