Friday, 14 January 2022

Happy New Year – we are looking forward to an exciting 2022.  We hope you are too!  

HAPPY NEW YEAR – HAPPY NEW JOB

The deadline has been extended until 27th January 2022 for the role of Stratherrick and Foyers Fundraising Officer - a new full time employment role for the area.

The role of the Fundraising Officer is to raise funds to ensure the financial stability of the Trust and other organisation in the Stratherrick and Foyers area whose work aligns with outcomes in the Community Action Plan. It is a new and very exciting role and we have a goal to match fund into the area of Stratherrick and Foyers the £4 million we will receive from renewable projects in the next five years. The role is full time but we would consider job share. Details here https://www.stratherrickcommunity.org.uk/contracts-for-work/

COMMUNITY SKILLS AUDIT

Before Christmas we launched the Community Action Plan.  Many of you will have a copy.  You may even have thought ‘I can help with that’.  Well, you can.  We have launched a Skills and Volunteers Survey.  It is an audit to see what skills we have within the Stratherrick and Foyers area – and we know many of you have amazing knowledge and skill who can help.  If you are happy for us or other relevant group to contact you for help, even for just a couple of hours, then let us know via this survey.  We will be in touch if your skills align with help with the Community Action Plan actions and outcomes.  We cannot achieve everything without your help so give it a go and tell us what your skills are here https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/SFCSkillsSurvey

RIVERSIDE FIELD PLANNING, FOYERS BAY SLIPWAY AND FOYERS TOILETS

Once again Sports and Recreational Facilities came high on your list of wants in the Community Action Plan (as they did in 2013).  We are close to making that a reality.  The Masterplan for Riverside Field was due to go to planning in December but has been delayed until February / March. Once agreed we can commit funds and seek further funding and engagement to ensure the needs of the community are met.

The Foyers Bay Slipway Steering Group also met before Christmas with costed re-designs and it is expected that will go to planning shortly too.

The Foyers Toilets Steering Group, being led by the Community Council with support from the Trust, is progressing on a project over a decade in the making!  A redesign of the toilets, in response to initial comments of the original design and rising costs of materials, has been completed and agreed and work is progressing on the new facility.

ERROGIE CHURCH AND THE WILDSIDE CENTRE

Further consultation on Errogie Church is taking place in February as we move closer to initial usage of the build and progress to design and build phase.  The hope is to have the build wind and watertight by the end of the year. 

The Wildside Centre is having a new pathway built around it, to ensure it is steady underfoot and accessible via wheelchairs.  This is in response to feedback from the Spring Fair in 2021.  We are also pleased to say our new Buildings and Facilities Officer Steve Marshall has started and is now up and running in the Wildside.  Finally for Wildside thanks from me to everyone who contributed their time, energy and attended Winter Wonderland just before Christmas and New Year.  Feedback was fabulous and you are all stars!

BOARD MEETINGS AND BROADBAND

The Board met this week for another mammoth three-hour meeting and Directors new and old signed up for new responsibilities for 2022.  We were able to update on our recent Broadband discussions with Cromarty Firth Wireless Network to ensure continuation and expansion of the service, in the context of keeping the community informed of their options during the R100 rollout. Full details of your options can be found in the last magazine that was delivered to your door for the first time (if we have your address) It is clear the Board and members of the community would not have been able to communicate effectively, conduct work or had a lifeline during Covid without this Broadband network, set up by the Trust and CFWN.  Another project by the community for the community.  We hope with the Community Action Plan roll out and your help we can continue to improve the lives of people who live and work in the area.  If you can hell let us know and fill out the Skills survey here https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/SFCSkillsSurvey

Tony Foster

Trust Manager

2025

February (12 stories)

22 February 📣 ** TODAY ** 📣 - Forest School Meeting

Interested in the future of the Forest School building? From 2pm   Come and speak to us about your thoughts for the Forest School and wider opportunities fo...

21 February Congratulations to Whitebridge Hotel

Whitebridge Hotel are finalists in the National Hotels of the Year - Scotland awards!   The ceremony takes place in Glasgow on the 26th February at The Cr...

19 February 📣 Youth Club returns this Thursday 📣

Youth club is for anyone in P7 to S6 ✅ After a bit of a break, we are delighted to say that Youth Club is back!! ⭐ Important info ⭐ Date - Thursday 20th Februa...

19 February Communications 2025!

We are making a some improvements in the way we share important information with the community in 2025. The SFCT Board and communications team have made the dec...

13 February Mailing List Update

We hope you received your copy of the February newsletter and enjoyed reading through it. The team are busy updating our mailing list and we understand that there may ...

12 February Next Sat 22nd February

Next Sat 22nd February   Inverfarigaig Forest School, Farigaig Forestry Carpark IV2 6XR - From 2pm   Come and speak to us about your thoughts fo...

11 February ⚠️ Update regarding the upcoming works taking place at The Wildside Centre ⚠️

We can now confirm that the scheduled works on upgrading the toilet facilities in the Wildside Centre is starting this Thursday – 13th February.   The Wi...

11 February 🙌 JOIN OUR TEAM 🙌

We are currently recruiting a part-time (30 hours per week) Community Action Plan Project Officer to join our small team, based in the Wildside Centre in Whitebridge, on ...

8 February 📢 THE DAY IS FINALLY HERE 📢

Later today the Pathways Group are hosting their Community Engagement event at the Wildside Centre from 13.30pm.   For the past year, the Pathways Group has be...

6 February Errogie Church Statement

As you will be aware, an announcement was made by the Trust in mid December 2024 that we were unfortunately unable to host three events that were due to take place at Err...

6 February Wildside Wednesday Success!

🙌THANK YOU 🙌 We want to say a big thank you to those of you who popped along to our first Wildside Wednesday event yesterday! It was great to see you all 😃  ...

5 February !! WILDSIDE WEDNESDAY - TODAY !!

Join us TODAY at the Wildside Centre, between 9.30am – 12.30pm where the first Wildside Wednesday of 2025 will take place.  You can shop local, with local p...

January (22 stories)

31 January !! Next Saturday !!

On the 8th Feb The Pathways Group host their Community Engagement Day at the Wildside Centre from 13.30pm.   The group have setup a dedicated Facebook event pa...

30 January Refurbishments to toilets in The Wildside Centre

Following many months of work behind the scenes we are pleased to be able to share with you that work on upgrading the ladies toilets and creating a larger disabled toile...

30 January Fancy a sing song with Monadhliath?

The Monadhliath Choir invites all singers to a charity singing event on the 27.04.2025 at Stratherrick Public Hall. If you would be interested in join...

29 January February Newsletter

We are pleased to share that our Feb newsletter should be making its way through your door next week! 🙌   Please look out for the white envelope addressed to ...

25 January Do you use Instagram?

Did you know that Stratherrick & Foyers Community Trust are on Instagram? If you too have an account, why not give our page a follow. We’re keen to build up ...

24 January Foyers Community Fire Station

🚒 Foyers Community Fire Station 🚒   Foyers Community Fire station has a competent crew of 7 personnel, but we are in real need of new recruits, to keep the s...

23 January Wildside Wednesday is returning!

Join us on the 5th February at the Wildside Centre, between 9.30am – 12.30pm.   Here is your chance to shop local, with local produce from Lyne Mhor Crof...

22 January Loch Ness Luvvies - Traditional Burns Supper

This Friday, 24th Jan the Loch Ness Luvvies are hosting their very own Traditional Burns Supper at Stratherrick Hall, Gorthleck at 7.30pm. Tickets are £20 per he...

22 January Timings have been announced!

As you may have recently seen, The Pathways Group are running a Community Engagement event on the 8th February from 1pm at The Wildside Centre. In our previous post, t...

21 January ** Mobile Library Update **

Mark, our local librarian has kindly sent over a full list of dates when he will be stopping in the area. You can find the full list here: https://www.stratherrickcommuni...

20 January Invitation to tender - Health & Safety Consultant required

We are looking for an experienced Health & Safety professional to carry out a comprehensive survey on Errogie Church to ensure that the building is fully compliant fo...

19 January Send in your dates for the Community Calendar!

Did you know we have an online Community Calendar? If not, you can find it here: https://www.stratherrickcommunity.org.uk/calendar/   We would love to inclu...

18 January What's the next step?

For the past year, the Pathways Group has been working hard to promote the local path network, paths that lead through rich landscapes, historical sites, and biodiversity...

15 January Community Engagement Day - 8th Feb

Over the last month you may have noticed that the Pathways Group are holding a Community Engagement Day on the 8th February. You can find out all about the event by follo...

14 January Mobile Library Update

Below you will find a list of updated Dates/Times where you can visit the Mobile Library at The Wildside Centre.   We will add these dates to the Online Commu...

14 January Indoor Carpet Bowls makes it return as of today!

** TODAY ** Indoor Carpet Bowls makes it return as of today! The group return to their weekly session after the Xmas break. Please note: The group will now ...

10 January Community Engagement Event - 8th Feb

The Pathways Group invites you to a community event that explores the potential development of a pathways based app. This is your opportunity to help shape an app which w...

9 January Deadline for Jan/Feb Newsletter Content!

The deadline to send in any content for the Jan/Feb Newsletter is Friday the 17th of January 2025. Please email marketingofficer@sfctrust.org.uk with your articles inclu...

9 January Send us in your photos from the Winter Festival

A HUGE thank you to those of you who have already uploaded photos to our shared community photo gallery during the festival.   If you have any wintery snaps th...

8 January Reverse Advent Calendar Success!

Santa's little helpers would like to thank everyone who contributed in any way to the overwhelming success of this project. The generosity shown by our community was ...

8 January ** MOBILE LIBRARY VISIT TODAY CANCELLED **

Sadly, due to the current road conditions, Mark who drives the local ‘Mobile Library’ will NOT be stopping at Wildside today. All books will be renewed, and h...

7 January Welcome Back

Hello, we hope you had a relaxing time during the festivities. As it’s now time to get back to work, we thought it would be a good idea to update our online communi...