News / Auld Skul project receives sizeable grant
DEVELOPING the Auld Skul in South Nesting into a community owned asset has taken a big step forward after the project was granted £47,109 from the Scottish Land Fund.
Vice chairman of the Community Development Company Nesting, Ellis Keith, said the grant would help the group seek match funding to employ a development worker, pay for commissioning a design team as well as buying the property from Shetland Islands Council.
He said the organisation would now approach the locally administered LEADER programme as well as the National Lottery’s awards for all scheme for help pay for an all important development worker.
The community development company has been working for many years to secure the building at Vassa for community use.
A five-year business plan sees the current use of the building expanding to include much needed childcare facilities, a gym, a workshop and learning centre, as well as meeting and storage rooms for groups and businesses for hire.
Keith said: “This is a big step forward for us, and we are very happy to have received this money.
“We realise that we have to make it pay. The whole project is hugely different from what it was when we started a few years ago.”
To that end the community company runs a scrap store type charity shop in the old school, which is open every Sunday between 2pm and 5pm.
Funded by the Scottish Government and delivered in partnership by the Big Lottery Fund and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the Scottish Land Fund helps communities to acquire and develop local assets.
The South Nesting announcement was made by the Scottish Land Fund on Thursday, with eight community projects receiving a total of £1.2 million.
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