Mull of Galloway
The final item of business today is a members’ business debate on motion S4M-05891, in the name of Aileen McLeod, on history is made at the Mull of Galloway. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.
Motion debated,
That the Parliament notes the decisive result of the ballot of the community of Kirkmaiden on a community buyout of the Mull of Galloway Lighthouse, with more than 98% in favour of plans to operate what it considers this iconic landmark on the most southerly point in Scotland as a visitor attraction; considers that the South Rhins Community Development Trust has a strong track record in helping to develop the Mull as a visitor attraction over the last 12 years; considers this a strong foundation on which the new Mull of Galloway Community Trust can build future successes that it believes will bring more economic benefit to a remote rural economy, and offers its best wishes to the community for its future as the owners of the most southerly part of the country.
17:19
I am delighted to lead this evening’s debate in celebration of the Mull of Galloway Community Trust’s efforts to buy the iconic location on behalf of, and for the benefit of, the local community.
I am particularly pleased that one of the directors of the trust, Maureen Chand, and her partner Sami have made the lengthy journey from the most southerly part of the Scottish mainland to be with us tonight in the public gallery to listen to the debate. The deputy leader of Dumfries and Galloway Council, Brian Collins, is also with us in the gallery.
Two other directors of the trust, Steve and Kathleen Hardy, wanted very much to be here. They have worked tirelessly, as have all the trust members, to make the mull a success as a visitor attraction and to develop their ambitious bid for the future. They have done so while, latterly, Kathleen has been undergoing treatment for cancer, which is the reason why they could not be here. What I have to say this evening is dedicated to them.
I sought the debate to support the trust’s efforts to secure funding for the buyout. This morning’s news that its bid to the Scottish land fund has been successful grants the trust 95 per cent of the value of the land. As will become clear, I have every confidence that the trust will secure the remaining 5 per cent with little difficulty. That is a fantastic step forward for the project, and I cannot begin to express how delighted I am that, tonight, we really can say that history is being made at the Mull of Galloway.
There is nowhere else in Scotland quite like the Mull of Galloway. It is a wild and romantic place in any weather, with stunning views on a good day—from views of the Mourne mountains in Northern Ireland to views of Snaefell on the Isle of Man and the fells of the lake district. I have experienced the mull in all weathers. It is certainly dramatic when it is blowing a hoolie and the waves are crashing against the impressive rocky cliffs: it really feels like it is just you pitted against the elements.
The mull is also a nature reserve and site of special scientific interest. People can spot a wide variety of birds there, as well as—if they are fortunate—dolphins, porpoises and even whales. Of course, there is also the iconic lighthouse, which was designed by Robert Stevenson of Bell rock fame and completed in 1828. Steve Hardy is keen to replicate Edinburgh’s infamous 1 o’clock gun by bringing back into play the foghorn that was used as an extra warning to shipping up until 1987.
Those are the fantastic assets that nature and history have given the mull, but the key ingredient that has taken it from being practically unknown to being a four-star visitor attraction is the community.
We did not arrive at that point overnight or by accident. Twelve years of hard work by the South Rhins Community Development Trust took the Mull of Galloway—a place that people might visit if they knew about it and a place with next to no facilities for the visitor—and turned it into a four-star tourist attraction that still respects the unique wildness of its location.
There are now three holiday cottages in the former lighthouse keepers’ accommodation, a visitor centre run by the RSPB in the building that accommodated the lighthouse builders, and the lighthouse exhibition itself, which has gathered the accolades of VisitScotland’s four-star visitor attraction and, in 2010, tourism champion in the Dumfries & Galloway Life awards, following that success with finalist positions in 2011 and 2012.
In addition, private enterprise has mirrored the success of the trust, with the Gallie Craig coffee house and restaurant being built in 2004. Set into the hillside on the edge of the cliffs to minimise visual impact but maximise diners’ views—I know it well—it complements the rest of the location well and it won a green apple award for its construction and design.
If members are planning their summer holidays this year and wondering where to go, I am sure that the Mull of Galloway would extend a warm welcome to them all.
The Mull of Galloway Trust estimates that, directly or indirectly, the mull as a visitor attraction now supports 20 jobs in the local economy. Since that economy is, by its nature, remote and fragile, the mull now constitutes a major part of it. Therefore, the decision by the Northern Lighthouse Board to sell the estate, including the associated buildings, could be seen as a hammer-blow to a successful local initiative. However, the trust and the community are more resilient than that; they recognise the proposed sale as an opportunity to acquire the assets for the on-going good of the community and the economy, which it clearly benefits already.
I was privileged to officiate at the counting of ballots in Drummore village hall in March. The 98 per cent vote in favour of the buyout convinced me absolutely of the place that the mull and the enterprises associated with it have in the hearts of the community.
The new Mull of Galloway Trust, which is composed of many of the people who have already made the mull a success, is nothing if not ambitious. It recognises the unique selling point of a Stevenson lighthouse in good condition and which can be accessed by the public. Many Stevenson lighthouses are operational and have no public access or have been sold into private ownership. The trust has an excellent track record, with a lighthouse exhibition which has attracted 10,000 visitors a year since 2009.
The trust’s vision for the Mull is one that plays to its strengths and assets. The trust envisages new development, such as a safe viewing platform built over the cliffs, recreational activities for all ages that capitalise on the wildlife and landscape and educational events, and exhibitions on the history of lighthouses, marine safety and the natural environment. Renewable energy generation, such as solar panels and air-source heat pumps, will end the lighthouse complex’s reliance on expensive heating oil and lower its carbon footprint. It is that approach—protective of what is there, but keen to develop sustainability for the future—that the Scottish land fund’s award has helped to secure.
Above all, this project is about realising the ambitions of the community. It is true that the community started with natural advantages, but the mull is miles from anywhere. It is almost as far off the beaten track as it is possible to get, and yet the community has already created an outstanding visitor attraction that is a major boost to the local economy. I believe that, with community ownership of the assets, the community can achieve even more. I also believe that the people best placed to look after such a special place are the people who live and work there.
I intended this evening to invite the minister to visit the Mull of Galloway. I am immensely proud to be able to invite him to visit the mull in its new guise as the community-owned most southerly part of Scotland. Presiding Officer, thank you for enabling me to bring a bit of history here tonight.
17:27
Not long after this session of Parliament began, I met Peter Peacock, our former colleague here, who is the part-time policy director of Community Land Scotland. More recently, I met Dr Alison Elliot and Sarah Skerrett in their joint capacity as two thirds of the land reform review group appointed by the Scottish Government to look at the further potential of land reform. To both of those eminent organisations I stressed the importance of any community right to buy policy not just being confined to the Highlands and Islands—as has often been thought to be the case—but being seen to be workable and effective in the south of Scotland as well.
On being asked to provide examples of suitable projects within my constituency, I needed to look no further than the most southerly point of Scotland, the Mull of Galloway. As Aileen McLeod has just eloquently pointed out, the mull is a truly magical place. I recommend that it should be on everyone’s bucket list of places to visit while they are still on this earth; they would not regret it for one second. As I said, Aileen McLeod spoke eloquently of why that would be the case.
Anyone who has visited the most northerly and southerly points of the United Kingdom—John o’ Groats and Land’s End—will agree, I think, that those iconic landmarks have been pretty well ruined by the no doubt good intentions of private developers over the years. I confess that I have visited neither place, but I am reliably informed by those who have that they are invariably disappointed when they get there. That is most assuredly not the case at the mull, and I feel certain that the successful conclusion of this community buyout project will ensure that it never is.
The mull is tailor-made for a community buyout. It is to the immense credit of the whole community, the members of the trust and, indeed, Steve Hardy, who first brought this project to my attention, that the community has seized this opportunity. There have been other attempts in Galloway to persuade communities to undertake buyout projects—some good, some bad; some successful, some unsuccessful. However, when a community ballot achieves a 98 per cent vote in favour of the buyout—as was the case with the mull—it is clear that no persuasion has been required.
As Aileen McLeod said, that percentage has been almost matched today by an agreed Scottish land fund grant that amounts to 95 per cent of the total sum that is required. That is a wonderfully welcome decision, and it is the right decision. It will be welcomed by everybody concerned.
If I have one concern about the mull, it is a positive one. Aileen McLeod mentioned the wonderful seabird population and the wildlife that can be seen in the area, and the black guillemot predominates at the Mull of Galloway. The Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee has been discussing the national marine plan and the marine protected areas that are part of that plan, and it is a complete mystery to me why the Mull of Galloway has not been included in the plan. In my own cynical way, I can only assume that it is because it is in close proximity to an area that has been designated as a search area for an offshore wind farm—but that is just my suspicion; I am sure that the minister will answer differently.
This is a great day and I congratulate Aileen McLeod on bringing the debate to the chamber. I suspect that it is more than a coincidence that the granting of the Scottish land fund money was announced today, but that is nonetheless welcome. I quote the press release that I issued when the result of the ballot was first announced:
“Community purchases in other parts of Scotland have usually led to a re-invigorated local economy alongside a real sense of pride in community ownership, and I have every expectation that the same will apply in the case of Mull of Galloway. I warmly congratulate everyone involved in achieving this wonderful result.”
I reiterate that this evening. I am proud and very pleased to support Aileen McLeod’s motion.
17:31
I warmly congratulate my colleague Aileen McLeod on gaining this timely debate. However, I point out that the most northerly point on the mainland of Scotland is Dunnet Head, not John o’ Groats, and that the most northerly point in the UK is Muckle Flugga. Both Dunnet Head and Muckle Flugga are exciting places to see, and I have done so in a previous life. I visited Muckle Flugga as a Highlands and Islands member, and as the member for Dunnet Head at the moment I assure members that it is well worth a visit.
During the Easter recess, my partner, Eleanor Scott, and I had a short weekend break in the far south-west of Scotland. After a freezing cold and windy March, we enjoyed some sun when we visited the lighthouse at Scotland’s most southern tip, the Mull of Galloway. As we know, the community there recently voted overwhelmingly to take over the land and buildings surrounding their Stevenson-built lighthouse, which is much like many others around our shores including the one at Cape Wrath.
Aileen McLeod has praised the local spirit—inspired by Steve Hardy, Maureen Chand and the whole team—that is developing the attraction of the lighthouse, where views stretch to Ireland and the Isle of Man as well as to Cumbria. I met some of the community leaders at the mull, who seek to work with other community-owned lighthouse groups around Scotland. Covesea lighthouse, in Moray, was recently bought with money from the Scottish land fund, and the people of North Ronaldsay in Orkney also have control of a very old lighthouse there. The group also hopes to work with a group that is trying to take over the land around the Cape Wrath lighthouse.
For the past nine months, Durness folk have been campaigning to buy 58 acres of land surrounding the most north-westerly lighthouse on the Scottish mainland, at Cape Wrath. They applied under the community right to buy when the Northern Lighthouse Board was exposed as seeking to sell the land to the Ministry of Defence. Both those bodies come under powers that are reserved to Westminster and both thought that a cosy arrangement could be made, as the MOD had previously acquired thousands of acres—
Without wishing to be too restrictive, I remind Mr Gibson of the content of the motion.
Indeed, I thought that you might do that, Presiding Officer.
Then it comes as no surprise.
I have backed from the start the Durness development group’s plans to secure the few remaining acres at the cape, which is visited by a locally owned bus that carries 3,000 passengers a year over the 12 miles after a short ferry trip across the Kyle of Durness. The point is that the Durness group can learn from the developments at the Mull of Galloway. It is important to recognise how all such places are linked up.
Last autumn, I was delighted that the First Minister, Alex Salmond, launched the new Scottish national trail, which has been designed by Cameron McNeish. It winds from the Scottish Borders at Kirk Yetholm and ends at Cape Wrath via beautiful Sandwood bay. The coastal trail from the Mull of Galloway can join that and thereby link two of the most important lighthouses in our country on a walking trail that can attract people and which covers many of the most beautiful parts of the country. I am hopeful that Scottish ministers can meet the Durness campaign expectations soon.
Community buyouts such as Covesea and the Mull of Galloway inject new local vigour. They add small patches of Scotland to those that are truly in local hands. Looking ahead to early June, Community Land Scotland’s annual general meeting in Skye, which has already been mentioned, will celebrate 500,000 acres of our nation now being in community hands.
I am glad that there was an easy transfer from the Northern Lighthouse Board to the people at the Mull of Galloway, but Cape Wrath should be next. The name does not mean anger, although a sale by one UK quango to another would certainly have provoked that feeling; it refers to the Norse word for a turning point and it is where the Viking ships turned from their westerly course from Norway to a southerly one down into the Minch and onwards to the Mull of Galloway and the Isle of Man. Let us wish the Mull of Galloway people and the Durness folk success, because their moves are another turning point for community land ownership in Scotland.
The connections were interesting if tenuous. Claudia Beamish has four minutes, please.
17:37
I am happy to be here this afternoon, although it has been a long afternoon for many of us. However, this is an important debate and I am delighted to lend my support to the Mull of Galloway community buyout. I congratulate Aileen McLeod on securing the debate and I compliment her on her inspiring description.
Members who are familiar with my views on co-operative working and community engagement will not be surprised to hear that I am very positive about this project as well as similar projects throughout Scotland. Of course, the fact that this community project is in South Scotland, my own region, is an added bonus. All too often, visitors to Scotland are led to believe that the areas of natural beauty begin north of the Forth and the Clyde. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Mull of Galloway has been described to me as Scotland’s best-kept secret. I hope that in the coming months and years, we will see that secret being shared among many more people now that the community buyout is happening.
I join other members in congratulating the Mull of Galloway Trust on securing the grant from the Scottish land fund. I am absolutely delighted that the funding has been made available, as it will allow the community buyout project to purchase the Mull of Galloway estate from the Northern Lighthouse Board as well as securing—as Aileen McLeod has already pointed out—20 jobs and creating opportunities for others. Although there is still a little further to go, I understand that the trust is confident that the group will make up the remaining shortfall.
Members who have a connection with the South Scotland region—Dumfries and Galloway in particular—will, however, be aware that visitor numbers are down on previous years. That may be a result of the financial difficulties that many people find themselves in or it may be down to the awful weather that we are experiencing—although not tonight. Whatever the case, we must all do what we can to publicise projects such as this one to ensure a higher number of visitors to the region.
Indeed, Dumfries and Galloway is in need of a serious refocus by the Scottish Government. We have already witnessed the closure of the costume museum, despite cross-party efforts to prevent it. As we are all aware, tourist attractions and facilities help to support each other, so I ask the Scottish Government to do all that it can to support the region.
When looking at the Mull of Galloway project, I was struck by how many different aspects have been put together, as Aileen McLeod highlighted earlier. Since 2000, there has been an RSPB visitor centre located near a fantastic viewing point and nature trails. From there you can see guillemots, as highlighted by Alex Fergusson, and puffins—my colleague Claire Baker being the species champion for them—and even, in the winter, peregrines. I am pleased to hear that the RSPB has been heavily involved with the Mull of Galloway Trust and will soon be an official partner of the group.
Of course, the main attraction is the lighthouse itself, and I am glad that the trust is able to take ownership of it and save it from potential ruin.
I have been told that the view on a clear day is quite spectacular: as other members have highlighted, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man are perfectly visible. I look forward to taking up the trust’s invitation to go and see it for myself, and to visiting the lighthouse exhibition, which is already open. I understand that now that funding has been made available through the Scottish land fund, it may be possible for the lighthouse keepers’ cottages to be purchased and rented out, so I would even have somewhere to stay.
I first heard of the trust community buyout during an evidence session with the land reform review group in Dumfries earlier this year, at which I was invited to visit the project in the summer. For those who are not familiar with the group—I know that members in the chamber will be, but others further afield might look at the debate with interest—it has been tasked with helping communities to have a say in the ownership, management and use of land throughout Scotland and with empowering communities to make the best of the natural resources that are available.
At the evidence session, we heard about a range of community buyout models, and I was particularly impressed by the presentation from the Mull of Galloway Trust. Of course, there is no one-size-fits-all model that is suitable for every potential project, but I am convinced that, in this case, the trust has got it spot on.
Community buyout projects have always been associated with the Highlands, so the Mull of Galloway project is an ideal example of how that community-based, co-operative way of working can be utilised throughout the country, and I am keen to support the type of capacity building that will be needed for community buyouts where appropriate.
I wish the Mull of Galloway project every success as an inspiration not only in its own right, but for those who feel able and are empowered to take on the running of their own land and facilities and make those assets work for them and for the future.
17:41
I congratulate Aileen McLeod on bringing the debate to the chamber. In answer to a look askance from Alex Fergusson, who seems to be wondering why I am taking part in a debate about the Mull of Galloway, representing as I do Midlothian and the Borders—it is a rhetorical question, by the way—I will give a couple of reasons.
First, I was—if I may so call myself—a temporary Gallovidian for some 15 years, living and teaching in Whithorn and Newton Stewart. If I recall correctly, that area was part of the Machars, as opposed to the Rhins. My sons are both Gallovidian born, so I have a personal locus.
I often wander down that other peninsula—through Port Logan and Kirkmaiden—to the mull, which is a part of Scotland that is still frequently overlooked by many Scots. It is an extraordinary area, and so far south that I understand that it is level with Durham if one draws a line across the map.
It has its own eco-climate, and I used to yell at the television, grumbling about the weather forecast being way out of kilter with the weather that I saw from my window.
That brings me, Presiding Officer—if you are wondering whether my speech has only a tenuous link to the motion—to a dramatic visit to the mull one gloomy, wild day. Indeed, when I looked up the history of the mull on the internet, the description began:
“Gulls, gales and grandeur of cliff and sea that is unsurpassed”.
Just so.
The wind in that exposed wild promontory—in the days before health and safety took serious hold—just about whipped me off my feet. Huge grumbling waves lashed the rocks, and the sea and the dark sky in turmoil could not be distinguished one from the other.
I was about to give up, when the wild movements of the sea took a different turn, and great grey lumps of something or other caught my eye. Everyone else had returned to their cars.
I shouted, “I’ve seen a whale—in fact, I’ve seen lots of whales!”, but my words were lost in the wind.
“Ach, it’s just the sea,” came a reply. Then someone came out from the lighthouse, battling against the wind and bending forward, and I heard them say, “You have.”
It was a school of whales—the only one that I have ever seen to this day. On that blustery day, out of nowhere, I had a wonderful experience and saw a sight never to be forgotten, and that is why I am talking about the mull here today.
That surpassed those sunnier days when the gulls left us in no doubt that we were on their territory and we were being told to leave in no uncertain terms. The mull is a wonderful place, and I am delighted that it is now being held in the custody and care of those who deserve it: the people who live there.
The other reason that I wanted to speak about the mull is that I am a great advocate—as we in the Parliament all are—of people power and community commitment. I will tell the people of Gorebridge and Newtongrange in my constituency, who so recently felt powerless but have been proved wrong, to look to the success of the South Rhins Community Development Trust in accessing £338,500—I do not know if there were any pennies—from the £6 million Scottish land fund pot. Money is available for communities. It is a bit of a labyrinth to negotiate—it is worse than those stormy Mull of Galloway seas—but it is well worth negotiating.
I congratulate Aileen McLeod on securing the debate but, more importantly—if she will forgive me—I congratulate the community at the mull on securing the fund.
17:45
I, too, congratulate my colleague Aileen McLeod on securing the debate. I echo her comments about the hard work and dedication of the South Rhins Community Development Trust, which has led to the successful award to purchase 30 acres of the Mull of Galloway for the community. I also welcome Maureen and Sammy Chand and Brian Collins to the Scottish Parliament. I am sure that they take great pleasure in the fact that Ms McLeod’s debate has changed from one supporting the bid to one celebrating its success. I extend and echo her congratulations to Kathleen and Steve Hardy. I heard Mr Hardy on Radio Scotland this morning, and I thought that he gave a very impressive articulation of the community’s vision for the Mull of Galloway.
There is much to be celebrated about this part of Scotland. It is our Land’s End—our unspoiled Land’s End—as other members have said, and it is dominated by the magnificent Stevenson lighthouse. As an aside for those who are unable to travel immediately to the Mull of Galloway, I can recommend the lighthouse webcam, which was commissioned by the Northern Lighthouse Board, showing the view from the tower. Those who watch it long enough can perhaps spot the school of whales. However, I would recommend visiting the place, which is so stunning, as Aileen McLeod said.
Scotland is known for the beauty of its landscape, and today’s debate is a great opportunity to remind visitors and Scots that much of that stunning and dramatic landscape is found in the south of the country as well as in the Highlands, which perhaps get a little bit more attention. For that reason, it gives me particular pleasure to note that a remote rural community in the far south of Scotland is benefiting from one of the first grants from the Scottish Government-backed Scottish land fund. It is just over a year since the Government launched the £6 million fund, which aims to give communities the means to take over the land where they live. Land ownership builds independent, resilient rural communities, and it creates a great sense of confidence and community empowerment. When the fund was launched last year, the Minister for Environment and Climate Change at the time, Stewart Stevenson, said:
“this fund will help more of our rural areas to take control of their own destinies”
and to flourish. I have every confidence that the community at the Mull of Galloway will maximise the natural advantages and pristine beauty that the Rhins of Galloway already possess. The success of community ownership is closely associated with the success of the Scottish Parliament.
There has been verification from academic research. Dr Sarah Skerratt of the Scottish Agricultural College—now the Scottish Rural University College, or SRUC—visited 17 community land trusts as part of a project that had been commissioned by the Parliament. She was clear in her conclusions, which were based on evidence that she had gathered at first hand, mainly in the north and west of the country, that community land ownership leads to “more vibrant” rural communities. Now that the Mull of Galloway is soon to be bought for the benefit of its people, the benefits of community ownership will be felt from Scotland’s beautiful southern tip to its northern crofting townships. That is very appropriate, and it is something that all of us in the Parliament can be proud of.
17:49
Like other members, I thank Aileen McLeod for securing the debate. As a fellow South Scotland member, I know that Aileen McLeod has been involved with the Mull of Galloway Trust and its proposals to purchase the Mull of Galloway estate from the Northern Lighthouse Board. I understand that, as an independent ballot assessor, Aileen McLeod oversaw the historic count that demonstrated the community’s overwhelming support for the trust’s proposals for the purchase under the community right-to-buy provisions. It must have been an exciting moment for everyone involved and a monumental evening for the trust and the community of Kirkmaiden.
I congratulate the Mull of Galloway Trust, especially its directors, Donald Mccolm, Stephen Hardy, Maureen Chand and Kathleen Mary Hardy, as well as all those who were involved, including the community of Kirkmaiden, on what is a highly significant community buyout. I was not aware of the news about Steve and Kathleen Hardy, but I certainly wish them well as they fight the scourge of cancer—I am sure that we all share that sentiment, and they have my best wishes for sure.
The community buyout proposal has been successful. As members have acknowledged, the Scottish land fund announced today that the Mull of Galloway Trust has been awarded £388,500 towards the purchase and development of the lighthouse estate. I am delighted that the trust can now complete the purchase and take forward its plans for the development of this locally important asset.
As Aileen McLeod and others have stated, the community buyout has great potential in helping to develop a critically important tourist complex in a remote area of Scotland. The buyout will make a significant economic contribution to a remote rural community—the 20 jobs that have been mentioned are hugely significant for an area of this scale—and it will help to maintain and increase employment opportunities to counter the trend of young people leaving the area to find work. It will also increase volunteering opportunities and community involvement, and it will improve community cohesion.
I believe that the proposals will make a real and long-lasting difference to this remote south of Scotland community. The proposals are firmly rooted in the community’s needs and aspirations for development, which bodes very well for their success. Successful projects such as a community buyout do not just happen but take dedication and commitment—qualities that the trust has demonstrated in spades.
Three themes run through such successful projects, as we have heard during the debate. First, an especially important theme is the need for strong community support behind a project. As we have heard, the trust ballot secured a phenomenal result, with a 63.8 per cent turnout among the 551 eligible voters in the community. As Alex Fergusson, Aileen McLeod and others have said, an overwhelming 98.6 per cent of those who cast a vote voted in favour of the trust’s proposals. The trust should be congratulated on achieving those outstanding figures.
Strong community support has also been a feature of other buyouts, as communities have rallied and stood firmly behind their buyout proposals. In 26 of the 36 other ballots that have been conducted under the community right-to-buy provisions of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, more than 90 per cent of voters voted in favour of the community buyout proposals, with two communities—Salen and Bridgecastle—each securing 100 per cent. Those are impressive figures, which we politicians can only envy.
Those figures show the impressive community support that has been generated in communities that have had the opportunity to purchase land and land assets. It is important to remember that such opportunities are not confined—as Aileen McLeod, Joan McAlpine, Alex Fergusson and others reminded us—to communities in the Highlands and Islands but are available throughout Scotland. Such support is fundamental to the success of community buyouts: it secures community buy-in to the community-led proposals; it engages people in their community and its future development and success; and, importantly, it provides a strong foundation for a community body or community group to take forward its plans.
A second theme has been partnership working. To acquire the estate and to develop its proposals, the trust is establishing and using a number of partnerships, including partnerships with other third sector organisations and with the public sector. Those have already played a significant role in developing practical and workable proposals, and they will also mean that the trust has access to a wide support network. I understand that fundamental links between the Mull of Galloway Trust and the South Rhins Community Development Trust have helped to bring about the evolution and development of the land buyout. The two organisations plan to work together after purchase to develop the plans for the estate. That is a very positive suggestion.
Together, the Mull of Galloway Trust and the South Rhins Community Development Trust complement each other’s roles and experience: one is a company that was founded in 1999 and has extensive knowledge from running the Mull of Galloway experience, which received recognition when it secured the Dumfries & Galloway Life tourism award in 2011; the other is a newly incorporated company that was founded to acquire property at the Mull of Galloway and to become a community landowner. That partnership is an excellent example of local organisations working together to share their experience for the greater benefit of their communities and to ensure that the assets that are acquired will be an integral part of the wider economic development landscape. They provide an example that other communities should look to.
A third theme is the use of professional advice and support. The Mull of Galloway Trust has drawn on advice from a range of professional advisers, including Dumfries and Galloway Social Enterprise Network and the highly regarded Destination Dumfries and Galloway. The development proposals and business plan clearly show the difference that such advice can have on developing practical, realistic and workable proposals. I urge other communities to look at how they can utilise advice from professional advisers and draw on their knowledge.
As I mentioned earlier, I am pleased that the trust has been awarded funding from the Scottish land fund to help to realise the project. The land fund—delivered by the Big Lottery Fund and Highlands and Islands Enterprise for the Scottish Government—is about ensuring that rural communities throughout Scotland can achieve increased sustainable economic, social and environmental development through the experience of acquiring, owning and managing land and land assets. I encourage other rural communities that are interested in acquiring land and land assets to consider using the fund. There are now many examples of how the fund has been applied, from the purchase of local shops or land adjacent to village halls to larger-scale land buyouts—and, of course, the occasional lighthouse, too. The people of Kirkmaiden have a lot to look forward to.
In the time remaining, I will pick up a couple of points that were raised by members. I was particularly interested in the suggestion that the foghorn might become the equivalent of the 1 o’clock gun—I would certainly like to see that. Like Alex Fergusson, I think that I will add the Mull of Galloway to my bucket list of destinations to visit. I am more than happy to accept an invitation from Aileen McLeod to visit the facility to see how the community is getting on with the project. On the point that Aileen McLeod and Joan McAlpine raised about communities outside the Highlands and Islands—to be fair, everyone echoed this sentiment—I want the message to go out loud and clear from here that communities not just in the south of Scotland but in other parts of Scotland, too, should benefit from the land fund. I also echo the sentiments about the work of Sarah Skerratt—Joan McAlpine mentioned her, as did others—which is a very important body of work.
Community land ownership will make a real difference to the Mull of Galloway, as it already does to communities throughout Scotland. As I have said before, this is one of rural Scotland’s success stories, but we want to do and achieve more, and I want to reiterate that point today. I am sure that, in the future, community land buyouts and wider land reform will be main drivers for investment, regeneration and economic sustainability for all Scotland. The Government is determined to empower communities throughout Scotland to grasp the opportunity to take control of their own destiny.
I commend Aileen McLeod for moving the motion today and I echo members in commending the Mull of Galloway Trust for its hard work. It is nice to see that paying off.
Meeting closed at 17:56.