APPENDIX 3

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1.1. Introduction The Cabrach Trust was established in 2011 in response to a need to regenerate the Cabrach and to safeguard the areas rich cultural heritage and support its remote communities. The Trust is a registered company limited by guarantee with charitable status (Company No: 409596, Scottish Charity No: SC043771). Director/Trustee biographies are appended at Appendix 8. The Trust’s proposals for the establishment of distillery, heritage and training centre located at Inverharroch Farm the Acorn Centre site will be a major contributor to the local economy with income will derived from a sustainable combination of sale of Cabrach whisky, distillery tours, café and shop sales, events, courses, and accommodation. The development will be a vibrant, successful, energetic space, bring new people to the area, raising the morale of the communities of the Cabrach and contributing to a sustainable future for the people of the Cabrach. Sympathetic conversion plans which take into account environmental, social and economic needs will ensure that the buildings detailed in the application will have a sustainable future and remain a central part of the fabric of Cabrach life.

1.2. The assets The Cabrach Trust is seeking to acquire from Moray Council through a Community Asset Transfer three associated buildings which together are known as the Acorn Centre site: (Appendix 1 – Site Plan). The site comprises:  The former Lower Cabrach Primary School (now known as the Acorn Centre)  The Old Cabrach Hall  The former Schoolhouse  Surrounding land extending to approximately one acre, including site title for all assets. The properties are currently leased to the Cabrach Trust with the Acorn Centre currently being actively used as a community facility. However, the Old Cabrach Hall and Schoolhouse are now uninhabited and in a deteriorating state. Three principal uses for the site have emerged and a ‘triple bottom line approach’ is envisaged where economic activity alongside social and cultural/environmental benefits are realised together. This is in line with the Moray 2026 ‘A Plan for the Future’. The Old Cabrach Hall will be used as a community facility & training venue with the Cabrach Community Association as the main users of the Hall. The Schoolhouse will be refurbished to provide flexible accommodation for trainees, educational use and holiday lets. The Acorn Centre will be repurposed for use as bonded warehouse servicing the Cabrach Distillery. A full description of the proposed use of the assets is detailed in Section 4.1 APPENDIX 3

1.3. Work to date Work on preparing detailed drawings for the conversion of the Acorn Centre site has commenced and concept drawings are attached with this application (Appendix 2 – Concept drawings). A site survey has been commissioned by architects NB Planning, and a drainage impact survey, warehouse feasibility study, and work on fire safety planning has been undertaken. Further work is yet to take place on preparing detailed drawings for a planning submission, commissioning further surveys, and developing a sympathetic landscape design. Close consultation has taken place with local community and concept drawings have been drawn up in consultation with the Cabrach Community Association. Exploratory conversations have been undertaken with potential funders and early development funding has been secured to take the project as far as the planning application stage. Further funding has also been secured to assess the viability of a community energy generation project on this and the Inverharroch site.

1.4. Marketing & market assessments The Cabrach location, landscape, wildlife and heritage plus its proximity to the Whisky Trail, the Cairngorms National Park and the Aberdeenshire Castle Trail make it an attractive place to visit. People interested in the rich heritage of literature, culture and the arts in Moray will find an inspiring focus in the Cabrach. There is currently a lack of ‘good’ standard accommodation and training provision of the type proposed here. The accommodation and training facility provision will complement that which currently exists. The opportunity to combine small group accommodation with a good quality training venue in a wild and spectacular location is a unique selling point for the proposed developments. A range of lettings opportunities for both hall and schoolhouse will ensure a sustainable income stream which is largely immune from seasonal trends.

1.5. Community benefits The Cabrach Trust is focused on maximising the potential of the project to ensure social, cultural and economic benefit for the local and wider community, thereby reversing the current trend of population attrition due to limited opportunities being available locally. Our approach is to work in partnership with residents and other key stakeholders to build a sustainable organisation, with sound finances, providing employment and which is in harmony with our environment. A Social Impact Audit (appended) provides full details of the scale of social, cultural, economic and environmental benefits of the project.

1.6. How this plan fits in with the Master Plan for the Cabrach Trust The Acorn Centre site is an integral part of the Cabrach Trust’s distillery and heritage centre proposals. Without this site and the use of the Acorn Centre as bonded warehouse, whisky from the Cabrach distillery will have to be matured outside the area which will weaken its USP and diminish its provenance. The Cabrach distillery will operate as a social enterprise with all surplus funds being used to further the social aims of the Cabrach Trust. The distillery will produce 100,000 bottles of whisky per annum and in year 5 of operation will achieve a net profit of £944,000. An executive summary of the business plan for the distillery and heritage centre is appended. APPENDIX 3

Without the use of the refurbished Schoolhouse, the Cabrach Trust will not be able to run its proposed trainee programme at Inverharroch and this will diminish the social impacts and community benefits of the developments. And importantly without the refurbished Old Cabrach Hall and a sustainable income from lettings, community in the Cabrach will not have available to them a fit for purpose and much needed sustainable community facility.

1.7. Financial summary The projections show Net Surpluses for the Hall and Schoolhouse combined of £13,214 in year 1 of operation, £10,780 in year 2 and £14313 in year 3. We then subtract management fees (to cover the costs of bookings/telephone/accountancy etc.) of £4,500 per annum (c. £85 per week), which will be charged by the trading subsidiary or at least some other cost centre within the group. This results in Combined Net Surpluses after management fees of £8714 in Year 1, £16280 in Year 2 and £19,813 in Year 3.

1.8. Capital Expenditure Indicative building costs have been provided by Architects and Quantity Surveyors, commissioned by the Cabrach Trust and are based on initial sketch drawings. Conversion of the properties to a good standard will require funding in the region of £837,500. This will be secured through a sustainable mix of funding streams, which will include, but is not limited to, the following funds: Climate Challenge Fund Foundation Scotland; Clashindaroch Community Fund, Scottish Land Fund, Big Lottery Fund Community Assets, Moray Leader, Trusts and Foundations, Heritage Enterprise Grant. This is detailed further in section 9.2.

1.9. Management arrangements The Cabrach Trust is managed by a Board of Directors drawn from the Cabrach and from the Northeast of Scotland. The Trust currently employs one full time officer. With industry experience across a number of sectors, including; distilling, heritage, tourism, housing, media, and social enterprise, trustees and staff bring a range of professional expertise to the organisation, including business management, heritage skills, project management, tourism expertise, financial management, and project development. This concentration of expertise is not commonly available in remote communities like the Cabrach. CT will project manage the site development to achieve sustainable outcomes, the Cabrach Trust can draw on their executive staff and experienced trustees, who have their own excellent wider network of contacts and connections. The Executive Director, with responsibility for implementing the plans of the Trust, reports to the Chair of the Board of Directors A Project Manager will shortly be appointed with specific responsibility to take forward the conversion and refurbishment works at Inverharroch and the Acorn Centre. Once fully operational a new Heritage Centre Manager will be responsible for management of the sites, including managing bookings, liaising with the CCA on community bookings, and responsible for managing maintenance and cleaning. APPENDIX 3

1.10. Timeline Subject to the outcome of this application, final drawings and surveys will be completed and a planning application for conversion submitted in the Summer of 2017. Conversion works will commence in October 2017 and will be completed in June 2018. An opening event will be held in early summer 2018 and lettings will subsequently commence in July 2018.

1.11. Summary The Cabrach Trust request that the assets should be transferred from Moray Council to them at zero cost to reflect site condition, constraints, including development costs and community need. The distillery and heritage centre which includes the proposed development of the Acorn Centre is a transformational development opportunity for the Cabrach. It will create jobs, bring new visitors to the area, celebrate and protect the cultural heritage of the Cabrach and generate surpluses which will be reinvested in future phases of development acting as a catalyst to future economic growth. This asset transfer represents an opportunity to provide significant investment in the site’s building fabric, halting deterioration in the disused buildings and addressing local people’s wishes to see the buildings which were once the centre of the community put back into public use. The acquisition of this asset will support the Cabrach Trust’s aim of a sustainable future for the Cabrach.