Welcome to the “The Field “ newsletter no 8. We’ve all been very busy over the last month, as you will see. So apologies that this newsletter is a few days late.
Date for Your Diary
We are planning to hold a Community Engagement meeting on the afternoon of Sunday 27th October 2024. This will be an opportunity for everyone to get up to speed on where we are with the Project, ask questions and or offer suggestions on moving forward with the Project.
Expect an email on this in the near future. Please alert friends, neighbours and anyone else interested to come, too.
Fun(d) Raising Events
September saw three big events locally all of which saw lots of support and all of which raised large sums for The Field’s fund.
First, we had the Kinlochyard Sale in the village hall – excellently put together and managed by Rebecca Rowthorn. Lots of stalls with fascinating things to buy along with tea and cakes (including Joyce’s now legendary meringues). And visitors did buy with the sale raising £954.81
Then there was Janine’s expertly organised bat presentation and evening walk. Fortunately, the weather was good enough for all to have a good stroll through the village, using bat detectors to see where the bats really were. Fantastically, the bat evening raised £648.31
Closely following, was Bee’s cream tea and open garden. After a very wet August it really was good to see the sun on that afternoon and many people enjoyed walking through Bee’s Garden and enjoying tea and cake. We all also admired the paintings from the art group and played hunt the fairies and guess the weight of the turnip. £725.70 was raised for The Field that afternoon.
A big thank you to all who organised these three events and to all who attended and supported them.
Raised so Far
As a result of all of our efforts and all the support we have received, so far this year we have raised £5328.82 – a massive achievement. Many thanks to the community residents and the Funding Working Group who have organised much of this.
Asking for More
Raising Capital Funds for Purchasing the Field
We are however entering the most crucial and challenging part of The Project namely raising sufficient funds to purchase The Field. The market cost of The Field is £245,000 and while we are applying for grant funding we will also need to raise a significant sum directly to ‘bridge the gap’ between what grant funding is likely to produce.
A Stage 2 funding application has been submitted to the Scottish Land Fund to seek capital funds for the purchase of The Field. Unfortunately this organisation has had its budget cut by 50% this financial year. Our SLF Advisor has indicated that the reality of this cut means that only 50% of Projects applying will be successful.
As mitigation against this we are also planning to submit an application to the National Heritage Lottery fund in the next couple of weeks to seek match funding should our application to SLF fall short of what we had hoped for and to seek capital funding for some of the development plans we have for The Field.
The plan is to submit to the Heritage fund before the SLF panel meet in November to consider our application. Applying for match funding is expected to improve our chances of success with both organisations.
In addition, we will be carrying out a crowdfunding exercise to complement the ongoing appeal to our residents and supporting authorities for pledges to bridge any gaps in funding.
This is aimed at providing further confidence to the public funding bodies of the widespread community support for our Project. Pledges we receive before mid-October will play a part in helping to persuade the public bodies to invest in us.
Welcome
We’re really pleased to welcome Hilary Soanes who has started working for KCRA as Business Support Assistant on a temporary contract funded by a grant from Forth Valley and Lomond Community Led Local Development Fund.
Hilary started her working life in banking, following her graduation from Leeds University. But in 2004 she moved to Scotland to open a B&B close to RSPB Gartocharn – a true life escape to the country. In 2022 she moved to Drymen and volunteered with the Drymen Community Development Trust as Treasurer and Director. She loves all things outdoors including cycling, hiking, running, skiing, travel and adventure.
I’m sure we’ll all find Hilary a great person to work with and she’ll become an invaluable part of our activities.
This newsletter has been put together by Nick Lester-Davis, Bernard Love, Joyce Kelly and Andy Manders with additional help from Fiona McNeill.
The Field Newsletter: Edition 7
Welcome to the “The Field “ newsletter no 7. We hope you had a good summer – even though the weather has not been brilliant. We’ve been busy too.
Fun(d) Raising Events September
We have several events lined up for September aimed at providing fun but also to raise money for The Field Project. Dates for your diary:
Sunday September 1st 11am – 4pm Kinlochyard Sale/Cake and Cuppa/Car Wash
The Kinlochyard sale has been relocated to the Kinlochard Village Hall and car park. All sales will now be centralised inside the hall and in the car park.
All sorts of things will be on sale and it will be an opportunity for you to grab a bargain and raise money for The Field Project at the same time.
There will also be an opportunity to get your car washed, grab a cuppa and cake and take your chances on the Tombola stall.
We are still looking for volunteers to donate baked goods (shop bought or homemade). Please get in touch with Joyce Kelly at kelly10kelly@btinternet.com if you are able to contribute.
Some of our small Kinlochardians may be knocking your door seeking donations for the Tombola stall. Anything no matter how small will be welcome.
Don’t miss our future events
Kinlochyard Sale: 1st September
Bat Walk: 13th September
Open Garden and Cream Tea: 15th September
If you’ve ever wondered about the bats we have living amongst us, doing the all-important job of midge-munching, then you might be interested in our BAT TALK, WALK and generally batty fundraising night!
Bev Clarke, a local member of Kinlochard Eco Working Group and Loch Lomond Bat Group will be delivering an absolutely fantastic talk and walk on Friday the 13th of September in the village hall from 7pm to 9pm/10pm.
Her last talk had people bursting to get in! She always adds a new fact to each and every talk – you’ll learn what it sounds like when a bat is feeding rather than navigating (feeding sounds a bit like blowing a raspberry!) and much more!
The walk, which follows the talk, is low key, up and down the road near the village hall. Bring a head torch if you like, and reasonable footwear for the dark.
We are making it a batty night – with a raffle, some batty goods for sale and some snacks and refreshments. And a prize for a little pop quiz at the end!
Itinerary as follows:
Book for event!
Report 10-15 minutes before event – chill, buy a raffle ticket if you wish, and peruse the batty stuff for sale!
Talk starts 7pm sharp, while we wait for the bats to emerge at sunset.
A quick pop quiz about bats based on the talk and prize.
Half an hour after sunset we head out for a wee walk with bat echolocation devices which will tell us the type of bats we have around us.
Back to the hall for chilling, refreshments, questions and the raffle draw!
If you don’t love bats by the end, we will refund your money! (Just kidding!) But we do promise a really fun and informative evening.
Finally, if you can’t attend, and want to contribute, please consider buying a raffle ticket for £3. We are raffling an informal bat survey of your home (if you think you have a roost, Janine, (who does dusk bat surveys) will come out and do an investigation to reveal what bats you might have). There will also be a general raffle of goodies for £3.
This is a fundraising event for ‘The Field’ on behalf of the Kinlochard Community Residents Association Ltd. so tickets are £10 per adult / £5 per child (e.g. if they go to school). You can book / pay by contacting Janine at finlayjanine@gmail.com. Any questions you can call Janine on 07957476397.
Booking is essential. One – for health and safety so we know how many we’ll have out for a walk. Two – so we can contact you if there is a torrential storm and we have to postpone (bats do not like wet weather).
Sunday September 15th 1.30pm – 4.30pm Open Garden and Cream Tea
Bee has kindly offered to open up her garden at Ardmore for an afternoon of pleasure – visit her lovely garden and enjoy a Cream Tea at the same time.
Plenty of shelter is available if the weather is iffy so nothing should get in the way of an enjoyable and sociable afternoon.
Tickets are £5 and can be purchased from Joyce, Fiona or Bee. Just get in touch with one of us if you are interested and we will make sure we save you a ticket. Tickets allocated on a first come basis.
The Name of “The Field”?
Two things. And three questions.
Summer did exist, once, long, long ago.
Back then folk were too busy with joy to be spending hours gawking at a screen – however the world moves on and aye throws up something for dark days, whatever the season
Dalchon 1976
Do you know where this photo was taken? Are you in it? Do you recognise who is?
The links below are to the photo on the Kinlochard Village Hall site, and to the National Library of Scotland maps section.
The other question is: was the area adjacent to the Chon that includes both The Field and the previously grazing land between the road and the loch, known as “Dalchon”?
Memories of Kinlochard – James Lyon (KVH site)
Dalchon – Kirkwood Map
As well as being the name of Eric’s old house and a place in Aberdeenshire, Dalchon – a quick google reveals – is also the name of “an outer ring system near Tatooine” in Star Wars. There you go, so to speak.
Please let us have any answers or thoughts at thefieldkinlochard@gmail.com.
We Want to Hear from You
How do you like The Field? Is it an interesting read? Or does it go straight into the bin? How can we make it better? Are there topics that should be included (or left out)?
Please let us know. Send any views to thefieldkinlochard@gmail.com.
This newsletter has been put together by Nick Lester-Davis, Bernard Love, Joyce Kelly and Andy Manders, with additional articles by Janine Finlay and Rebecca Rowthorn.
The Field Newsletter: Edition 6
Welcome to the “The Field “ newsletter no 6. We’ve had a busy month with lots more planned.
We’ve Got A Plan
Setting out a future for The Field, we’ve now taken receipt of the final Business Plan produced by Duncan MacPherson and his Associates on behalf of the Project. This is a comprehensive document which is reflective of the outcomes from the 2 Community Engagement exercises the Consultants led in the Kinlochard Village Hall (KVH) and takes account of the Important Things, Core Principles and Themes for Action identified in our Kinlochard Community Life Plan (KCLP).
The draft plan identified 3 options for development of The Field. Option 1 – Low Intensity Development; Option 2 – Mid Intensity Development; Option 3 – Fuller Intensity Development. Each of the options was considered in the second community engagement meeting held in the KVH on Friday 19 April 2024. Further to this meeting outcomes were distributed via an online survey to the full KCLP membership to ensure that everyone had an opportunity to contribute and provide comment before the final Business Plan was drawn up.
The majority of features in Options 1 and 2 were accepted with a couple of ideas from Option 3 – e.g. provision of a composting toilet and a removable yurt for educational purposes – making the cut also. The main features of the Business Plan identified as desirable by our community are identified below:
Development of a network of paths making The Field accessible to people of all abilities,
an area designated for community food growing,
opportunities for developing rural and outdoor skills
creation of a pond and wetland area to increase the biodiversity of The Field,
make use of the existing shed by renting it out to local businesses and allocate space for tool storage etc,
improve the access point to The Field,
consider installation of solar panels
possible provision of a composting toilet and removable yurt
Overarching all of these aspirations is the importance of providing strong guardianship of the unique ecological features that are so special, because The Field situated as it is within a sea of commercial forestry.
The Business Plan is however only a starter for 10. It is envisaged that other uses for The Field will be identified and emerge from expertise gained from early years management of The Field.
How Clever We All Are
As part of our business plan preparations we have conducted a skills survey of our community and everybody’s willingness to put their skills to use in support of The Field. A big thank you to the 45 people who responded. And what a range of skills we found!
The survey focused on the following topics:
● Interest in becoming a Director of the Community Body that will be formed to manage The Field as a community-owned asset; ● Interest in becoming a member of the Community Body; ● Self-assessment of skills levels regarding a range of general management ; ● Self-assessment of skills levels relating to managing and developing The Field as a community-owned asset; ● Indicative time commitments for contributing to general management and specific development functions.
Several skills areas including managing a business; project development; project management; managing consultants; and chairing/facilitating meetings are listed as core skills by 10 or more respondents. Between 11 and 18 respondents have indicated that they have basic skills in one or more of the following finance-related categories (book-keeping; funding applications; grant claims; or fund-raising).
Between 10 and 16 respondents have indicated that they have basic skills in one or more of the following:
managing volunteers;
using social media;
marketing;
community consultation/engagement.
There is less skills capacity in relation to governance issues, and charities and Companies House returns. However, it should be noted that 9 respondents have indicated that governance issues are a core skills area for them. Furthermore, 3 respondents have indicated that their core skills include charities and Companies House returns, and 8 respondents have indicated that they have basic skills in relation to each of these categories. The survey findings also indicate appetite from some respondents to acquire skills in particular generic skills categories where they consider themselves to have no skills.
Several respondents indicate that they have core skills in relation to the following specific categories
asset management and development skills:
managing a building for commercial use;
outdoor education;
rural skills provision;
woodland management;
environmental management.
Several respondents indicate that they have basic skills in :
paths management and development;
managing a building for community use;
investigating the potential for small-scale renewable energy initiatives.
It is also important to note that at least a quarter of the entire survey sample are interested in acquiring skills in
rural skills provision;
woodland management;
environmental management;
paths management and development;
managing a building for community use;
investigating potential for small-scale renewable energy initiatives.
We’ve also got skills in many other areas such as:
Accountancy
Basic grounds maintenance and horticultural experience
Senior Human Resources management
Knowledge of dark skies
Youth work
Product branding
Cultural engagement
Finance and banking
Gardening
Community learning and development
Film editing and production
And two significant gaps have been identified where we don’t have skills. These are professional legal expertise, and professional expertise in building, construction, infrastructure and architecture.
80% of the respondents said that they would, or possibly would join the new KCRA and nearly half said they might be interested in becoming a director. Nearly a third of those who answered said they might be interested in a part time paid job helping to manage The Field. Moreover, a significant number of people said they would be willing to commit time to The Field in one or more of their skill areas.
If you think you might have a skill and would be willing to put it to use for The Field and didn’t fill in the skills survey, please let us know.
Going for a Song
1st September sees the great Kinlochard Tabletop Sale in the village hall. A huge sale of surplus goods will take place. From tennis rackets to telephones, from books to bedding.
This is an opportunity to grab yourself a bargain and help support fundraising for The Field.
Join Up, Join Up
Kinlochard Community Residents’ Association (KCRA) is now looking for new members living in the postcodes FK8 3TL, FK8 3TN and FK8 3TP. Building upon the Kinlochard Cottages Residents’ Association, which, until now, has covered only residents of FK8 3TW, the members decided that they should expand the area covered and change the name to represent the whole of the community.
The Organisation’s main purpose is furthering sustainable development (social, economic and environmental) in the ward of Kinlochard as it is outlined in the Kinlochard Community Life Plan (KCLP). The expanded KCRA will in the first instance be responsible for managing and safeguarding the 2 Community Right to Buys (CRtB) registered by the Kinlochard Cottages Residents Association and for progressing the Negotiated Sale of The Field which is the subject of one of the CRtBs.
In the future, the KCRA may wish to undertake other projects for the benefit of the Kinlochard Community.
Those who are already KCRA members in FK8 3TW will automatically continue to be members of the new KCRA, those people over 16 and on the electoral roll in FK8 3TL, FK8 3TN and FK8 3TP are invited and encourage to join now. Membership is free!
Other residents of the four postcodes and those aged between 12 and 16 can apply to be associate or junior members as appropriate, as can those living in other areas. But numbers of places are limited by statute and priority will be given to those living in the four postcodes.
This newsletter has been put together by Nick Lester-Davis, Bernard Love, Joyce Kelly and Andy Manders.
The Field Newsletter: Edition 5
Welcome to the “The Field “ newsletter no 5. We’ve had a busy month with lots more planned.
Everyone a winner!
A great night out on 14th June saw horse racing back in Kinlochard Village Hall. At the first fund-raising event for The Field more than 30 residents turned out to ‘bet’ on horse races with ‘horses’ sponsored by many people and races sponsored by local businesses including Aberfoyle Pharmacy, Aberfoyle Co-op and Loch Ard Adventure Centre. Needless to say these were only model horses whose moves were governed by the roll of dice. Young people from the village operated the races and they did a great job. Being racing there was also a competition for the best Ascot hat (won by Darren with Simon as Runner Up) and the best Cheltenham outfit (won jointly by Annabelle and Harriet, with Henry a worthy runner up). And overall, the event made £1000 for The Field project.
So far, the great fundraising team has raised £2,425 for the project well on track to meeting our target of £5,000. Let’s keep it up!
Farewell KCRA, Hello KCRA
At a milestone meeting on 24th May members of KCRA – the Kinlochard Cottages Residents Association – made two important decisions. The first was to open up its membership, which is currently limited to residents of FK8 3TW, to residents who live in 3TL, 3TN and 3TP. The second, and consequential decision, was to change the name of the organisation to the Kinlochard Community Residents Association. This change is very important to demonstrate the wide community support we have for taking forward community ownership of The Field to all potential funders. The new KCRA will inherit the responsibility for managing and safeguarding the 2 Community Right to Buys(CRtB) registered by the Kinlochard Cottages Residents Association and for progressing the negotiated sale of The Field which is the subject of one of the CRtBs.
Over the next few weeks residents in the three new postcode units will be asked to join KCRA, prior to an annual general meeting later in the year where a new board of directors will be elected. Membership is currently free and is open to residents over 16. 12-15 year olds can become junior members. Make sure you join up!
Letters of Support
Last month we asked everybody to think of people and organisations who could write us letters of support, which can help us increase our chances of raising funds from grant giving bodies. So far we’ve received quite a number, including support from:
Cllrs Elaine Waterson, Gene Maxwell and Martin Earl – our three local councillors
Elaine Tweed MSP
Alyn Smith MP
Lord Forsyth of Drumlean
Strathard Community Council
Strathard Community Trust
Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park
any thanks to these and everyone who has written in to support.
The Tiny but Mighty Things Living Amongst Us
One of Scotland’s most iconic animals thought to be living on the Water of Chon adjacent to the field is the otter. Otters are a great sign the Chon is in good health, because they are known to keep freshwater systems in balance. But have you ever considered the tiny, but mighty, creatures lying beneath the surface, like the species Gammarus?
Otherwise known as the Freshwater Shrimp this macroinvertebrate is a ‘keystone’ species – it devours all the dead organic matter, cleaning our rivers and recycling nutrients. And it’s a tasty snack for other species who are also good indicators of water quality, like the ‘Dipper’. This striking looking bird with a white bib, expert at diving in and out of fast flowing water, has been spotted numerous times on the Water of Chon by the Kinlochard Eco Working Group.
The Eco Working Group records and monitors important species in the area and has worked informally with a number of wildlife charities to bring presentations and training to Kinlochard. Most recently it has partnered with the SCIO Buglife to survey our rivers for key invertebrate species known to be sensitive to pollution, as part of the River Monitoring Initiative (RMI) called ‘Guardians of Our Rivers’.
On Sunday the 19th of May 8 volunteers took to the banks of the Chon to learn how to identify 8 tiny river fly larvae all of which indicate good river health. A young wildlife enthusiast with keen attention (and probably better eyesight than most!) was the only one on the team able to find a ‘blue winged olive’ (a type of Mayfly, well known to anglers). At the end of the survey all the target species found were counted and a score was given, which will serve as a baseline measure for future surveys. The idea is to survey once a month so that any pollution incidents in the future can be identified by a sudden drop in numbers of one of the species – an automatic alert is sent to SEPA should this occur. The hope is that over time the group will expand its survey spots to monitor different points of the Chon.
To finish this wee story, the group did not find Freshwater Shrimp on this particular occasion. However, this species is known to avoid fast flowing water. Out of interest, the surface velocity of the stretch of the river was measured thereafter by the group coordinator, and was found to (potentially) be too fast for Gammarus. However, this information alone does not mean Freshwater Shrimp aren’t hiding out in other pockets of the river, and the group is looking forward to seeing how all the 8 indicator species change and present themselves over time.
All the trainees were awarded a certificate at the end of the day, and deemed ‘Guardians of our Rivers’.
Finally, our young person was the first ever trainee to receive a junior certificate from Buglife – a young wildlife trail blazer in our very own village!
If you’d like to find out more about RMI and Buglife training please reach out to Janine Finlay, the group coordinator at janine@finfilms.co.uk, and for any other questions about the Kinlochard Eco Working Group. Partnerships like these are helping us demonstrate how much we already care for the land around us and the species living in it. The Kinlochard Eco Working Group would like to thank Buglife for donating all the equipment needed to carry out future surveys.
Who Owns Scotland The Field?
The Field of course goes back a fair bit further than the concept of “ownership” – and will see it out too. Just a thocht.
1793 – “The Duke of Montrose is now sole heritor in this (Aberfoyle, including Kinlochard) parish.” (Excepting “Drumlane” which “holds blench of the Duke of Argyle”.) – Old Statistical Account of Scotland.
1843 – “The Duke of Montrose is the sole landowner in the parish.” – New Statistical Account of Scotland
1855 – First Valuation Rolls show the Duke of Montrose as the owner of land and properties including Blairhullichan, Mill of Chon & associated holdings of which The Field seems to be a part.
Sitting in what must, for many centuries before 1793, have been debatable land between Buchanan and Graham clan identities, The Field may have been regarded as in some way “belonging” at different times to both. Montrose is one family of Clan Graham (Menteith the other); their lands seem to have come largely from fighting on the “right” side of history (a lesson worth bearing in mind wherever you stand at kick-off).
Where there’s Montrose, there may well be MacGregor – it stretches the legs more than the imagination to catch Rob himself crossing The Field between courting at Comer and lord kens what at Ledard.
The Title doc records the following:
1930 – Montrose Estates to Violet Russell or Smith
1945 – Watson Investment Company to Secretary of State for Scotland.
1982 – Sec. of State to Duncan Campbell Smith.
Duncan Campbell Smith is recorded as having purchased Mill of Chon and associated lands on 24th March 1982.The lands consisted of 22 hectares/ 54 acres. On the same day the majority of the land was sold to John Northcote whilst Duncan Smith retained mineral rights and rights of access to a lochside boathouse.
A good few folk will know of John Anderson and Ron Stewart.
2021 – Strandside Ltd.
Leaving aside (for now) the question of future ownership, can anyone help fill in the blanks on when John and then Ron became owners? Or can you tell us a bit more about the others?. Do you know of any owner not listed here? And – never mind who owned it – can someone please tell us what folk called it? Answers on a postcard to thefieldkinlochard@gmail.com
This newsletter has been put together by Nick Lester-Davis, Bernard Love, Joyce Kelly and Andy Manders, with additional articles and help by Janine Finlay and Fiona McNeill.
The Field Newsletter: Edition 4
Welcome to the “The Field “ newsletter no 4. We’ve had a busy month with lots more planned.
Funding needed!
We are reaching a critical stage in the project. This means we have a lot of money to raise in a short period of time. We need to prove to potential funders that we have the capacity to raise funds ourselves as well as seeking funding from elsewhere. This is about building trust with partner organisations such as The Scottish Land Fund.
Request for Donations
Revenue Funding is required to allow the preparation of our detailed bid to purchase the land and conduct a capital fundraising campaign to secure the purchase costs and carry out the development of The Field in line with our finalised business plan.
At this stage we are seeking your help in raising up to £5,000 revenue funding, required to cover the preparation phase. e.g. professional fees, printing costs, administration costs and ad hoc costs etc.
One strand of our fundraising campaign is to seek donations. A donation can be a single sum or spread over 6 months. Monthly donations can range from £5/10, or more! If anyone is interested in giving donations or pledges, please contact me and I can provide details of the donation process.
Horse Race Night
From 7pm on 14th June in Kinlochard Village Hall To help raise funds for the next part of the campaign.
We bet you’ll have a great time
Donating is a very simple process – You can donate by Standing Order, Bank Transfer, Cheque.
Bank Account details are:
Bank: Unity Trust Bank plc Account Number: 20479404 Sort Code: 60-83-01. Account Name: Kinlochard Community Residents Association Ltd.
Please use Reference: KCRA 1
Request for Fundraising community events.
In addition to asking for donations, we are also looking for community members to organise community events to raise some funds. We are appealing to anyone with good ideas and a willingness to get involved and volunteer their services in this area. There is only so much that the KCLP working Group and the Funding Group can do on their own. This is a wonderful opportunity for the whole community to get involved in this exciting and important first stage of the community project.
Horse Race Night
To kick things off we are hosting a Horse Race Night at Kinlochard Village Hall on Friday 14 June 2024. Doors open at 7 pm. Ticket price is £5 adults/£3 children. Sponsor a horse or a jockey for £5 – and win a bottle of wine if you win.
Letters of Support
When approached for funding, many groups or organisations that provide grants ask for letters of support as part of the application process. These letters are evidence that the plans and work of the community that is seeking funding are recognised and valued both locally and more widely.
As part of our efforts to raise funds to help with the purchase of The Field and associated costs, we have asked a range of individuals, groups and bodies familiar with our project if they would be willing to provide such letters of support.
Already we have received a significant number of very positive responses. Hopefully this will help us to succeed with the three important funding applications that we are currently preparing.
This is a fantastic opportunity for the community to come together with a shared aim; to create our own living, sustainable story for The Field; where people, place and relationships merge and evolve. It’s our shared love of this place, hard work, commitment and tenacity that will define us as a community and will shape what The Field becomes. If you have any questions, or want to clarify anything, please contact me, Fiona McNeill, Lead of the Funding Group, Kinlochard Cottages Residents Association Ltd. at fionamcneill59@outlook.com.
Another successful community meeting pointing the way forward
A large turnout heralded another successful community meeting on 19th April, where Duncan Machperson, our consultant, presented his first ideas towards a business plan for The Field.
He presented three broad approaches:
A ‘do minimum’ approach with the main change being to use the barn for rental income with an upgraded approach to it and an upgraded path beside the river;
A moderate development approach, which also envisaged community growing, with allotments and possibly polytunnels and outdoor learning experiences in conjunction with establishments such as McLaren High School, together with extra paths to open up The Field to make it accessible to people of all abilities.
A more intensive development approach, which added on using the barn roof for solar power generation and introducing some yurts or camping facilities in conjunction with outdoor learning based education.
There was a lively discussion on all the options presented and, not surprisingly, there was no one option that commanded overall support. However there was broad consensus that the meeting liked the ‘do minimum’ approach together with many of the ‘moderate development’ suggestions and the solar panels from the third option. Nobody, though, was keen on the options of yurts or pods for camping.
Everybody’s comments were noted down and have been collated so that all views have been taken into account. So now it’s back to the consultants for them to produce their draft business plan.
Woodland Survey
One of our community’s aims in seeking to purchase The Field is to conserve and enhance its special environmental qualities. In order to contribute to this aim, a group supported by Jack Sheppard recently carried out a survey of The Field to investigate its potential for the further growth of native woodland trees such as oak, alder, willow and hazel. Jack owns a local land services firm and has 20 years of experience in ecological consulting and countryside management. His contribution to the survey was invaluable.
Restoring and extending woodlands has many potential advantages. It
can add beauty, interest and amenity to the landscape;
can encourage a greater range of habitats for birds, animals and insects;
provides a resource that can be harvested, for example by hazel coppicing.
The survey group recognised that it would be essential that any woodland projects do not negatively impact The Field’s ecology , although almost any woodland development would have an impact on The Field’s ecology, or the views it affords of the surrounding land and night skies. This would require detailed ecological surveying and sensitive planning prior to any developments.
Existing woodlands in The Field could be enhanced by restoring them to their original condition and by planting new trees where suitable. Given the chance, woodland will also recover through natural regeneration. This process can be helped, for example, by controlling bracken and removing ‘invasive’ trees such as sitka spruce.
There would be plenty of opportunities for members of the community interested in woodlands to be actively engaged in these activities.
The work of the survey group has been made available to the consultants who are currently preparing our business plan for The Field. This plan will be an important part of our application for financial support from the Scottish Land Fund.
The Field – What Do You Know?
Sharing what we know – whether it’s knowledge of flora & fauna or our memories – brings The Field to life and helps make it a place to learn from, and with, each other.
As well as your stories, memories and sightings, this Field would like to know about information gleaned from old maps or from your memories or found through research – knowledge, for instance, of what folk called it in the past and what it was used for.
We also want to know what you want to know about it.
Current thoughts on the track through The Field that joins with the Stronmacnair / Gleann Dubh / Comer road (mused upon previously) is that it would have been used for bringing sheep down to the fank & dipping infra-structure (https://www.kinlochard.org/memories-ian-mcdonald ). The fank (“sheepfold”) is there on the OS 1843 map. Cunninghame Graham (he of Gartmore House, radical politics, wild adventure, great literature and general magnificence) remembers cattle from the West Highlands passing by Aberfoyle when he was the lad that was to become “the uncrowned King of Scotland” – but the drove road network from the West (from as far as Tiree) seems to have funnelled above and below our Strath to meet at Aberfoyle. Interestingly, the Roy map (1745-52) seems to have The Field as woodland. A bit more recently, Margaret Luke had fond memories of walking the route with her nephew, I think it was, when he was a boy, taking Wilf his lunch when he was working that section of the Forest.
Just wee things, helping make a place.
Please send any musings – questions as well as possible answers – you have about The Field to: thefieldkinlochard@gmail.com
This newsletter has been put together by Nick Lester-Davis, Bernard Love, Joyce Kelly and Andy Manders, with additional articles by Fiona McNeill.
The Field Newsletter: Edition 3
Welcome to the “The Field “ newsletter no 3. We hope that you all had a good Easter break. We also had a little break so this newsletter is quite short!
19th April Community Meeting
The most important takeaway from this newsletter is a date for your diary. Friday 19 April 6-9 pm in the Kinlochard Village Hall.
Our Consultant team are leading a Community Engagement meeting on this evening to establish what our community believes, collectively, should be in the Business Plan for The Field. This is your opportunity to influence how the Project moves forward. We can’t over emphasise the importance of this meeting. It’s come about through several years of intense work aimed at enabling our community to have a voice in how our village develops in the future. We want to hear as many voices as possible to ensure what is delivered is reflective of the needs of our community. Please make every effort to come along and support the Project going forward. The working group acting on your behalf need to know that they are helping to deliver what is important to everyone.
Community Meeting
Help design the future for The Field
19th April in the Village Hall, 6-9pm
The Field & Community Land Ownership – Find Out More. Get Involved.
We appreciate that not everyone will have had the chance to get to grips with the detail of what’s happening with The Field – and therefore may be reluctant to become involved. Don’t be!
Come and take part instead in a workshop that will answer your questions, explore what you want to know and get you up to speed with where we’ve got to – ready, and hopefully willing, to play your part in the next stage.
We’re all learning about Community Land Ownership in Scotland too – its past, present & future – as we do our best to bring it about for The Field. If there’s interest, we can look at the wider picture in this, or a follow-on, workshop as well.
We have a number of working groups associated with the project, focussing on different aspects and enabling us to take things forward. Here, each group introduces itself. If you want to take part in any, please contact us.
Fundraising
We are reaching a critical stage in the Project and it is now the time when we, as a community, will have to “put our money where our mouth is” and we now need to raise the funds required to help purchase of The Field. As a first step towards this we are looking to organise community events to raise some funds. We are reaching out to anyone with good ideas and willingness to get involved who are prepared to volunteer their services in this area. There is only so much that the KCLP Working Group can do on their own and this is an opportunity for the whole community to get involved in the Project.
Fiona McNeil is the KCLP coordinator for community fundraising events so if you are interested and have some ideas please contact her.
The KCLP recognised early on that talking to other groups and organisations who manage land or carry out activities for community benefit was going to help us move forward in a positive direction – to understand what ideas have worked well and conversely which ideas and projects have presented challenges. Essentially the goal was to talk to people who care about the same things as our community and have trodden this path before.
As such a ‘visits’ workstream was recently formed within the KCLP consisting of around 10 people. They have been busy holding zoom conversations or visiting sites with organisations whose goals and aspirations fit with the Kinlochard Community Life Plan and/or reflect ideas for the land that have been put forward so far. Some informative and inspiring chats have been had in relation to…
community food growing;
forest schooling and outdoor learning;
community energy;
biodiversity, restoration and management of woodlands and wetlands;
and disused buildings being brought back into use.
The conversations are ongoing, and the KCLP hopes to continue to build relationships with groups in Scotland as our community navigates this process. Learnings and outcomes from visits so far will be shared at the upcoming community consultation.
We now need your help, from as many people as possible. We are planning community events to help with fundraising events and activities. If you have any ideas for events or activities or are willing and able to help organise, run or help support them, please contact Fiona McNeill
The Field – What Do You Know?
Sharing what we know – whether it’s knowledge of flora & fauna or our memories – brings The Field to life and helps make it a place to learn from, and with, each other.
As well as your stories, memories and sightings, The Field would like to know about information gleaned from old maps or found through research – knowledge, for instance, of what folk called it in the past and what it was used for.
We also want to know what you want to know about it. To kick things off – folk have been asking what’s known about the route through The Field towards Stronmacnair and Gleann Dubh and whether this might have been used at any point for droving livestock? We’re not sure. So please help us out – recess for the Local History Group it may be, but there’s no rest for the curious.
Please send any musings – questions as well as possible answers – you have about The Field to: thefieldkinlochard@gmail.com
This newsletter has been put together by Nick Lester-Davis, Bernard Love, Joyce Kelly and Andy Manders, with additional articles by Janine Finlay.
Welcome to “The Field “ newsletter no 2. We hope that you found the first one useful. You will see from the contents that there has been a lot of activity going on with the Project since our last newsletter.
3rd March Walk around The Field and drop-in session At the start of the month, around 20 members of all ages from the Kinlochard community took part in a guided walk around The Field.
Notice
The Community Engagement Meeting planned for March Unfortunately, our consultant, Duncan MacPherson has had to postpone the community engagement meeting planned for later this month due to family illness.
This important meeting will now happen after Easter and we will publish the date as soon as this is confirmed
The walk began at the building which, if the successful purchase of The Field is achieved, could become a focal point for a range of community-led developments. The walk along the banks of the Water of Chon gave a chance to view established oak woodlands and also the regeneration of oak and birch trees already taking place along its banks.
Following the track to the highest point in The Field, there was a panoramic view of Strathard to enjoy. There was also the chance to appreciate the significance of The Field as a potential wildlife corridor linking the western and eastern ends of the strath.
Following the lattice of paths back towards Kinlochard, there was plenty of evidence of The Field’s varied habitats and ecologies as well as signs of former uses of the land. Members of the group talked about their encounters with The Field’s wildlife including otters, adders and pine martens. There was pleasure at how the Field continues to be valued and enjoyed by succeeding generations of the community.
Following the walk around, the group shared their experiences of the morning over a well-deserved lunch of home-made soup and bread at the Kinlochard Village Hall.
Eco Working Group
There are all sorts of species that have taken up permanent residence in ‘The Field’ or use it as a feeding ground. Spring is on its way and if you’re out and about at the moment, you might’ve noticed some snuffle holes made by badgers foraging for worms, the song thrush cracking out some techno-sounding evening tunes, or jelly-like frog spawn in the ditches and shallow ponds – see the recent photo of two common frogs spotted on the main path into the field, rudely snapped by a member from the Kinlochard Eco Working Group! The Field is also home to otters, adders, (hence some people know it as ‘Adder Field’), woodcocks, (now on the endangered – ‘red’ – list) and hundreds of plant species. All sorts of amazing species with weird and wonderful names have been spotted in Kinlochard including four-banded bee grabbers, clouded borders and chimney sweepers (the latter two being moths).
Surrounded by stands of commercial forest, ‘The Field’ has been described as an oasis for the diverse wildlife living amongst us.
The Kinlochard Eco Working Group came together as a result of the Community Life Plan and an aim to monitor and record important species in and around the village. Its members collect photos and record sightings across all seasons and carry out ecological surveys on some of the more important species. There is an active WhatsApp group to share enthusiasm and photos. The Eco Working Group also invites wildlife organisations to the village to give talks and training.
Coming up soon is an exciting project with the charity ‘Buglife’ to monitor the health of the Water of Chon, (which runs adjacent to, and through ‘The Field’). The project is called ‘Guardians of Our Rivers’ and more volunteers are needed. Participants would learn how to identify invertebrate indicator species in the river, learn how to spot early signs of a habitat in crisis, and record findings with professional environmental organisations. Training is likely to resume with an online session in the evening of March 26th, with practical training in April or May and ongoing surveys throughout the year. It’s a fantastic citizen science project and we are extremely lucky to have Buglife support our village with this free training and project. If you are interested in attending both sessions of ‘Guardians of Our Rivers’, or want to become a member of the Kinlochard Eco Working Group in general, contact Janine Finlay on janine@finfilms.co.uk.
What our working groups are doing
We have a number of working groups associated with the project, focussing on different aspects and enabling us to take things forward. Here, each group introduces itself. If you want to take part in any, please contact us.
Engagement with Strandside Ltd
The Field is currently owned by Strandside Ltd. A basic step in purchasing The Field is to get an independent valuation to enable us to agree a price for the purchase. The sub group involved in obtaining an independent market valuation on the field had a successful meeting with Simon Keane from Strandside Ltd. Simon agreed that his company would participate in a joint valuation process further cementing their commitment to working with the community to further our ambition for a community purchase of the field.
The ‘visits’ subgroup have been arranging meetings with a range of projects which link to some of the ideas for The Field we identified in our previous community consultations.
There have been visits to local projects but also on-line meetings with groups from as far away as the Isle of Eigg! As well as getting ideas for possible uses of The Field we’ve been finding out about fundraising, how the projects are managed, problems other groups have faced and how they have overcome them, and best of all some top tips for what to avoid!
We’ve been overwhelmed by the generosity of people who have given up their time to provide advice, support and really useful information that will help us to focus on what might be the most suitable way for us to go forward. We hope to have the information pulled together, summarised and shared with everyone in the next few weeks.
Your fundraising team led by Fiona McNeill is ready for action!
Our aim is to set achievable financial targets as we move towards the purchase of the field. Our first financial target (phase1) is to cover legal and administration costs incurred by the community right to buy presentation process. Our cost estimation for this ranges between £1000-£5000. Any excess money will be transferred to phase 2, field purchase. We are hoping this target will be raised in a variety of different ways, for example, fun community events.
More information will be given at the next community meeting on the 22nd of March.
This newsletter has been put together by Nick Lester-Davis, Bernard Love, Joyce Kelly and Andy Manders, with additional articles by Jane Jackson, Janine Finlay and Eleanor Bruce.
Welcome to The Field – telling you just what’s going on in the project to buy the field by the bridge in Kinlochard for community use – and how you can take part.
Where is The Field?
Most readers will know The Field, just beside the bridge over the Water of Chon in Kinlochard. But not everybody knows that it’s just over 27 acres/11.1 ha in size and includes the riverbank – and a part of the woods on the north bank. It goes up to the hill top, where there’s a great view, and down on the other side. This aerial view shows the full extent of The Field, shown by the red line.
Since grazing stopped, nature has slowly started to reclaim parts of The Field and there are now several different habitats. Woodland has regenerated along the banks of the Chon, and the north bank has stretches of ancient woodland. The hill is more open and there are stretches of wetland in The Field. Nature is very plentiful with otters in the river, badgers, foxes and pine martens.
The Field
Come and See The Field!
Walk around – 11:00 3rd March – meet at the entrance by the bridge – bring wellies!
Drop in session to find out more at the village hall from 13:00
Soup and bread for everyone
A little bit of history
The Field has had a chequered ownership over the years but first attempts by the community to purchase The Field were made under the previous owner. His attempts to obtain planning permission were unsuccessful and community representatives approached him to discuss the possibility of a community purchase. However, he opted to put The Field on the open market and subsequent attempts by the Kinlochard (Cottages) Residents’ Association Ltd (KCRA) to initiate a Community Right to Buy option on The Field failed because the owner had already received an offer for The Field from Strandside Ltd.
To ensure that the community were able to have first option to buy The Field should Strandside decide to sell in the future, the KCRA initiated the Community Right to Buy process and this time we were successful as Scottish government ministers agreed it was in the public interest that the community had the right to buy The Field.
Subsequently there was a community meeting with Strandside Ltd in August 2022 where they presented their proposals, but it became clear that there was significant opposition to them from within the community and a further community meeting decided not to collaborate with Strandside Ltd’s proposals. In March 2023 Strandside Ltd agreed to enter into discussions with the community on a negotiated sale. We then held a community meeting in April to confirm agreement to engaging in the negotiated sales process.
You can find more information on The Field – and the history of Kinlochard more widely – on the Strathard Digital Archive.
The campaign to buy the field – where we’ve got to
We have already successfully applied to two separate grant giving bodies to raise the revenue funding required to employ consultants to develop a business plan which would set out how we might use The Field and how we could cover the costs of both buying and maintaining The Field. The Scottish Land Fund (SLF) granted £18,482 and Forth Valley & Lomond Leader Funding granted £5,348. We have now contracted Duncan MacPherson and Associates to prepare the business plan. Duncan’s team facilitated a community engagement meeting in November 2023 to establish the aspirations of the community in relation to The Field and have produced an interim report on their findings.
The business plan should be complete by the middle of May and we will use this to support a Stage 2 application to the SLF for the capital funds needed to purchase The Field. If this application is successful SLF will fund up to 95% of the market value for the land. We will have to generate funds to cover any shortfall.
How you can help
We have a number of teams supporting the campaign so far, looking at fundraising, communications, site visits and community engagement. If you would like to take part in any of these please let Joyce Kelly (kelly10kelly@btinternet.com) know.
The Eco-Group is also doing work recording flora and fauna in the field.
What’s happening in the next month
On the 3rd March there’s an opportunity for anyone who wants to visit The Field for a group exploration.
There will be a further community engagement meeting hosted by our consultants towards the end of March to enable a final opportunity for the community to discuss and agree the most appropriate options for The Field. The date will be announced soon.
Contact us if you want to help or want to know more.
This newsletter has been put together by Nick Lester-Davis, Bernard Love, Andy Manders and Joyce Kelly.
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