May 1st saw a good turn out of local residents at the Scaladale Centre. The Trust is working on a number of initiatives in the area and this was an opportunity to share its plans. A number of staff and directors were present to give details and collect feedback and and concerns.
Projects discussed on the night were:
The Ardvourlie Housing Project – Affordable Homes for rent
Ardvourlie Woodland Observatory
Ardvourlie/Bowglas Mountain Bike Trails
Visitor Facilities/Cafe at the Ardvourlie Woodland car park
Enquiry for land for business use
The meeting was generally very positive about the developments being discussed. It’s acknowledged that the Ardvourlie Woodland is an overlooked community asset that more could be made of.
Funding has been secured for the Woodland Observatory. Work is due to start in July.
The Mountain Bike Trails are still at a Feasibility stage, so work will now need to be done to investigate how it could be funded.
Both developments will bring additional visitors to this quieter corner of Harris. The need for visitor facilities like additional parking was raised as a concern and will be addressed as the projects develop.
It is hoped that these individual initiatives will together make a positive impact on the local economy. Local businesses will benefit from the extra footfall and Harris as a whole will benefit form the redistribution of visitor numbers.