Scottish Wildlife Trust thanks local communities after land acquisition

The Scottish Wildlife Trust would like to extend its thanks to everyone who took the time to attend its community events held in Braemore and Coigach last week.

The Trust announced its acquisition of Inverbroom Estate, near Ullapool, earlier this month. It plans to restore wildlife and habitats on the site to help tackle the nature and climate crises, with a focus on peatland restoration, natural woodland regeneration and nature-friendly farming.
The Trust hopes to work with the local community to achieve these goals in a way that benefits people and wildlife. It is also fully committed to being a responsible landlord and over time will develop opportunities for local employment, training and volunteering.
Sarah Robinson, Director of Conservation at the Trust, said: “Inverbroom has huge potential to provide homes for wildlife while helping us tackle the climate crisis, but we understand it’s also an important place for local people.
“We’re grateful for the warm welcome we’ve received so far and are looking forward to continuing our discussions with the local community going forwards.”

Last week’s events, which were held at Braemore Village Hall and Coigach Community Hall, were attended by approximately 100 people in total. Attendees had the opportunity to discuss the acquisition with Trust staff and to share their thoughts and ideas on the future of Inverbroom.

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Still time to take part in the Highland Visitor Levy Consultation

The Highland Council has been hosting a series of in-person and on-line engagement events as part of the current consultation process on the proposed Visitor Levy Scheme for Highland.

The Convener of The Highland Council, Councillor Bill Lobban said: “I want to thank everyone who has attended the events in person and on-line. If anyone has been unable to attend any of the sessions, there is still time to feed your views into our consultation as it runs up until 31 March.

“In addition to the public events, we’ve taken part in several sessions specifically for the business community. As well as getting feedback from businesses and the tourism sector, it is important that we gather as many views from individuals, community groups and businesses as possible to make the consultation inclusive and ensuring that it fairly and accurately captures opinion and feedback from across all communities.”

As well as a link to the consultation portal – https://www.highland.gov.uk/visitorlevyconsultation, the information on the Council’s website includes helpful FAQs that have been updated with questions raised at the public engagement sessions.

Cllr Lobban added: “All comments received from the on-line consultation and public engagement sessions will be analysed and included as part of a report that will be presented to council at a future date. I therefore encourage anyone who has not yet filled in the on-line consultation, to do so before the deadline.”

A report will be considered at a future meeting of The Highland Council which will set out the findings of the consultation.”