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| The NTS
is Scotland's leading conservation charity, supported by its membership
of almost a quarter of a million. Our aim is to protect and promote
Scotland's natural and cultural heritage for present and future generations
to enjoy. |
| The Balmacara Estate, which covers the majority of the western end
of the Lochalsh peninsula and includes Plockton, is owned and managed
by the NTS. |
| Balmacara
Estate Newsletter |
| Issue 24—
March 2007 |
| More Staff Changes at Balmacara |
| In the last newsletter we reported that our secretary Jenny Hey
had gone off on Maternity Leave and would be temporarily replaced
by Kim Bennett. Well, how time flies, Jenny is due to return to work
at the beginning of April and we welcome her back. We would like to
thank Kim for her contribution to our work and particularly her sense
of humour and excellent customer care. The Trust have also just appointed
a new Seasonal Gardener to Lochalsh Woodland Garden. Chris MacDonald
is returning to work at the gardens after a gap of some eight years.
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| Burnside Housing |
| The Trust’s governing Council has approved the sale of land
at Burnside, Plockton for social housing development and has applied
to resume the land from crofting to enable the sale to Lochalsh &
Skye Housing Association to proceed. There have been a series of obstacles
to this sale that have arisen over the past year, but we now hope
that the sale will be concluded before the end of the financial year.
This sale will allow the Housing Association to proceed with developing
their detailed plans for the construction of 24 affordable housing
units. Every effort has been made in drawing up the title deeds to
ensure that any houses will remain in occupation rather than drift
into the holiday market. A local lettings policy will be developed
with the Housing Association, the local community and the Trust over
the coming year. |
| Redevelopment of the two houses
at Balmacara Square |
| After five years it looks like we are almost ready to start work
on renovating the two houses at Balmacara Square. Funding has been
secured from Communities Scotland and the Highland Council towards
the costs of conversion and renovation. The two houses will be converted
to three units, two for affordable long lets and the third to be used
as volunteer, contractor or researcher accommodation for work being
done on the estate. It is anticipated that the work will take four
months to complete and so we hope to have two more letting units available
late in the summer. |
| Garden Paths Improvements |
| Over the winter a significant amount of the Lochalsh Woodland Garden
has been closed to visitors. This is the result of improvements to
the footpath at the western end of the garden. Skye Conservation Services
were engaged to undertake work that involved improving the drainage
in a few problem areas and resurfacing the whole of the main path
at the western end. Also, the Lochaber College Footpath Training Programme
team completed the work on a new section of path through the eastern
end of the woodland walk leading to the garden. This now provides
an alternative to the old route and offers a bit of variety to our
more regular visitors. The work is now complete and the garden is
open as normal. The project will continue over the coming months with
improvements to the drainage of the main drive leading to Lochalsh
House. We also hope to undertake further improvements to the garden
paths over the next few years if sufficient funds can be sourced. |
| Lochalsh Woodland Park |
| The Lochalsh Woodland Park Steering Group has appointed Steve Heap
as Community Resource Worker, funded by the Skye & Lochalsh Community
Economic Development Programme, to develop plans for a range of features
and facilities at the park. Ideas so far include alterations to the
reception hut, provision of a storage shed for equipment, road signs,
a permanent orienteering course, a permanent BBQ and bonfire site,
a website and possibly a permanent outdoor classroom facility. Any
enquiries should be directed to Fiona MacEwan (01599 566 766). |
| Traditional Croft Management
Scheme |
| The pilot Traditional Croft Management Scheme was run for the first
year last year and was a great success. Some 16 crofters from Drumbuie,
Duirinish and Plockton participated in the scheme aimed at ensuring
that traditional crofting agricultural activities continue in these
townships. The Trust established a series of long-term monitoring
projects to record any changes in the species diversity of the cropped
areas, particularly the meadows. This work included a Common Bird
Census at Drumbuie and Duirinish (Plockton will be surveyed this year);
a quadrant survey of the species composition of the plants in the
meadows; and a pitfall trap survey of invertebrates in the meadow
areas. Actual land use was recorded in each of the townships in order
to measure any trends in activity levels over the years as well. The
scheme will run again in 2007 in the same three townships with a few
minor amendments to the support structures to further encourage the
full range of traditional rotational cropping. Crofters wishing to
enter the scheme should contact the Balmacara Estate Office. |
| Skye & Lochalsh Environment
Forum Wildlife Leaflets |
| The Skye & Lochalsh Environment Forum, a local organisation
interested in promoting biodiversity and environmental issues has
just produced a leaflet highlighting the wildlife of Skye and Lochalsh
that also directs visitors where and when to see it. The Environment
Forum, in conjunction with Highland Council’s Senior Ranger
for Ross, Cromarty, Skye and Lochalsh, John Phillips have published
10,000 copies of “Wildlife – A guide to finding wildlife
in Skye and Lochalsh”. The main aim of the leaflet is to showcase
local wildlife and to direct visitors to appropriate locations at
the right time of year to see wildlife which they might not otherwise
be aware of. Designed by Skye-based Ronan Martin Design, the leaflet
features colourful images and an introduction to biodiversity. It
also includes a location map directing people to wildlife viewing
sites on the sea and coast; freshwater areas; croft and farm land;
woodlands; mountain and moorland; and within the built environment.
A list of walks, graded by difficulty is included in the location
map to allow walkers to choose routes according to their own abilities.
Anyone interested in getting involved with the Environment Forum should
contact David Ashford (Secretary) at The Old Police Station, Isleoronsay,
Sleat, Isle of Skye (01471 833 463). |
| Balmacara Country
Day |
| The annual Balmacara Country Day will be held on Saturday 12 May
11:00 am to 4:30 pm at the Lochalsh Woodland Park. As always entry
and parking are free, as are all the activities and competitions.
We hope to have a few new attractions this year, but we always welcome
more ideas. This year we hope to introduce a Tug o’ War competition
with two categories: primary school groups (i.e. teams of four representing
their school); and adults, again with teams of four. So if you want
to compete, remember to get a team organised and report to the NTS
stall on the day. If you want to take part in the event, or have suggestions
for new and imaginative activities please contact Iain Turnbull at
the Balmacara Estate Office. Following the unfortunate events after
last year’s dance it has been decided not to have an evening
event this year. |
| Pine Marten
Survey Complete |
| Over the last couple of years Roger Cottis from Sleat on Skye has
been carrying out a survey of the pine marten population on the estate.
The pine marten is almost cat-like in appearance and size but with
a flatter head and more pointed face, typical of the Mustelidae (weasel
family). It has rich dark brown fur with a creamy or orange chest
and throat patch, long fluffy tail and large rounded ears. They climb
well with the aid of sharp claws and can sometimes be confused with
squirrels when seen in trees. Pine martens are associated with areas
of human habitation, woodland, rock outcrops, especially coastal and
to a lesser extent moorland. The survey was carried out in two phases,
initially by means of a questionnaire circulated around all households
via this newsletter and then by follow-up filed survey. The results
suggest an estimated population of approximately 48 individuals. The
majority of people contacted were not concerned by the presence of
pine martens; however a small minority were concerned for various
reasons. The report makes a number of recommendations including: continuation
of recording by staff; the integration of survey findings into future
Estate Design Plans, with regard to Rhododendron ponticum control
and to enable visitor management to minimise disturbance. |
| Improvements
to Balmacara Estate Paths |
| Over the past six months or so the Trust has been working with the
Skye & Lochalsh Area Mountain Bikers group (SLAMB) to plan improvements
to various footpaths on the estate that are used by both walkers and
cyclists. The result of this work is that we are about to start work
on improving some 600 metres of very poor path at the Loch Achaidh
na h-Inich end of the Coille Mhór and the resurfacing of the
first 200m or so of the Reraig to Kirkton path. The improvements to
the Coille Mhór path will include creation of culverts rather
than open cross-drains as these drainage features pose difficulties
for cyclists, traying and re-surfacing of some of the wettest sections
and hopefully drainage of the first part of the path, which is not
on NTS land, that is particularly prone to flooding. The Trust has
recently applied for natural regeneration payments under the old Woodland
Grant Schemes on the estate and we hope that this income stream can
be utilised for further footpath improvements over the next 3–4
years. So this work will represent the first phase in a series of
phases of work that should bring the whole path up to an excellent
standard over the next few years. |
| Storm Damage
to Trees — A Plea for Help |
| The winter storms of the last few years have been fierce and with
the season of storms upon us again we have experienced more fallen
trees. There is often damage caused by the storms on the estate with
trees losing limbs or falling completely. Also, footpaths being damaged
or washed away is not an uncommon event and often can be easily managed
and repaired. The Estate Tree Inspections will be carried out late
in February/March to check for changes or damage in the large trees
found in public places. The trees in the tree inspections are mostly
marked with an orange numbered tag (although not always). Many of
the trees are found over footpaths that are regularly used for walking
and cycling. There are over twenty two kilometres of footpath on the
Balmacara Estate and checking all of the network after a storm can
be difficult. Therefore we are asking for your help. To help, if there
are trees fallen or other damage to footpaths on the estate please
email Barbara, the Estate Conservation Officer at bsoutar@nts.org.uk
or phone the estate office on the number below and we will come and
carry out a proper inspection as soon as possible. This will help
us pick up on damage at an earlier stage and hopefully prevent the
situation becoming worse through lack of attention. |
| Reraig Allotments
Still in the Pipeline |
| After a wait of almost 21 months the Trust finally received outline
Planning Consent for the development of allotment gardens at Reraig
in September. Unfortunately, due to the delay in obtaining this permission
the original funding for the project has largely disappeared. That
being said, there is still a considerable amount of interest from
the LEC, the Highland Council and other possible sources of money
as well, and we still hope to be able to bring the project forward
in partnership with interested members of the community. With this
in mind we held a meeting at Lochalsh House on 1 March to discuss
how to proceed. We were very lucky in having had contact from the
Scottish Allotment Gardens Society and one of their members came up
to the meeting to offer advice on how to develop new allotments. Mr
Peter Wright was on the steering group that brought forward, very
successfully, the development of 60 new allotments in Edinburgh recently.
This experience was invaluable and his attendance at the meting was
very much appreciated. The following morning, 2nd March, we met at
the proposed site at Reraig, to look more closely at the practical
issues associated with the site. We are now proposing to hold another
public meeting open to anyone who is interested in having an allotment
on the estate. The meeting will be held on 21 March at 8:00pm in the
Auchtertyre Community Education Centre. We already have about 12 names
on the list for allotments, but if you are interested in getting involved
please contact Iain Turnbull at the Balmacara Estate Office. |
| Receive this
Newsletter By Email |
| We currently send out by post in excess of 700 copies of this newsletter,
to every household on the Balmacara Estate, including the whole of
Kyle. The postage for this is expensive and as a charity we need to
reduce our running costs all the time. You can help us by providing
us with your email address so we can send you the newsletter by email
instead. Please contact the office by email if you wish to help and
we will do the rest. Our office email is Balmacara@nts.org.uk
— Many Thanks. |
| *** Allotment
Gardens at Reraig — Update *** |
| Due to unforeseen circumstances, the enclosed issue of the newsletter
was not sent out as early as expected and so it is now too late for
the meeting about the allotments which was held on 21 March. A small
number of people did attend and we discussed the way forward and have
agreed to hold a further meeting at 8:00 pm on Tuesday 29 May at Auchtertyre
Community Education Centre. Anyone who is interested in having an
allotment should come along. We hope to discuss the setting up of
an Allotments Association and sourcing funding to develop the detailed
plans for the project. If you are unable to attend but are interested
please contact the Balmacara Estate Office on 01599 566 325. |
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| For information contact: |
| Iain Turnbull, Balmacara Estate Office,
Lochalsh House, Balmacara, Kyle of Lochalsh, Ross-shire, IV40 8DN |
| Tel: 01599 566 325, Fax:
01599 566 359 |
| E-mail: iturnbull@nts.org.uk |
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