Acharossan Forest Acquisition Feasibility Study Prepared by Doreen MacIntyre and Munro Gauld March 2008 ACHAROSSAN FOREST ACQUISITION FEASIBILITY STUDY Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank all those who contributed their time, knowledge and expertise to the production of this report, especially the members of the Kilfinan Community Forest Project steering group, the Community Animateurs, and other members of the local community. This report was commissioned by the Kilfinan Community Forest Project and funded by the Community Land Unit of Highlands and Islands Enterprise. KCFC would like to thank the following organisations for supporting the project: Community Woodlands Association Scotland March 2008 Page: 2 ACHAROSSAN FOREST ACQUISITION FEASIBILITY STUDY CONTENTS Page Executive summary 5 1. Introduction 14 2. Background 15 2.1 Community context 15 2.2 Acharossan Forest 18 2.3 Kilfinan Community Forest Company 19 2.4 Policy context 20 2.5 The process to date 21 3. The Way Forward 27 3.1 Community control – potential outcomes 27 3.2 Options for the community 27 3.3 Advised course of action 29 3.4 National Forest Land Scheme 30 4. Acharossan Forest 31 4.1 Location 31 4.2 Forest structure 31 4.3 Management constraints 33 4.4 Access 34 4.5 Forecasted timber output 36 4.6 Woodland management options 37 4.7 Woodland management delivery 41 5. Valuation of Acharossan Forest 42 6. Appraisal of development opportunities 43 6.1 Income generating activities 43 6.2 Paths / tracks 55 6.3 Education 57 6.4 Outdoor play area 58 6.5 Woodland crofts 59 6.6 Housing 65 6.7 Environmental improvement 66 6.8 Arts 68 7. Delivery 69 7.1 Structure to deliver 69 7.2 Community capacity 71 7.3 Timetable to deliver 72 7.4 Financial assessment 74 8. Conclusions 82 APPENDICES Appendix A. References 84 March 2008 Page: 3 ACHAROSSAN FOREST ACQUISITION FEASIBILITY STUDY Appendix B. Acronyms 85 Appendix C. Community Activities 86 Appendix D. Community Consultation Findings. January – March 2007 88 Appendix E. Interim Report Consultation. December 2007 91 Appendix F. Community Skills Audit Summary 94 Appendix G. Acharossan Community Forest Management Plan – 97 Management Proposals Appendix H. Draft Project Manager Job Description 99 Appendix I. Projected Development Finance 102 March 2008 Page: 4 ACHAROSSAN FOREST ACQUISITION FEASIBILITY STUDY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The purpose of this Feasibility Study is to assess the options for Kilfinan Community Forest Company (KCFC) for the potential of Acharossan Forest, located in the Kilfinan Parish, Argyll to deliver tangible social, economic and environmental benefits to local residents and visitors alike. CONTEXT Parish of Kilfinan Situated on the western side of the Cowal Peninsula, the area covered by this report is the whole Parish of Kilfinan, designated PA21. The main settlements were traditionally Ardlamont, Millhouse, Kilfinan and Otter Ferry, the villages of Tighnabruaich and Kames being established in the latter part of the 19th century. Retaining a feeling of remoteness, yet within relatively easy reach of large centres of population, this scenic area is a popular visitor destination. From a high of approximately 3,500 in 1950, in recent years the population of the area has fallen to a current full time population of around 700. The parish is popular with retired people, who now form around 70% of the resident local adult population. Since the 1950s numbers of young families have decreased due to the contracting local jobs market, a decline in local service provision and lack of affordable housing. Over half of the area’s private housing is now second homes. Acharossan Forest, which adjoins Tighnabruaich, extends over a total area 447ha (1105 acres). As such it is a major local resource, which is at present unmanaged and underused, and provides no local employment. The forest was planted in 2 phases in 1963 and in the mid 1970s. The forest cover consists of 60% conifers, 37% open ground and 3% broadleaves. The earliest planted areas in the forest are now reaching maturity, but these now urgently require to be managed before windthrow becomes widespread. The community based organisation which is leading this initiative was set up as the Kilfinan Community Forest Project (KCFP) in 2005, and formally established as Kilfinan Community Forest Company (KCFC) in October 2007. KCFC’s primary aim is to acquire an area of Acharossan Forest from Forestry Commission Scotland, and by doing so, delivering and opening up a range of local benefits. Policy The current policy climate is relatively favourable towards KCFC’s aspirations. In recent years there has been a growing political awareness of the types of issues affecting rural communities such as Kilfinan Parish, and in particular, there are 3 specific areas of policy which specifically relate to what the community’s aspirations is hoping to achieve, namely: The Scottish Rural Development Programme (SRDP), the Scottish Forestry Strategy, and the Crofting Reform Act 2007. The implications of each of these as they relate to the KCFC project are considered in this report. Community consultation Since 2005, the community has been consulted extensively on its views on the issues facing the area, and the ways in which Acharossan Forest could be used to address these issues. The key themes which recur throughout the consultation process are: the need for affordable and sheltered houses, the need for more full time, economically active residents in the area, the need for local jobs, and the need for improved recreational opportunities and environmental improvements. The consultations have indicated that the community is broadly supportive of the project, and this was underlined by the response to the community ballot which took place in June 2007. There were 392 (out of a possible 622) responses to March 2008 Page: 5 ACHAROSSAN FOREST ACQUISITION FEASIBILITY STUDY the question “Do you support the proposed purchase of part of Acharossan Forest by the Kilfinan Community?” This represents a 64% return rate. There were 297 votes for “Yes” (76% of the vote cast) and 94 for “No” (24% of the vote cast). In 2007 scoping studies were commissioned to outline the opportunities for community management of Acharossan Forest, to identify the renewable energy potential of forest products, and to investigate the affordable and sustainable housing prospects within the forest. In tandem with the housing study, a survey was carried out to assess local demand for affordable housing / forest crofts. A skills audit which was undertaken in November 2007 revealed that there is a wealth of skills within the community, and an encouraging level of willingness to participate in the Kilfinan project. THE WAY FORWARD Community acquisition Community control over Acharossan Forest would potentially result in the aims and objectives of KCFC being met and could provide a range of local and wider public benefits. However the extent to which these benefits could be realised depends to a large degree on the type of land tenure that the community decide to pursue in relation to Acharossan Forest. Of the three types of land tenure which the community could consider – lease, management agreement or acquisition – acquisition is the option which would enable the greatest amount of public benefit from the forest. Should the community decide to proceed with purchase of the forest, this could either be carried out in a single phase, or in stages. However, if the community is willing to take on the responsibility of ownership, it is advised that it should consider a one-stage purchase of the forest as it: • Gives a practical possibility of gaining access into Acharossan Forest from the FCS plantation to the north. As there is no other vehicular access into the forest, this is a vital element to allow KCFC to effectively manage the forest. • Allows the community to use proceeds from the sale of timber from the more commercially viable areas to subsidise the non-income generating elements of the project. KCFC would thus have the potential in the future to become financially sustainable. • Capitalises on the current agency and governmental support for community land initiatives, including funding support from lottery and other bodies. The opportunity for KCFC to acquire Acharossan Forest has been made possible through the Forestry Commission Scotland’s National Forest Land Scheme (NFLS). For communities to be successful in their bid to acquire National Forest Land, they must satisfy the Scheme’s eight eligibility criteria as part of the application process, and an initial assessment would seem to indicate that KCFC is able to fulfil all these criteria. The acquisition of Acharossan Forest by KCFC would entail the raising of considerable funds. The District Valuer valued the forest in March 2008 at £500,000. An additional sum of approximately £5,000 would be required for legal fees. Whilst it is not possible to detail exactly how the necessary acquisition funding could be raised by KCFC, it is possible to identify the principal sources of funding, as used in similar circumstances by other community land initiatives. This is summarised as follows: March 2008 Page: 6 ACHAROSSAN FOREST ACQUISITION FEASIBILITY STUDY Funding Source % of Acquisition Costs Amount Growing Community Assets (maximum) 85 £429,250 Community Land Unit (approximately) 9 £45,450 Community contribution (minimum) 6 £30,300 TOTAL 100 £505,000 An application for related capital, revenue and aftercare development funding may also be submitted to the GCA at the same time as applying for acquisition funding. ACHAROSSAN FOREST MANAGEMENT AND ACCESS Acharossan Forest has received little or no active management inputs by Forestry Commission since planting. As a result it is unthinned and in places is heavily infested with rhododendron. An indication of the general susceptibility to windthrow of the growing stock at Acharossan is given by the “Windthrow Hazard Classification” (WHC) indices for the Forest which are derived from an assessment of four site factors – location, elevation, exposure and soil type.