SLF award a ‘game changer’ for West Highland Museum
The West Highland Museum in Fort William, home to one of the most important collections of Jacobite artefacts in Scotland, is to expand following an award of £205,065 from the Scottish Land Fund (SLF).
The money will allow the West Highland Museum Trust to buy an adjacent building and two pieces of land.
Ian Peter MacDonald, West Highland Museum Trust chairman, said: ‘We are absolutely delighted to receive this funding. It’s a game changer for us.
‘The West Highland Museum celebrates its centenary this year and the money from the Scottish Land Fund enables us to take forward our plans to develop and expand the museum, particularly with regards to community engagement, research and education.’
The funding is one of 14 awards handed out to urban and rural projects following the latest round of SLF funding. Portree and Braes Community Trust Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation received £21,180.
The group will use the money to acquire land in Portree to establish community allotments, create communal growing opportunities and plant trees for biodiversity and shelter. Community ownership will deliver social and environmental benefits for residents and visitors.
Cara Gillespie, SLF committee chairman, said: ‘The diversity of projects supported, and the range of communities leading them, shows just how much appetite and ambition there is for community ownership of land and land assets.
‘We are pleased to support these projects and look forward to welcoming many more applications from communities across Scotland.’