Bute Community Land Company » admin http://www.buteforest.com Tue, 24 Aug 2010 08:57:02 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 Project Manager Wanted http://www.buteforest.com/project-manager-wanted/ http://www.buteforest.com/project-manager-wanted/#comments Sun, 15 Aug 2010 20:19:09 +0000 admin http://www.buteforest.com/?p=572 On 23rd July 2010, Bute Community Land Company (BCLC) completed the acquisition of 161 hectares of forestry land within Rhubodach Forest on behalf of the community of Bute. This completed a journey which began in August 2009 when the land was placed on the market by its owners Lord and Lady Attenborough. Over the intervening period BCLC successfully galvanised the local community culminating in a huge vote of support in the largest community ballot at that time – 2739 people voted and 2557 of them voted yes!

Having successfully acquired the forest we are now looking to recruit a Forest Project Manager to take the development of Rhubodach Forest forward and deliver on the aspirations of the community.

Interviews of shortlisted candidates will be held in Rothesay on Friday 17th September 2010.

All the necessary information and the application form is contained in the PDF file downloads listed below.
Letter to applicants for Forest Project Manager
Forest Project Manager job description
Forest Project Manager Person Specification
Forest Project Manager application form
Forest Project Manager Job Details

]]> http://www.buteforest.com/project-manager-wanted/feed/ 1 The Story of Brandish Bute! http://www.buteforest.com/the-story-of-brandish-bute/ http://www.buteforest.com/the-story-of-brandish-bute/#comments Wed, 28 Jul 2010 17:52:06 +0000 admin http://www.buteforest.com/?p=255 clarenwork.6JPG

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. 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. 

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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!

]]> http://www.buteforest.com/the-story-of-brandish-bute/feed/ 0 The Scottish Government Backs the Buyout http://www.buteforest.com/the-scottish-government-backs-the-buyout/ http://www.buteforest.com/the-scottish-government-backs-the-buyout/#comments Wed, 31 Mar 2010 19:30:37 +0000 admin http://www.buteforest.com/?p=379 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.

RoseannaCunningham

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.

]]> http://www.buteforest.com/the-scottish-government-backs-the-buyout/feed/ 0 The Next Steps Event http://www.buteforest.com/the-next-steps-event/ http://www.buteforest.com/the-next-steps-event/#comments Tue, 23 Mar 2010 00:00:42 +0000 admin http://www.buteforest.com/?p=319 NextSteps1Over 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

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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.
After the presentations the public were invited for refreshments  (lovely home made cakes!) and to browse the displays which  BCLC had compiled with information about the forest and ideas for projects within the forest.
 

The Electric Van
electric vanOne 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.

Now I always associate electric vehicles with tiny odd looking vehicles or expensive sporty coupes. This is a full size work van (minibuses are available too) with a 100 mile range, top speed of about 65mph and a battery charging time of about 6-8hrs. It was amazingly quiet and shows just how far battery technology has come in the last few years. Take a look at the website of the vans suppliers

 

]]> http://www.buteforest.com/the-next-steps-event/feed/ 1 Bute Forest – The Next Steps http://www.buteforest.com/bute-forest-the-next-steps/ http://www.buteforest.com/bute-forest-the-next-steps/#comments Sun, 07 Mar 2010 16:08:05 +0000 admin http://www.buteforest.com/?p=307 Sunday 21st March
Rothesay Joint Campus
An Open Day
2.30pm
We had a couple of very interesting guest
speakers from :
The Community Woodlands AssociationEstablished in 2003 as the direct representative body of Scotland’s community woodland groups. We help community woodland groups across the country achieve their aspirations and potential, providing advice, assistance and information, facilitating networking and training, and representing and promoting community woodlands to the wider world.
Read more about community woodlands and the background to CWA

And:
Abriachan Forest Trust

Abriachan is a scattered rural community of about 140 people set high above the shores of Loch Ness in the Highlands of Scotland. There are still some active crofts but the majority of inhabitants are employed in Inverness and beyond. The local school closed in 1952 so Abriachan’s children now attend Dochgarroch Primary and Charleston Academy.

In 1998 the community purchased 534 hectares of forest and open hill ground from Forest Enterprise. Since then, as a social enterprise, the Abriachan Forest Trust has managed this land to create local employment, improve the environment and encourage it’s enjoyment by the public through a network of spectacular paths, family suited mountain bike trails and innovative education opportunities.
Visit the Abriachan Website

]]> http://www.buteforest.com/bute-forest-the-next-steps/feed/ 0 An interview with John McGhee – Chairman of BCLC http://www.buteforest.com/an-interview-with-john-mcghee-chairman-of-bclc/ http://www.buteforest.com/an-interview-with-john-mcghee-chairman-of-bclc/#comments Thu, 18 Feb 2010 12:58:02 +0000 admin http://www.buteforest.com/?p=303 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

]]> http://www.buteforest.com/an-interview-with-john-mcghee-chairman-of-bclc/feed/ 2 The Result of the Community Ballot http://www.buteforest.com/the-result-of-the-community-ballot/ http://www.buteforest.com/the-result-of-the-community-ballot/#comments Fri, 12 Feb 2010 13:23:02 +0000 admin http://www.buteforest.com/?p=285 ballotbox_415x275After 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

]]> http://www.buteforest.com/the-result-of-the-community-ballot/feed/ 2 STV covers our project with a very positive piece http://www.buteforest.com/stv-covers-our-project-with-a-very-positive-piece/ http://www.buteforest.com/stv-covers-our-project-with-a-very-positive-piece/#comments Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:56:05 +0000 admin http://www.buteforest.com/?p=279 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/

]]> http://www.buteforest.com/stv-covers-our-project-with-a-very-positive-piece/feed/ 3 Forest Buyout Features Prominently on the BBC http://www.buteforest.com/forest-buyout-features-prominently-on-the-bbc/ http://www.buteforest.com/forest-buyout-features-prominently-on-the-bbc/#comments Mon, 08 Feb 2010 09:40:28 +0000 admin http://www.buteforest.com/?p=268 BBC web thumbWe 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

]]> http://www.buteforest.com/forest-buyout-features-prominently-on-the-bbc/feed/ 1 Out & About with Sammy the Squirrel http://www.buteforest.com/out-about-with-sammy-the-squirrel/ http://www.buteforest.com/out-about-with-sammy-the-squirrel/#comments Sun, 07 Feb 2010 02:49:59 +0000 admin http://www.buteforest.com/?p=260 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.

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