The Story of Brandish Bute!
working to open
After the furious activity by Members to secure the Forest buy out, the demanding yet enjoyable work of generating various projects around the Forest begins. Brandish Bute is one such beginning.
Sara Goss explains that the ideas behind Brandish Bute arose organically from the activities generated by the hard work and inspiration in buying the Forest. It is well known that this is not just about buying a piece of land but about enabling the regeneration of aspects of Bute in working towards revitalising areas of the local economy. This will enable the sustaining of local businesses and the development of community projects such as the planned summer activities with Achievement Bute. The idea of Brandish Bute came about to connect with local identities – Brandanes, Branding Bute, Brandishing with pride to show all that is available and to be achieved.
behind the scenes
Claire Murray has recently returned to Bute and was inspired by the Forest project. Claire is employed as shop manager and will take charge of the day-to-day running of Brandish Bute. Having worked in retail management in Glasgow Claire aims to use her skills in this new venture and she says it has been her lifelong wish to manage and develop a shop like Brandish Bute. Claire is hoping to have a rota of volunteers to help in the shop and if you would like to help out please do pop in to Brandish Bute and meet Claire.
The shop sells locally-produced design pieces and crafts as well as foodstuffs. In this way, by acting as a conduit for showcasing local products and as an information point to find out more about Bute producers, Brandish Bute will encourage people to try out a variety of Bute products. Encouraging a wide variety of brands, some well-known and others less so, is how Brandish Bute aims to continue to ‘brandish bute’ products to a wider public. It is an exciting time ahead for Brandish Bute, the forest projects and BCLC – we hope that everyone will help, to support and brandish the best of Bute!
The Scottish Government Backs the Buyout
The Scottish Government has given its approval the our plans to buy the forest.
This press release from the Environment Minister Roseanna Cunninghams office says it all.
Ms Cunningham said:
“This is an exciting opportunity for the Island of Bute and a huge success story for the community land company which has managed the biggest ballot held under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act so far. The plans in place should act as a catalyst for economic and community regeneration on the island, enhance the visitor attraction, create a significant number of new jobs and generate opportunities for future generations to live and work there.
Peter McDonald, a Director of BCLC, said,
“This buy out is an important opportunity for the community of Bute and in times of financial downturn it represents a real chance to transform the economic prospects of the island. We appreciate the support of the Scottish Government in this process and we are working extremely hard with various funding agencies to secure the necessary acquisition price by the due date. We are confident that we will succeed.”
Other developments to be encouraged include education and outreach projects, health improvement programmes, outdoor activities – such as bike hire, a horse riding centre, artist workshops, provisions for youth groups and shuttle transport to Rothesay.
The Next Steps Event
Over 90 members of the community turned out to the Next Steps event at Rothesay Joint Campus on Sunday. The event was organised by BCLC to keep the community informed as we journey towards the purchase of the forest and beyond. With 2 guest speakers, various display boards with information about the forest and representatives from Towards Zero Carbon Bute , we hope that we were able to provide enough information to satisfy the curiosity of the attendees.
Paul Cookson from the Community Woodlands Association was very excited about the possibilities that Rhubodach Forest provides for Bute. The CWA exists to assist the owners of community woodlands who wish to create sustainable projects, educational activities and employment opportunities through modern, active forest management. Needless to say BCLC have already become members of the CWA and we’ll be calling on them throughout the process.
Our second speaker Suzann Barr introduced us to Abriachan Forest Trust and the journey they have undertaken since purchasing it in 1998. Abriachan have achieved an immense amount with their forest – we can too. Visit their website to see more of Abriachan
The final 2 speakers were BCLC Director Andy Walters who explained about the importance of the feedback from the Community Consultation day in January and how it was fed back into the feasibility study, and BCLC chairman John McGhee, who outlined the brief history of BCLC and it’s legal framework. He went on to explain how BCLC will take this project forward, including the announcement that we are opening a shop in Rothesay to use as our point of contact with the community.
The Electric Van
One of our ideas for the forest project is that we keep the car parking space at the visitor centre/forest hub to a minimum to encourage visitors to leave their cars at home or at their B & B. This will reduce the developmental impact on the woodland as well. Our solution to reduced car parking is to introduce an Eco Bus link between Rothesay and the forest, so we invited a transport consultant, Richard Armitage (http://www.ratransport.co.uk/) to our event and he brought along an amazingly quiet ‘Ford Transit’ sized Peugeot fully electic van.
An interview with John McGhee – Chairman of BCLC
In the aftermath of the stunning landslide YES vote from the community of Bute, there is an interview with John McGhee in this weeks Buteman newspaper. There is a more in depth version of the interview available to read on line at the Buteman website. Follow this link http://www.buteman.co.uk/news/Forest-39not-the-end-of.6081680.jp
The Result of the Community Ballot
After almost 3 weeks of tension as the community of Bute voted in what has been the biggest community ballot of it’s kind in Scotland the votes have been counted and the result is in.
VOTES CAST - 2739
That’s a 52.5% turnout
YES votes - 2557
NO votes - 177
Spoiled Paper - 5
That’s an overwhelming YES from the people of Bute.
Thank you and now let’s get on and get this project off the ground for real.
PRIZE DRAW
Congratulations to the winner of the ballot prize draw.
Hester Edgar of Bishop St, Rothesay
STV covers our project with a very positive piece
A very positive STV broadcast can be seen again on the STV website at http://news.stv.tv/video/glasgow-west/stv-news-local-west-20100208/
Forest Buyout Features Prominently on the BBC
We have had great coverage this morning on the BBC. Interviews and pieces on both BBC Scotland TV and BBC Radio Scotland plus top billing on the Scotland page of the BBC website. CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
Out & About with Sammy the Squirrel
We had a great weekend with our tame forest friend Sammy. It’s always good to get out into the constituency and do a bit of meet and greet – and some of the kids were greeting. There’s a positive buzz around the town – nothing like a bright orange 6ft squirrel to brighten up a cold February day.
Scottish Forestry Report
This is an interesting report from UPM Tillhill, one of the UK’s biggest forestry management companies. Forestry is a sound investment and the forecast is for a growth in demand for bio energy. This will create a market for timber and the price will rise.
Download the report here
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- The people of Bute have bought a section of Rhubodach Forest at the north end of the island from the director and actor Lord Attenborough
- Now the hard work begins. We have to get a firm YES from the community. Ballot voting cards will appear on your doorsteps next week.
- Our Consultation Day on Sunday was fantastic. We had a great response from the community - a huge buzz of positive feedback!
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