RURAL communities are to “shape their own destiny” after completing the buy-out of a 3000 acre estate, Land Reform Secretary Roseanna Cunningham has said.
The crofting townships of Portgower, Gartymore, West Helmsdale and Marrel were previously owned by Sutherland Estates.
Now the Garbh Allt Community Initiative has purchased all 1.2 hectares.
The move paves the way for a new direction for the area.
Rewilding efforts and new homes are currently amongst considerations for future use of some parts of the land.
The £250,000 buy-out was supported by the Scottish Land Fund and the community fund run by energy giant SSE. It took around two years to complete and began after Sutherland Estates approached grazing communities about intentions to sell.
Commenting yesterday, Cunningham said: “This is great news for the Garbh Allt Community Group and marks another significant milestone for land reform in the Highlands.
“The Scottish Land Fund has awarded £273,000 in Scottish Government funding to this ambitious initiative, providing the communities in Sutherland with the opportunity to shape their own destiny, and put the foundations in place for a range of initiatives designed to improve social and economic conditions in this part
of the country.”
Speaking to the Press and Journal, Garbh Allt Community Initiative chair Anne Fraser said people had initially been “stunned” by the prospect.
However, she said her grandparents and great grandparents “would be [proud] of how their offspring have got it back and bought it back for the community”.
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