June 05, 2005
Assynt Foundation buy estates
The Assynt Foundation have finally bought the Glencanisp and Drumrunie Estates in Sutherland and Wester Ross.
The area, amounting to 44,000-acre, includes spectacular wilderness and mountain scenery as well as some agricultural land.
The chairman of the foundation, Alistair MacAskill said:
” … we are determined to manage the land for the benefit of the local community and the wider public. That means we will be changing the way the land is run - it will no longer just be a private sporting estate. Instead, we will be working to achieve not only economic but also environmental sustainability, and creating jobs and new opportunities for local people through good stewardship.”
My own preference would have been for national ownership of the wilderness area, i.e. a national park, but it will be interesting to see how the foundation manages its new responsibilities.
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4605233.stm
UPDATE 6 June 2005
News follows today that the local community in the Western Isles will try to buy the 93,000 acre South Uist estate.
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4615851.stm
Posted by Simon Holledge at 12:42 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
March 19, 2005
Assynt Foundation bidding for estate
The Assynt Foundation have been given permission to try to raise 2.9 million pounds to buy the 40,000 acre Assynt Estate in Sutherland.
The foundation is open to everyone on the electoral roll in Assynt, Drumrunie and Inverpolly) and the estate is mostly wild, uninhabited land, including Glen Canisp and the Suilven and Canisp mountains. It’s an extraordinarily beautiful area.
The project is interesting because it would involve local people in natural heritage protection, however it’s a moot question whether the wild land would not be better protected by a national park, with the community taking over the ‘economic’ land that can be used for crofting, housing etc.
Allan MacRae, chairman of the Assynt Crofters Trust in Lochinver, is saying that conservation organisations like the John Muir Trust should not be partners in the project, as this would restrict agricultural development, so there may well be tensions in the future between the foundation and natural heritage bodies.
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/4362593.stm
www.lochinver.bordernet.co.uk/organisations/5.html
www.bratach.co.uk/bratach/archive/Feb05/feb05_assynt-foundation.html