News

Assynt Foundation

Date : 13/04/2010

The Assynt Foundation was formed in 2004 in order to investigate a possible community purchase of 44,000 acres of land, water and mountains in Assynt in the North-West Highlands. In 2005 the group successfully raised the funds and purchased this land on behalf of the local community. The groups objectives are to manage the land and its assets in a sustainable way for the benefit of the local community and the wider public. The main built asset on the estate, Glencanisp Lodge, a large Victorian hunting lodge, has been used for many community activities and events, as well as being hired out commercially as a source of vital income. However, the state of Glencanisp Lodge had been rapidly deteriorating, the building was unsuitable for all-abilities use, and heating costs, financially and environmentally, were huge.

A major redevelopment of Glencanisp Lodge was planned incorporating a wood-fuel heating system and solar panels to minimise the building's carbon footprint, provisions for all-abilities public use, and a much-needed make-over of the whole building. SIS provided a significant loan which was vital to enable the project to go ahead, making up a substantial shortfall in funding for the project, and also aiding cashflow during the project works.