Two windfalls for the strath to help Grantown and the 'feisty little five'
Badenoch and Strathspey has landed two separate windfalls aimed at helping the Strathspey capital and saving some of the 'feisty little five'.
The Grantown Society has received £118,663 from the Scottish Land Fund to enable them to buy the former SSE Hydro building on the town's High Street and turn it into a multi-use resource hub and visitor centre.
And the Royal Zoological Society Scotland has been awarded £201,907 to help restore five highly threatened invertebrates – with most of them calling the strath home.
The Grantown award is one of 11 made during the latest round of SLF which comes during an extended Community Land Week running until October 29.
Society chairman Bill Sadler said: “Grantown’s No 2 High Street – most latterly the SSE Hydro Shop – has lain empty for over seven years now.
"It was once a thriving grocer’s shop situated on what became known as Rimmington’s Corner and a favourite meeting place for locals.
"Now, with thanks to the SLF, we are bringing it back to life as a warm and welcoming community resource hub with rentable 'pop-up' retail space, community information, an ATM and gigabit wifi with available desk space.”
Mr Sadler added: "The general opinion is that anything that fills up an empty space on the High Street is of value – and we are doing just that."
The windfall is a timely birthday gift for the Grantown Society too.
Mr Sadler explained: "The society is almost 50 years old and since its inception one way or another it has been looking at premises for storing its records...
"There has always been this need for a proper home instead of using various people's cupboards and this particular project started when the RBS (building) was on the market.
"We looked at that and thought what a shame to see it sitting empty and how we could make wonderful use of it but not soon after the opportunity had been and gone. However, we have pursed the idea.
"This funding gives us the money to buy the ex-Hydro Shop, carry out the conveyancing, do some basic repairs and to appoint a part-time development officer."
He said the aim of the project is three–fold:
• provide better public IT facilities,
• deliver more local information; and
• enhance local shops and businesses.
The new premises will become a hub for local broadband supplier StrathspeyNow with managed public wifi and hot desking.
As for providing community information, Mr Sadler said: "There is nowhere – like many other places – where people can find out what is happening; where can you go for this; where can you go for that rather than this information being scattered all around.
"Some of this is on Facebook but of course not everyone is online."
There will be space rented for pop-up shops and stands. Mr Sadler explained: "There will be all sorts of opportunities for different group which are not big enough to run a shop or unable to afford the rent or only want to sell items now and again."
The outward facing ATM, subject to planning, will be free to use.
Mr Sadler observed:"Getting cash can be tough at times in Grantown – just like wifi we can run out of both."
There is no date for the new community hub opening yet but he said: "We hope the conveyancing and the planning will not take very long."
"We have to carry out some refurbishments and we will be looking for further funds as this award will get us into the building basically with bare walls and we need to turn this into a fully fledged business."
Ewan MacGregor, who was chairman of Grantown's former community council, said: "I am delighted Grantown is getting a community hub, something which will be of great use and benefit for all the community.
"The range of services it is going to be offering will be invaluable to locals and people visiting the town."
Linda Coe, another ex-chair of the watchdog who has also been involved in the project, said: "This is such good news for Grantown.
"The community will undoubtedly benefit from empty premises in a prominent location finally being given a new lease of life.
"Not only will the society create a valuable resource but it will also finally have somewhere to bring together its historical records and make them more accessible."
The Grantown Society will be sharing more details on its plans for the former Hydro Shop at its talk this evening (Friday) starting at 7.30pm at the Grant Arms Hotel which will also focus on 50 years of the group.
The latest SLF funding is worth £1,968,921 with 11 projects benefitting.
Mairi Gougeon, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, said: “Many people and community organisations know exactly what their local areas need but may lack the funding to make their visions a reality.
“This is why the SLF is so important. It allows community groups to realise their goals and unlock the full power of community actions."
Cara Gillespie, SLF committee chair said: “The groups receiving funding have all clearly identified opportunities to help their locality to thrive.
"By establishing new or securing existing shops, work spaces, social hubs and leisure facilities they are helping their communities become more cohesive and sustainable places to live.”
The SLF reopened to applications in 2021 and is funded by the Scottish Government and delivered by the National Lottery Community Fund and HIE.
The little feisty five...
The ‘small guys’ will be getting a little help in the strath.
Projects across Scotland that save threatened species, restore flower meadows and reduce flooding have been awarded a share of £4 million.
The RZZS will use the £201,907 to help locally the rare pine hoverfly, the dark bordered beauty moth and small scabious mining bee as well as the medicinal leech and pond mud snail found elsewhere in Scotland.
Dr Helen Taylor, the RZSS’ conservation programme manager, told the Strathy: “Our wildlife conservation charity has pledged to reverse the decline of 50 species by 2030, and it’s great to see the importance of species conservation work being recognised by funders.
“In tandem with ecosystem and genetic conservation, species form one of the three pillars of the internationally agreed Convention on Biodiversity (CBD).
“We are proud to support the goals of the CBD alongside our conservation partners and especially proud to do so for often overlooked, but extremely important species like invertebrates.
“From small scabious mining bees in the Cairngorms to pond mud snails in the Pentlands, RZSS is standing up for the little guys.”
On the RZSS award, a Helping Nature fund spokesperson said: “The recovery of these highly range-restricted species will drive the restoration of connected, healthy habitats and inspire the next generation of conservationists through meaningful, paid work placements.”
Managed by NatureScot, the Helping Nature fund is an element of the Scottish Government’s flagship £65 million Nature Restoration Fund.
The fund supports practical nature restoration projects with grants of between £25,000 and £250,000.
In this latest round of awards, 27 projects across Scotland have been offered awards totalling £4.1 million.