FIVE THINGS FOR A FRIDAY | 04 June 2021 | Stratherrick & Foyers Community Trust

FIVE THINGS FOR A FRIDAY

Friday, 04 June 2021

FIVE THINGS FOR A FRIDAY

MORE JOBS TO BE ANNOUNCED

This week at the Trust Board we agreed to employ a Finance Officer. This will help raise our capacity to meet the future demands on the organisation when supporting the community / community groups and ease the pressure on our volunteer led base. Please keep your eye out for the advert soon!

MONEY, MONEY, MONEY

We have to report to the funders (if from windfarm, hydro benefit or grants) to make sure the available funds being distributed are going to the project outcomes they are designated for. This takes considerable thought by volunteers tasked with agreeing to grants at the moment. As we get closer to the development of the Community Action Plan it will become clear that funds and resources will then be directed to the outcomes determined by the community. The Trust are developing how community members and community groups can report back on funds allocated in a more effective way so we can all assess and celebrate impact. Some of this will drip feed into funds being allocated now, so please do not be surprised if asked.

COMMUNITY ACTION GROUPS ROUND 2

The Action Groups start up again next week. Get all the latest news, catch up, roll up your sleeves and have your say – details here Stratherrick Updates | Future Ideas (communityfuture.net)

DOWN BY THE RIVERSIDE

Each meeting we discuss a specific project and this month it happened about Riverside which has been a hot topic of late, on and off social media! A few points from the Board Meeting.

We believe the Community Council have asked for an extension to the planning consultation period and the Board fully support that to allow time for the activity below.
Although there has been considerable consultation over several years the ebb and flow of community life does change. The Board agreed to a survey to capture fully ‘here and now’ and will circulate this across the community over a two-week period from next week (we will capture the comments from those nearest to the field / immediate area too)
We are establishing a Steering Group to take the project forward if planning is granted. Some nearby residents are already on that. If you or your community group have an interest in this project, we urge you to now make it known – press the ‘Get Involved’ button at this link now! Riverside Field | Stratherrick & Foyers Community Trust (stratherrickcommunity.org.uk)
We think it is important that people engage with planning if they have a positive or negative view. We do anticipate the Steering Group will have to work through any conditions relevant to the site (The Planning Application was due to go in late 2020 but had been delayed due to the requirement for a Roads Report). Before commenting do read the Design Statement in Documents as that tells the story of how the community got to this point. Make your views known to the Council here 21/02331/FUL | Community amenity development (masterplan), MUGA, sports/play areas, car park, community hall, gym | Land 100M NW Of Linden Grays Park Foyers (highland.gov.uk)
We clarified to all members of the Trust Board how the funds to purchase the field were acquired and what their responsibilities may be moving forward. The Field was bought by a grant to develop community facilities. If community facilities are not developed the land will have to be sold and money returned. This, of course, will be a last resort.

I was in touch with some of the residents who expressed an interest to be on the steering group and their thoughts helped guide the Trust view above.

The next Steering Group meeting will probably be after the Community Action Plan Action Groups have been completed at the end of June.

DON’T BE SCARED!

The lovely thing about my role is you get to see both sides of a story. The Riverside Field Project has views, some strong, on both sides of the debate. Some on social media. Some in community get togethers. Some in formal meetings. Some just a chat over a coffee. Even the Trust Board have different views on any plan. I would not expect anything else. Some people have a middle ground – they like one aspect of the plan, but not another and cannot decide if the thing that concerns them is the dealbreaker. That is fine too.

Some of you will have experienced many changes over the years – no matter what house you live or shop you go to or facility you use or wind turbine that revolves around and around someone may have objected to it being there.

I hope both the planning process (which tends to be very unemotive and deals in facts, policy and professional advice) and the work from the community steering group will come to a consensus. What is important is that you do not feel scared, worried or bullied into your view from anyone – and I include the vehicle that is the ‘Trust’ in that. So, apologies from me if you feel that now or things seem to be moving too fast on any project. Change is scary but I encourage you to make your views known through recognised channels and hopefully we will get the balance right.

2025: April (18 stories); 23 April Community Development - help shape a review of the Scottish Government’s rural community interventions
Are you interested in community development in the Highlands and want to help shape a review of the Scottish Government’s rural community interventions? The team...; 22 April 🚴‍♀️📣 ETAPE takes place this Sunday 📣🚴
The ETAPE event is taking place this Sun 27th April. Like previous years the route passes through the Strath. Below you will find a detailed map which includes all the lo...; 21 April The Highland Gathering
To keep up to date with what to expect at this years Highland Gathering on the 19th July - Please take a look at our event page: https://fb.me/e/8FCvyqVeZ or by scan...; 18 April Happy Easter Weekend; 16 April Foyers Bay Opening event
Join us on the 3rd May to find out more about the Foyers Bay project! You will also have the opportunity to view the bay from Loch Ness as Beastie Boats will be offeri...; 16 April SPRING MAGAZINE
The deadline to submit articles for the upcoming Spring Magazine is next week. If you have any stories, photos, recipes, perhaps even some family news or any other co...; 15 April Small Grant Scheme
The Trust recently carried out a review of their Small Grant Scheme which provides funding to individuals and groups based on an established set of criteria. We are pleas...; 14 April CAN YOU HELP?
Could you spare some time before, during or after this year’s Highland Gathering event on the 19th of July? We are looking for volunteers who would be willing to...; 10 April News Update
Following a meeting of the Stratherrick and Foyers Community Trust Board yesterday, I am delighted to announce that Peter Faye has been elected as Chairperson. Peter brin...; 10 April ✅⚓Help us tidy up Foyers Bay!⚓✅
Do you walk your dog at the Bay or the nearby woods? If you happen to be walking in this area over the weekend of the 11th to 13th April, please pick up a black rubbish b...; 9 April THE HIGHLAND GATHERING RETURNS
THE HIGHLAND GATHERING RETURNS THIS JULY! Be sure to save the 19th of July in your calendars as our Highland Gathering event takes place at Corriegarth Estate for the ...; 8 April Inverfarigaig Forest School
I am pleased to announce that the result of the community consultation, on the Inverfarigaig Forest School and associated land, is that the majority of those responding t...; 8 April Upcoming events!
Here is a list of events that are being held in the Strath later this month.; 3 April Spring Magazine
The Comms team are beginning to collate material for the upcoming Spring magazine. If you have any news, photos, recipes or any other content you would like us to include...; 3 April Moteh Parrott - Live at Stratherrick Public Hall tomorrow night.
Moteh Parrott is heading out on tour next week to promote his new album – ‘The Stones Are Merely Sleeping’, which he released last year. ...; 2 April 🚐 Use of the Community Van 🚐
Many of you will have seen the Trust’s van at various locations throughout the Strath. The van is leased by Stratherrick & Foyers Community Trust p...; 2 April ADMIN UPDATE
We apologise for the delay in the February Minutes being published. It was due to our administrator being absent from work for an extended period and they will be a...; 1 April Wildside Wednesday – 2nd April
We hope you can join us again when we welcome back Lyne Mhor Croft, Jinty’s Jams and Ellie from Croft at Caorann who all will be selling their local produce. Sadly,...; March (17 stories); 31 March EASTER EXTRAVAGANZA
Here’s a date for your calendar – April 19th 11am until 14.00pm at The Hub. Stratherrick Parent Council and Boleskine Community Care have teamed ...; 28 March Good luck to Soup To Go
Congratulations to Soup To Go – The group have SOLD OUT their event tomorrow afternoon at Stratherrick Public Hall. This event is in aid of Marie Currie Daffodi...; 27 March Community Suggestion / Post Boxes
Having listened to feedback from the community that social media and websites are not, for some of our community members, the best way of communicating we have now instal...; 25 March Errogie Church Update
Following an Errogie Church Steering Group meeting held at the end of January, community representatives, the project’s Lead Director, and the Trust’s CEO all...; 21 March Afternoon Tea with Soup To Go
Soup to Go are holding an Afternoon Tea next Sat, the 29th at Stratherrick Public Hall. The group are holding this event in aid of Marie Curie Daffodil Appeal. ...; 20 March Thank you to DTAS
On behalf of the Trust, I would like to thank Alice Duthuille from Development Trust Association Scotland (DTAS) who travelled from Glasgow to lead members of our Board t...; 20 March Loch Ness Heritage Group Talk
The South Loch Ness Heritage Group are holding a Spring event. Head along to a talk in Stratherrick Public Hall on Thursday 1st May from 7.30pm. "Whisky Distil...; 19 March Congratulations to Iain Hepburn
Bright Spark Burning Techniques shared this post last week, we wanted to highlight the success within the community. “After 30 years as a retained firefighter an...; 18 March ** Mobile Library **
Afternoon, We wanted to remind you that the Mobile Library will be in the Strath at the following locations next Tuesday 25th: Errogie – Yellow Bri...; 13 March Moteh Parrott Concert
Moteh Parrott is heading out on tour next month to promote his new album – ‘The Stones Are Merely Sleeping’, which he released last year. W...; 12 March Loch Ness Luvvies AGM
The Loch Ness Luvvies are holding their AGM on Friday 28th March at Stratherrick Public Hall at 7.30pm. The group are looking to recruit new members. All...; 12 March CONGRATULATIONS
We want to take this moment to congratulate both Foyers Lodge and Whitebridge Hotel who have gone and won multiple awards at the recent National Hotels of the Year &...; 11 March Afternoon Tea with Soup To Go
Soup to Go are holding an Afternoon Tea later this month at Stratherrick Public Hall. The group are holding this event in aid of Marie Curie Daffodil Appeal ...; 6 March Stained glass window design unveiled!
Over the past 18 months, local Artist Jacqueline Briggs has been working with the children from the local schools and youth club to create a design for a new stained glas...; 6 March Adam Holmes in concert!
This Friday Stratherrick Public Hall are hosting a concert with the fantastic Adam Holmes. 🤩 Adam the award-winning songwriter from Scotland will be perform...; 5 March 🤩 WILDSIDE WEDNESDAY 🤩
Thank you those of you who braved the rain to join us for another Wildside Wednesday event earlier today! We appreciate you taking the time to join us 🙌 Around 10 or ...; 3 March ‼️ EVENT REMINDER - THIS WEDNESDAY ‼️
It was a real treat to see so many of you last month at our first Wildside Wednesday for 2025. We hope you can join us again this coming Wednesday when we we...; February (18 stories); 27 February ** APPLY NOW **
🙌 Thanks to Communities Housing Trust (CHT) for sharing this on our behalf 🙌 We realise that the closing date to apply was not visible on the original post. Th...; 27 February Wildside toilet refurbishment progressing well!
If you have been in the Wildside Centre over the last couple of weeks, you will have noticed a new wall in the vestibule. Behind this, Rodger and his team are makin...; 26 February Wildside Wednesday - 5th March
Following on from last month’s successful event, we are delighted to host another Wildside Wednesday next week, the 5th March from 9.30am 🙌 It was great to see ...; 26 February Inverfarigaig Forest School Feedback
Thank you to everyone who braved the weather on Saturday to come and share your views about the future of Inverfarigaig Forest School. You can read the report from the me...; 25 February CURRENT VACANCIES WITH SFCT
We are currently looking to offer a short-term contract to secure the services of a freelance journalist / media person to undertake an assignment to compile, p...; 25 February Adam Holmes - Stratherrick Public Hall - 7th March
Next Friday, Stratherrick Public Hall are lucky enough to have a concert with Adam Holmes. Adam the award winning songwriter from Scotland will be performing from 7pm. D...; 22 February 📣 ** TODAY ** 📣 - Forest School Meeting
Interested in the future of the Forest School building? From 2pm Come and speak to us about your thoughts for the Forest School and wider opportunities fo...; 21 February Congratulations to Whitebridge Hotel
Whitebridge Hotel are finalists in the National Hotels of the Year - Scotland awards! The ceremony takes place in Glasgow on the 26th February at The Cr...; 19 February Communications 2025!
We are making a some improvements in the way we share important information with the community in 2025. The SFCT Board and communications team have made the dec...; 19 February 📣 Youth Club returns this Thursday 📣
Youth club is for anyone in P7 to S6 ✅ After a bit of a break, we are delighted to say that Youth Club is back!! ⭐ Important info ⭐ Date - Thursday 20th Februa...; 13 February Mailing List Update
We hope you received your copy of the February newsletter and enjoyed reading through it. The team are busy updating our mailing list and we understand that there may ...; 12 February Next Sat 22nd February
Next Sat 22nd February Inverfarigaig Forest School, Farigaig Forestry Carpark IV2 6XR - From 2pm Come and speak to us about your thoughts fo...; 11 February 🙌 JOIN OUR TEAM 🙌
We are currently recruiting a part-time (30 hours per week) Community Action Plan Project Officer to join our small team, based in the Wildside Centre in Whitebridge, on ...; 11 February ⚠️ Update regarding the upcoming works taking place at The Wildside Centre ⚠️
We can now confirm that the scheduled works on upgrading the toilet facilities in the Wildside Centre is starting this Thursday – 13th February. The Wi...; 8 February 📢 THE DAY IS FINALLY HERE 📢
Later today the Pathways Group are hosting their Community Engagement event at the Wildside Centre from 13.30pm. For the past year, the Pathways Group has be...; 6 February Errogie Church Statement
As you will be aware, an announcement was made by the Trust in mid December 2024 that we were unfortunately unable to host three events that were due to take place at Err...; 6 February Wildside Wednesday Success!
🙌THANK YOU 🙌 We want to say a big thank you to those of you who popped along to our first Wildside Wednesday event yesterday! It was great to see you all 😃 ...; 5 February !! WILDSIDE WEDNESDAY - TODAY !!
Join us TODAY at the Wildside Centre, between 9.30am – 12.30pm where the first Wildside Wednesday of 2025 will take place. You can shop local, with local p...; January (22 stories); 31 January !! Next Saturday !!
On the 8th Feb The Pathways Group host their Community Engagement Day at the Wildside Centre from 13.30pm. The group have setup a dedicated Facebook event pa...; 30 January Refurbishments to toilets in The Wildside Centre
Following many months of work behind the scenes we are pleased to be able to share with you that work on upgrading the ladies toilets and creating a larger disabled toile...; 30 January Fancy a sing song with Monadhliath?
The Monadhliath Choir invites all singers to a charity singing event on the 27.04.2025 at Stratherrick Public Hall. If you would be interested in join...; 29 January February Newsletter
We are pleased to share that our Feb newsletter should be making its way through your door next week! 🙌 Please look out for the white envelope addressed to ...; 25 January Do you use Instagram?
Did you know that Stratherrick & Foyers Community Trust are on Instagram? If you too have an account, why not give our page a follow. We’re keen to build up ...; 24 January Foyers Community Fire Station
🚒 Foyers Community Fire Station 🚒 Foyers Community Fire station has a competent crew of 7 personnel, but we are in real need of new recruits, to keep the s...; 23 January Wildside Wednesday is returning!
Join us on the 5th February at the Wildside Centre, between 9.30am – 12.30pm. Here is your chance to shop local, with local produce from Lyne Mhor Crof...; 22 January Loch Ness Luvvies - Traditional Burns Supper
This Friday, 24th Jan the Loch Ness Luvvies are hosting their very own Traditional Burns Supper at Stratherrick Hall, Gorthleck at 7.30pm. Tickets are £20 per he...; 22 January Timings have been announced!
As you may have recently seen, The Pathways Group are running a Community Engagement event on the 8th February from 1pm at The Wildside Centre. In our previous post, t...; 21 January ** Mobile Library Update **
Mark, our local librarian has kindly sent over a full list of dates when he will be stopping in the area. You can find the full list here: https://www.stratherrickcommuni...; 20 January Invitation to tender - Health & Safety Consultant required
We are looking for an experienced Health & Safety professional to carry out a comprehensive survey on Errogie Church to ensure that the building is fully compliant fo...; 19 January Send in your dates for the Community Calendar!
Did you know we have an online Community Calendar? If not, you can find it here: https://www.stratherrickcommunity.org.uk/calendar/ We would love to inclu...; 18 January What's the next step?
For the past year, the Pathways Group has been working hard to promote the local path network, paths that lead through rich landscapes, historical sites, and biodiversity...; 15 January Community Engagement Day - 8th Feb
Over the last month you may have noticed that the Pathways Group are holding a Community Engagement Day on the 8th February. You can find out all about the event by follo...; 14 January Mobile Library Update
Below you will find a list of updated Dates/Times where you can visit the Mobile Library at The Wildside Centre. We will add these dates to the Online Commu...; 14 January Indoor Carpet Bowls makes it return as of today!
** TODAY ** Indoor Carpet Bowls makes it return as of today! The group return to their weekly session after the Xmas break. Please note: The group will now ...; 10 January Community Engagement Event - 8th Feb
The Pathways Group invites you to a community event that explores the potential development of a pathways based app. This is your opportunity to help shape an app which w...; 9 January Deadline for Jan/Feb Newsletter Content!
The deadline to send in any content for the Jan/Feb Newsletter is Friday the 17th of January 2025. Please email marketingofficer@sfctrust.org.uk with your articles inclu...; 9 January Send us in your photos from the Winter Festival
A HUGE thank you to those of you who have already uploaded photos to our shared community photo gallery during the festival. If you have any wintery snaps th...; 8 January Reverse Advent Calendar Success!
Santa's little helpers would like to thank everyone who contributed in any way to the overwhelming success of this project. The generosity shown by our community was ...; 8 January ** MOBILE LIBRARY VISIT TODAY CANCELLED **
Sadly, due to the current road conditions, Mark who drives the local ‘Mobile Library’ will NOT be stopping at Wildside today. All books will be renewed, and h...; 7 January Welcome Back
Hello, we hope you had a relaxing time during the festivities. As it’s now time to get back to work, we thought it would be a good idea to update our online communi...

News Archive

Stratherrick & Foyers Community Trust,
The Wildside Centre, Whitebridge,
Inverness IV2 6UN
admin@sfctrust.org.uk
07300 562443

Mission statement: To act to enhance the quality of lives of people by engaging with the issues that matter to the community and by supporting people, at a sustainable level, to help people make things happen.

Thanks: Many thanks to our funders for making this site possible - SSE Renewables, Greencoat UK Wind, Green Highland Allt Luaidhe (228) Limited, Easter Aberchalder Partnership. Also the Trust extends its heartfelt thanks to all the community volunteers who have contributed ideas and content to the site.

Fair Work First Statement - Stratherrick and Foyers Community Trust (SFCT) is committed to advancing the Scottish Government Fair Work First Policy and the criteria as set out within the Fair Work First guidance document. We confirm that we pay our staff the Real Living Wage. We make every effort to ensure that our suppliers/contractors are offered the same Real Living Wage rate when procuring goods or services. We also confirm that we offer our staff and/or volunteers an Effective Workers Voice channel within the workplace. Our full policy can be found in ‘Our Documents’, then click on ‘Good Governance’.