Friday, 04 June 2021

FIVE THINGS FOR A FRIDAY

MORE JOBS TO BE ANNOUNCED

This week at the Trust Board we agreed to employ a Finance Officer.  This will help raise our capacity to meet the future demands on the organisation when supporting the community / community groups and ease the pressure on our volunteer led base.  Please keep your eye out for the advert soon!

MONEY, MONEY, MONEY

We have to report to the funders (if from windfarm, hydro benefit or grants) to make sure the available funds being distributed are going to the project outcomes they are designated for.  This takes considerable thought by volunteers tasked with agreeing to grants at the moment.  As we get closer to the development of the Community Action Plan it will become clear that funds and resources will then be directed to the outcomes determined by the community.  The Trust are developing how community members and community groups can report back on funds allocated in a more effective way so we can all assess and celebrate impact.  Some of this will drip feed into funds being allocated now, so please do not be surprised if asked.

COMMUNITY ACTION GROUPS ROUND 2

The Action Groups start up again next week.  Get all the latest news, catch up, roll up your sleeves and have your say – details here Stratherrick Updates | Future Ideas (communityfuture.net)

DOWN BY THE RIVERSIDE

Each meeting we discuss a specific project and this month it happened about Riverside which has been a hot topic of late, on and off social media!  A few points from the Board Meeting.

• We believe the Community Council have asked for an extension to the planning consultation period and the Board fully support that to allow time for the activity below.
• Although there has been considerable consultation over several years the ebb and flow of community life does change.  The Board agreed to a survey to capture fully ‘here and now’ and will circulate this across the community over a two-week period from next week (we will capture the comments from those nearest to the field / immediate area too)
• We are establishing a Steering Group to take the project forward if planning is granted.  Some nearby residents are already on that.  If you or your community group have an interest in this project, we urge you to now make it known – press the ‘Get Involved’ button at this link now! Riverside Field | Stratherrick & Foyers Community Trust (stratherrickcommunity.org.uk)
• We think it is important that people engage with planning if they have a positive or negative view.  We do anticipate the Steering Group will have to work through any conditions relevant to the site (The Planning Application was due to go in late 2020 but had been delayed due to the requirement for a Roads Report).  Before commenting do read the Design Statement in Documents as that tells the story of how the community got to this point.  Make your views known to the Council here 21/02331/FUL | Community amenity development (masterplan), MUGA, sports/play areas, car park, community hall, gym | Land 100M NW Of Linden Grays Park Foyers (highland.gov.uk)
• We clarified to all members of the Trust Board how the funds to purchase the field were acquired and what their responsibilities may be moving forward.  The Field was bought by a grant to develop community facilities.  If community facilities are not developed the land will have to be sold and money returned.  This, of course, will be a last resort.

I was in touch with some of the residents who expressed an interest to be on the steering group and their thoughts helped guide the Trust view above.

The next Steering Group meeting will probably be after the Community Action Plan Action Groups have been completed at the end of June.

DON’T BE SCARED!

The lovely thing about my role is you get to see both sides of a story.  The Riverside Field Project has views, some strong, on both sides of the debate.  Some on social media.  Some in community get togethers.  Some in formal meetings.  Some just a chat over a coffee.  Even the Trust Board have different views on any plan.  I would not expect anything else.  Some people have a middle ground – they like one aspect of the plan, but not another and cannot decide if the thing that concerns them is the dealbreaker.  That is fine too. 

Some of you will have experienced many changes over the years – no matter what house you live or shop you go to or facility you use or wind turbine that revolves around and around someone may have objected to it being there.  

I hope both the planning process (which tends to be very unemotive and deals in facts, policy and professional advice) and the work from the community steering group will come to a consensus.  What is important is that you do not feel scared, worried or bullied into your view from anyone – and I include the vehicle that is the ‘Trust’ in that.  So, apologies from me if you feel that now or things seem to be moving too fast on any project.   Change is scary but I encourage you to make your views known through recognised channels and hopefully we will get the balance right.

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 📣

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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...