Bute has bought its forest

23rd July 2010 was the date that saw the completion of the deal for Bute Community Land Company (BCLC) to buy 861 hectares of Rhubodach Forest – part of which is a commercial forest and part a Site of Special Scientific Interest(SSSI)  – in the ancient woodland, the moorland and the Bull Loch.

The deal turned out to be more complex than imagined. The last stages required cool heads and the ability to be flexible in achieving the best solution for the community.

The 5-man BCLC Board and the even smaller group driving the heart of the initiative – has shown remarkable skill in dealing with unexpected and kaleidoscopic situations, steering the project of buying a significant community asset through to a judicious conclusion.

Despite positive noises in the foothills of the fundraising phase, when it came to it, in the current fiscal climate, there were withdrawals from such as Social Investment Scotland.

Highlands and Islands Enterprise’s Community Land Fund stepped up and committed support to the initiative and BCLC recalibrated the project to the funding realities of the moment.

The result is that BCLC bought the 861 hectares and immediately sold on the commercial forest and part of the SSSI area.

This leaves the community company owning 161 hectares (400 acres), with no debt, with money in the bank and retaining the rights over the commercial forest for activities such as walking, cycling and the revenue generator of a hydro scheme, estimated to be capable of bring in something like £35k per annum.

The 400 acres the community company now own outright will see the core features of the proposal put to the community ballot back in February – the Forest Lodges, the Visitor Centre and the Community Play Area.

The Board has now secured a funding package to pay for a Project Manager for the Forest for two years – and are about to start the business of appointing someone to that post.

The Attenboroughs, from whom Rhubodach Forest has been bought, were of the firm view that, if any part of the forest was to be sold on, it should remain in local hands.

The Mount Stuart Trust then bought the commercial forest and, in a separate deal, the moorland and the Bull Loch elements of the SSSI.

The local retention of the commercial forest helps the local sawmill and protects local jobs.

BCLC has brought about this pragmatic outcome without getting grants that might have drained the pool for other island projects also seeking funding.

The Island community is now looking at ownership of a significant community asset, debt free from the outset, with the paid-for post of Project Manager not far from being filled and a six figure sum in the bank.

Those members of the community previously worried about the possibility of a project that might leave a legacy of debt to be repaid by future generations, can relax. The Board of BCLC will have taken many by surprise in what it has negotiated in delivering this opportunity for community controllled sustainability.

The Board won’t have time to relax, though. The knowledge, experience and expertise they have gathered through to this successfully guided result is already in demand by other communities considering various kinds of buy-out.

There’s a form of copyright licence called ‘Creative Commons Share and Share Alike’. Ever word of this applies to what BCLC have done and will do.