Three groups planning special events include the Anchor Tavern on the Isle of Bute which raised £105,000 from a community shares offer and a grant of £150,000 from the Scottish Land Fund, and further grants from the Plunkett Foundation and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. The pub was the last of three to close and the community and its 280 members got together to raise the required funding to purchase the building and the business and get it going again. Annan Harbour Action Group raised the funds to buy the land and a warehouse at the harbour to create a visitor hub and a heritage centre. In Knoydart there are 7 community owned enterprises who are collaborating in an exhibition about what they do to be staged in the community hall from 12^th – 14^th October. They are also inviting the community to make submissions representing what community ownership means to them.

The collaboration includes the Knoydart Foundation, the community landowner with guardianship of some 17,500 acres, its two trading subsidiaries: Knoydart Trading which operates a bunkhouse, community shop and venison sales, and Knoydart Renewables which runs the community owned hydro scheme. Also, the Knoydart Forest Trust which manages the woodlands on behalf of the Foundation and runs firewood and milled timber enterprises to utilise local timber, Wood Knoydart which undertakes woodland management and creation work for neighbouring landholdings, and creates handmade wood products such as chopping boards and spatulas using homegrown timber, the Old Forge pub which came into community ownership in April 2022 and Knoydart Community Hall which has recently been refurbished.

“Community ownership often reverses many years of decline and can unlock energy in a community.  The purchase of land or buildings increases confidence and can kickstart further economic opportunities, create new jobs, often enable the development of vital housing, building on a growing awareness of environment and heritage to enliven the social life of its people,” continues Linsay Chalmers.

Land Reform Minister Mairi McAllan said:  “It’s great to see Community Land Week happening again this year. This is a great opportunity for the public to see the great variety of assets communities have taken on, and the innovative projects that are making such a big difference up and down the country.

“Communities know best what’s right for them, including when it comes to how they own and use local land and buildings. In Scotland we have an increased focus on community ownership, and there is now almost four times as much community owned land compared to the year 2000.

“This demonstrates real progress and delivery of the Scottish Government’s ambitions for land reform. Community Land Scotland and The Scottish Land Fund have over a number of years helped many community groups bring their visions for thriving local assets to life.

“Just now we are consulting on an ambitious new Land Reform Bill, which will be introduced by the end of 2023. It supports and extends existing work to pass more power to people and local communities, and to encourage responsible and diverse landownership and communities having a say in how land in their area is used.”

Community Land Scotland was set up in 2010 as a voice for community landowners, to help its members share knowledge and information, and to encourage communities to consider landownership and highlight the benefits of community landownership to Scotland.

The current membership owns and manages hundreds of thousands of acres and a huge array of buildings between them.