WANLOCKHEAD COMMUNITY TRUST Proposed Community Purchase of Land From Buccleuch Estates FEASIBILITY STUDY AND SOCIAL ENTERPRISE PLAN April 2020 22 Westhall Gardens Edinburgh EH10 4JQ t. 0131 477 0676 [email protected] [email protected] Contents Part 1. Executive Summary ....................................................................... 1 Part 2. Context for the Community Buy-out .............................................. 3 1. Community Purpose and Actions.................................................................................................... 3 2. Methodology ................................................................................................................................... 4 3. Wanlockhead: Scotland’s Highest Village ....................................................................................... 4 3.1. Culture and Heritage ............................................................................................... 5 3.2. Tourism and Activities ............................................................................................. 6 3.3. Natural Heritage ...................................................................................................... 7 3.4. Community Development ....................................................................................... 8 4. Key Stakeholders ............................................................................................................................. 8 4.1. Scottish Government .............................................................................................. 8 4.2. Dumfries and Galloway Council .............................................................................. 8 4.3. South of Scotland Enterprise ................................................................................ 10 5. The Buyout Area and Key Issues ................................................................................................... 11 5.1. Commercial Forestry ............................................................................................. 11 5.2. Land Management ................................................................................................ 12 5.3. Land Ownership within Wanlockhead Village ...................................................... 14 5.4. Land Contamination .............................................................................................. 15 5.5. Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 17 6. The Visitor Economy ..................................................................................................................... 18 6.1. Baseline Analysis ................................................................................................... 18 6.2. Potential Income Generating Development Opportunities .................................. 19 6.3. Phased Development Strategy .............................................................................. 20 7. Economic Impacts of Nature-Based Tourism ................................................................................ 20 8. Community Engagement .............................................................................................................. 22 8.1. Early Engagement: July 2016 ................................................................................ 22 8.2. Community Engagement - Event 1 August 2017 ................................................. 23 8.2.1. Engagement Results .............................................................................................. 23 8.3. Community Engagement - Event 2 October 2019 ................................................ 24 8.3.1. Engagement Findings ............................................................................................ 25 Part 3. Developing the Estate .................................................................. 26 9. The Vision: An Integrated Development Strategy ........................................................................ 26 9.1. Project Vision ........................................................................................................ 27 10. Priority Projects and Phasing .................................................................................................... 28 10.2. Area 1: The Village ................................................................................................ 31 10.3. Area 2: Mennock West .......................................................................................... 32 10.4. Area 3: Mennock East ........................................................................................... 33 10.5. Area 4: Lowther ..................................................................................................... 34 Part 4. Delivering the Priority Projects: the Social Enterprise Plan ........... 35 11. Priorities – Income Generation in the First 5 Years .................................................................. 35 11.1. Developing the Trust ............................................................................................. 35 11.2. Branding and Marketing ....................................................................................... 35 11.3. Culture and Heritage ............................................................................................. 35 11.4. Paths: Mapping, Signposting, Waymarking and Publicity ..................................... 36 11.5. Management and Infrastructure for Wild Camping ............................................. 37 11.6. Infrastructure for Campers and Campervans ....................................................... 38 11.7. Glamping Pods ...................................................................................................... 40 12. Medium to Longer Term – Developing the Assets.................................................................... 41 12.1. Events .................................................................................................................... 41 12.2. Wanlockhead Community Centre ......................................................................... 41 12.3. Active Leisure: Off-Road and Mountain Biking ..................................................... 41 12.4. Land management ................................................................................................ 42 12.4.1. Forests and Woodland .......................................................................................... 42 12.4.2. Sporting Uses ......................................................................................................... 43 12.4.3. Rewilding and Eco-Tourism .................................................................................... 44 Part 5. Implementing the Social Enterprise Plan...................................... 46 13. Economics of the Social Enterprise ........................................................................................... 46 13.1. Operational Income and Expenditure ................................................................... 46 13.2. Estimated Capital / Development Funding Requirements ................................... 47 14. Wanlockhead Community Trust’s Development Roles ............................................................ 47 15. Board and Community Capacity Building ................................................................................. 48 16. Legal Structures......................................................................................................................... 48 17. Risk Management ..................................................................................................................... 49 Appendices Appendix A Land Buyout Area .............................................................................................. 51 Appendix B Detailed financial projections ............................................................................ 52 Table of Figures Figure i. Wanlockhead Scheduled Monument and Conservation Areas .............................. 6 Figure ii. Schematic: Wanlockhead’s place in the world ....................................................... 6 Figure iii. Proposed land area for purchase .......................................................................... 11 Figure iv. Muirkirk and North Lowther Uplands SPA ............................................................ 12 Figure v. Wanlockhead village - land not owned by Buccleuch Estates .............................. 14 Figure vi. Wanlockhead Closed Mining Waste Facilities Sites .............................................. 16 Figure vii. Wanlockhead Scheduled Monument Area ........................................................... 17 Figure viii. SWOT analysis of the visitor offer in Wanlockhead .............................................. 18 Figure ix. Socio-economic classification of the local market ................................................ 19 Figure x. Economic Impact of Nature-Based Tourism, SNH 2010 ........................................ 21 Figure xi. Land Buyout Areas: Key Sectors and Proposals .................................................... 29 Figure xii. Occupancy rates for camping and caravanning sites ............................................ 39 Figure xiii. Projected Annual Income from Campsite ............................................................. 39 Figure xiv. Projected income from