Listed buildings and community trusts among groups in receipt of funding

Charities and community groups across Scotland will share in more than £1.5 million from the Scottish Land Fund. 

A Grade-B Listed, five-storey former sugar refinery in Greenock is to become a technical and creative community hub, with a focus on STEAM skills (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) and community learning following a grant of £197,200. 

The money, which has been awarded to Creative Regeneration, will be used to purchase the building and adjacent land, known as The Glebe, to provide flexible accommodation, community spaces, office space, and creative and technical workshops to be delivered by business, third sector, and community partners. 

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. 

Cara Gillespie, Scottish Land Fund Committee chair, said: “The Scottish Land Fund Committee is delighted to fund diverse groups in both urban and rural environments to take ownership of key community assets, in order to provide the services that they have identified as being essential in their local areas.” 

Bruce Newlands, Co-founder, Creative Regeneration, added: “Creative regeneration are delighted to receive support from the Scottish Land Fund for the acquisition of what promises to be a transformational project for Inverclyde. 

“Not only will the project save the last remnant of the sugar refining industry in Greenock, providing interpretative background on the social history of the sugar industry over the last 200 years, but it will help create a world class community learning facility focused on a STEAM makerspace to encourage and support young innovators, a digital production space for the internationally recognised theatre group Vanishing Point, Retrofit Hub and a National Stained Glass School." 

The grant is one of 15 totaling £1,563,608 for community asset projects across Scotland. 

Other projects funded include Rannoch Community Trust Limited, which has received £160,411 to acquire a development plot in the village of Kinloch Rannoch from a private seller in order to build twelve community-led affordable homes for rent, and Milton Food Hub and Community Garden in Glasgow, which has been awarded £157,635 to purchase its current base, St Andrew’s Methodist Church, Milton, from where it will continue to bring people together and deliver local services, including a people’s fridge, a community cafe and space for groups and activities. 

Danielle Blair, trustee at Rannoch Community Trust, said: "We are delighted that our application to the Scottish Land Fund has been successful - it marks a significant milestone in what has been a long journey to provide more, much needed affordable housing for the community of Rannoch. 

“Although we still have some way to go, the fact that we have secured the funds to acquire the site for 12 community owned affordable homes gives us real confidence that this project can and will be delivered." 

Rachel McMahon, treasurer of Milton Food Hub, said: "We are delighted to have received this grant award from the Scottish Land Fund. In Milton, we’ve long understood the value of coming together as a community.“It’s this sense of togetherness that makes our area unique.  Community ownership of the Milton Food Hub is a chance to put the power back in the hands of the people who live here. The grant helps us to achieve this vision."