Local Place Plan Update
The Wester Loch Ewe Local Place Plan has been submitted to The Highland Council to inform the Highland Local Development Plan.
Our thanks to the Wester Ross Biosphere team for the preparation of the plan which was a joint project between Wester Loch Ewe Trust, Wester Loch Ewe Community Council, and Wester Ross Biosphere.
You can view the plan here: Wester Loch Ewe Local Place Plan...
Happy Birthday!
On Saturday 28th September, we were pleased to welcome parents and children for a 4th birthday celebration. A good time was had by all!
Yum yum
What a team!
Future of Poolewe Village Green
You may have heard that Poolewe Village Green is being transferred into community ownership. The WLET board decided to submit an expression of interest to
Wester Loch Ewe Community Council who are managing the transfer as we feel we are well placed to offer a stable long term home for this very important asset to the area. If we are successful, we intend to keep the Village Green running as at present, in the short term. So we don't see it impacting on our plans for the Old School. As part of our expression of interest we were asked to submit a short statement about our intentions. Here it is:
WESTER LOCH EWE TRUST STATEMENT
WLET is a charitable body (SC045512) and a company limited by guarantee (SC 500698) that was formed in 2015 to manage community land and associated assets for the benefit of the Community and the public in general, advancing community development (including rural regeneration), and improving conditions of life of the Community. The Community referred to stretches from Poolewe (including the outlying settlements of Tournaig, Inveran and Croft) through the smaller communities of Naast, Inverasdale, Firemore, Stirkhill and Cove.
WLET is run by a board of 6 local residents, some of whom have been on the board since WLET was formed, so are well experienced in management and fund raising. The current trust membership is over 100 local people drawn from the area from Poolewe to Cove. This number represents a substantial proportion of the total population in the area covered. There are also a many associate members – mainly those who have lived in the area in the past.
The main focus of WLET's activities up until now has been on redeveloping the Old School in Inverasdale and we would be delighted to have an opportunity to help the wider community by providing long term, stable ownership and management of the Green and the other areas of land being donated to the community.
In line with earlier surveys of public opinion, our immediate plan for the Village Green would be to preserve it exactly as it is. These surveys were strongly against any redevelopment of the Village Green. Any proposals for future changes would have to come from the community. We would expect to work closely with the Community Council on all aspects of the management of the Green, and indeed all the other areas of land being transferred from the Macdonald Buchanan Estate.
Until we know the details of these other areas, we are unable to suggest how they could be used, but we would ensure they were managed in ways that benefit the
whole community, and were supported by the whole community.
We would, of course, work closely with the Community Council to ensure the future of the public toilets in whatever form the community would support.
Over the years since 2015, in all its activities WLET has made a point of consulting our community before making major decisions and we feel this approach has
resulted in the community being fully behind us as we move forward. We would want to continue to consult public opinion, both through the elected Community
Council and directly by public meetings, surveys and social media. This will be particularly important regarding the future of the additional areas of land which
may offer exciting possibilities for the benefit of us all.
March 2024
Dark & Quiet Skies Event 14 November 2023
If you prefer, you can contact Liz (07967 115317) directly rather than Eventbrite. Places are limited. Refreshments will be served. The event is free but donations to Wester Loch Ewe Trust will be most welcome.
Pottery Painting Workshop with Andi Neate of Prickly Fish
Get creative with a paint your own pottery workshop at the Old Schoolhouse, Inverasdale on the 6th May! There will be lots of
shapes to choose from and full instructions given. All equipment will be supplied, and all glaze is water based.
All items need to be glazed and fired before returning or posting on. £15 per item plus postage, if needed.
All ages and abilities welcome! For more details and to book your place please contact Liz Nicholson on 01445 781216 or
First Community Pizza Evening
On Friday 3rd February we held our first community pizza evening and it was a fantastic success. Vincent and Bryony of Roaster's cooked and served well over 40 delicious pizzas! Things were so busy we didn't get a chance to take pictures of folk eating but we do have some pictures of the Old Schoohouse Tearoom set up ready for the evening, have a look in the Gallery. Many thanks to Vincent and Bryony and we hope to see you again in the future.
Hogmany 2022 - Impromptu Get-together
On the afternoon of the 31st a few of our regulars (and a few new faces) met up in the Old Schoolhouse tearoom. Everyone brought some eats and drinks and a good time was had by all. It was so successful we hope we will be able to do something more formal in the future to celebrate the New Year.
October-November 2022 Newsletter
October 2022 Update - Our First Community Lunch!
We previously said that we hoped to run some regular events for the community and we were delighted to host the first of these on Thursday 27th October. Tony and Jackie Dee who will be well-known to many in the community as professional chef and cook, volunteered to make a lunch for some of our older members in The Old Schoolhouse Tearoom.
As you can see from the photograph, those attending enjoyed the delicious cock-a-leekie soup, crumble with custard and home bakes with tea or coffee in our cosy surroundings. Attendance was by invitation due to the limitation on numbers in the Tearoom. Thanks to those who volunteered to set up the tearoom, serve and clear up afterwards and to those who baked.
Tony and Jackie were just so helpful and said they enjoyed working in our fabulous kitchen. We cannot thank them enough for being so accommodating. If anyone with the appropriate skills and the time available would like to help WLET with the next community meal, and try out our wonderful kitchen, please get in touch by email -
Time for a chat after lunch
August 2022 Update
We are now opening regularly on Wednesday afternoon and we are delighted to see so many visitors and locals popping in. We haven't mentioned it before but we welcome well-behaved dogs in the tearoom. These two well-behaved dogs are Lisa and Ava and are visiting all the way from Germany! They are having a great holiday and are spending a lot of time on Firemore beach but were good enough to spare some time to have their picture taken in the tearoom.
Lisa and Ava say 'schöne Ferien' (happy holidays)
June 2022 Pop-Up Tearoom
We 'popped-up' on Wednesday 29th June and we had a great turn-out from visitors and locals. It's wonderful to see our new facilities in use at last and we hope to run more pop-ups soon, so keep a look out for more news on that. Don't forget, you can use our facilities for a private function if you are planning one - just use the contact page to get in touch.
Back in business at the Old Schoolhouse!
April 2022 Update - Completion at Last!
We are delighted to announce the completion of Phase 1 of the planned renovation of The Old School, Inverasdale. Thank you to all the funders involved!
WLET would like to thank our community and those further afield who have supported the Trust through the years since its formation in 2015 as well as all those volunteers who worked so hard to make this possible.
We plan to hold an opening event during April or May with special guests. Look out for that date!
This year’s Annual General Meeting takes place on Friday 29th April 2022 in The Old Schoolhouse Tearoom, beginning at 7.30 pm. We hope you are able to attend.
Wester Loch Ewe Trust’s Articles of Association and the Accounts for the year ended 31st March 2021 can be found by clicking the links on the right.
February 2022 Update - Almost There!
Wester Loch Ewe Trust is so excited to have our newly renovated and extended Schoolhouse almost ready to be handed over to us by Simpson Builders Ltd who have done a sterling job on Phase 1 of our regeneration project.
This project was made possible by the support of several funders. The first to confirm support was The National Lottery through the Community Fund. We are indebted to the National Lottery for believing in us and understanding the difficulties we faced when Covid came along.
The Old Schoolhouse Tearoom
As you can see the Old Schoolhouse Tearoom has been renovated and upgraded as has the entire ground floor area of the schoolhouse and former library. There is underfloor heating throughout as well as a wood-burning stove thanks to The Scottish Government’s Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) and to the Highland Coastal Communities Fund. We anticipate many cosy hours of usage by the community and visitors alike. Can you see the doors to the brand new toilets on the right of the picture?
Brand-new Kitchen!
If you have passed by recently you will have noticed the new large kitchen extension at the rear of the schoolhouse. This is accessed directly from the tearoom and it has also got a serving hatch which opens into the west exhibition room.
The new kitchen is equipped with commercial grade stainless steel fittings throughout and has wipe-down walls for ease of cleaning. This kitchen fit-out was made possible by a generous donation from The Prince’s Countryside Fund (PCF). The PCF’s support and forbearance throughout the long road to completion has been most kind.
We are so pleased with our kitchen and look forward to hosting many of you in the not-too-distant future but there is much work to do before we will be ready to serve you!
The Old Library
We are sure you will agree that the Old Library has been transformed!
The renovation and extension of the building was largely made possible by the Regeneration Capital Grant Fund (RCGF) from the Scottish Government which is administered by The Highland Council.
When we had to seek more funding to finish the project we were fortunate to gain the support of the Robertson Trust, and Highlands and Islands Enterprise without whom the finishing touches would not have been possible.
Wester Loch Ewe Trust thanks all the funders most sincerely for their support. It has made such a huge difference to our facilities!
The funders' logos can be seen at the foot of this page.
November 2021 Update - Work Continues
Work continues and is scheduled to be complete by the end of the year. We have reached the major milestone of the completion of the new floors with underfloor heating in the tearoom, the old library, and the new kitchen. Also, the new front porch is almost complete and our beautiful new windows in the tearoom have been installed; they are going to make such a difference to the atmosphere in the building. We are really looking forward to inviting you to our opening - look out for further news!
Now that we can see real progress being made, it's a good opportunity to once again acknowledge the support of the various funders who are making this possible: The Scottish Government through the Regeneration Capital Grant Fund; The National Lottery Community Fund; Highlands and Islands Enterprise; The Prince's Countryside Fund; The Robertson Trust; The Highland Council; and many more. Thank you!
And of course we must thank our on-site Simpson Builders team who are doing a grand job in spite of the less than helpful weather. Keep up the good work!
Page 1 of 3