Update from Wester Loch Ewe Trust
You are probably aware that Wester Loch Ewe Community Council has started a project to build a helicopter landing pad at Poolewe for emergency medical evacuations. While negotiating with the landowner it transpired that the land in question (the field between Cliff House and the Bac Dubh road) is part of a larger area that the owner wants to sell. This larger area includes an area adjacent to the football field that has been designated by Highland Council for housing in the Local Development Plan. This is a wonderful opportunity to start to address our lack of affordable housing. WLECC is working with us to acquire the whole piece of land so that we can start to work with a housing association to develop the site in a way that the community controls.
This has also presented us with an opportunity for other community benefit projects using the remainder of the land.
In summary, we are proposing the following, subject to community approval:
-
Affordable housing in Poolewe Village;
-
Helicopter landing pad in the field between Cliff House and the Bac
Dubh road (we have had funding for this already confirmed);
-
A small camper van overnight stop (an ‘aire’) with waste disposal
facilities in the area where the Bac Dubh road meets the main
road;
-
A community woodland with trail/bike trail on the rough ground to the south of the helipad and aire;
-
Retention of the arable part of the field which is currently used for
grazing (minus a small section for the helipad) as a benefit for our
crofters.
All this depends on obtaining funding, for which we are currently applying, and many details remain to be worked out. In the meantime we would welcome your comments on the current proposals and, of course, we would like to hear your own suggestions.
Wester Loch Ewe Trust June 2025
07967 115317
