The aim of this community forest purchase would be to address the following community needs:

1) There are few maintained footpath networks within walking distance of Lochaline, and existing footpaths in forestry areas are currently being lost in the next phase of clear felling.

2) Clear-felling around the village is unsightly and many would prefer to see continuous cover broadleaf woodland.

3) Crofting is a traditional part of Highland culture that allows people to create land-based  business and/or supplement income from other jobs supporting their lives here. There are many benefits only available to registered crofts. There are currently only three registered crofts in Morvern although there are a few other successful small holdings. Many people already living locally desire access to land for small-scale land-based businesses.

4) Many people locally would like to manage and maintain a forestry plot to harvest their own firewood, or to grow their own food, as a way of being economically more self-sufficient.

5) There is a need to maintain the existing school roll, at the same time there is a housing shortage. A number of local people (including many young people from Morvern) have indicated they would prefer to design and build their own houses as a more permanent solution to renting affordable homes in the village. (Within the Local Action Plan housing was the 2nd most important issue for people in Morvern.)

The Community Woodlands Association (CWA) is consulting as part of a feasibility study on behalf of Morvern Community Woodlands (MCW) to explore whether purchasing this woodland could meet some or all of these needs.

Lochaline Community Forest will have the potential to include amenity woods with new path networks, a small number of woodland croft tenancies, woodlots, and “shared equity” housing plots. 

In initial consultations 30 people in Morvern expressed an interest in having a woodland croft. The proposed site would not be suitable for more traditional agricultural crofts.  By the end of 2024 seventeen (17) individual woodland croft plans had been submitted to MCW as firm statements of interest.

MCW recognises the importance for the community to retain ownership of any land purchased through public funds for “the community” and that any land purchased in this way must not be transferred into individual ownership.

MCW also recognises the need to ensure any smallholding tenancies are productively managed and MCW will ensure the community body owning the land retains the power to remove individuals from tenancies if the land is not managed.

MCW will ensure any housing is built on land that either remains in the ownership of the community or is sold to individuals privately by a community body that has bought the land for this purpose without the use of public funds. MCW also recognises the need for any properties built to remain in perpetuity as permanent residences for people living and working in the area . This can be delivered by systems of ‘shared equity’ or ‘rural housing burdens’.

Crofting is a unique Scottish landholding system integral to Highland and Islands life and culture.

A croft is a tenured land unit governed by the Crofting Acts, recorded in the Crofting Commission Register. Woodland Crofts are also registered with the Crofting Commission and woodland crofters can apply for crofting and forestry grants.

Crofts provide affordable land access, promoting sustainability, entrepreneurship, and community growth.

Crofters must live on-site or nearby, manage the land productively, and can pursue other income sources. Woodland Crofts in the community forest will be allocated by MCW through a fair and transparent system.

Woodland crofts on former forestry sites must comply with UK Forestry standards, regulated by Scottish Forestry through legal powers and incentives. Woodland crofts might have livestock and grow vegetables but the activity has to be appropriate to retaining a healthy woodland environment.

Examples of woodland croft activity: woodland gardening/permaculture for home use or sale in the community, firewood and other timber production, bee-keeping, small-scale livestock farming, e.g. chickens, pigs (other livestock may only be appropriate if additional grazing land is available nearby), woodland crafts and growing willow for craft work, holiday cabins, kenneling & dog-training, hosting Forest School activity or a children’s nursery. 

Homes built on a woodland croft will be tied to the croft and sold on to an incoming crofting tenant. Active woodland crofts might also include equipment stores, work sites for processing timber, drying sheds, and perhaps facilities to enhance remote working or craft activities. Not everyone might initially live on their woodland croft, because they already have a home in or near Lochaline, but each woodland croft needs to have capacity for a house site.

Woodlots

Woodlots allow local individuals or teams to manage areas of woodland and harvest wood-fuel or other forest products through a lease agreement with MCW. A common woodlot might be managed through MCW as more of a collective enterprise with more people from the woodland crofts and the wider community involved in managing the woodland and harvesting woodfuel.

Housing Plots

The proposal could also include a few shared equity housing plots with a rural housing burden, separate from the woodland crofts, for those who want to build homes without managing land.

Tiny Homes

Based on recent consultations there is demand for low-impact tiny homes and sites could be let within the woodland to facilitate discrete installation of tiny homes.

Renewables

The site has potential for renewable energy generation or battery storage, providing energy and income to support woodland management.  An investigation into this has been delivered by GreenCat renewables

Paths

Layout and design of the site could also incorporate a multi-use path connecting Knock Park to Achabeag. Other paths through the woodland would deliver the Core Path Plan as a minimum.

• It is relatively fertile and has been used for agriculture in the past, only going back to woodland when it was planted in 1940.

• It has a south-facing aspect.

• It is relatively close to power & water services.

• It is close enough to Lochaline to feel ‘part of the community’, and within walking/cycling distance to the school/church/pub/Knock Park.

• It is not classed as an ancient woodland site and there are no conservation designations.

The existing woodland is either: 

• clear-felled (bare ground with stumps), so there will be flexible options for replanting, or 

• there are areas of young broadleaves and young conifers to provide options for introducing alternative management at an early stage in the growth of the trees (e.g. to introduce woodland grazing, under-plant with other conifer trees to produce Christmas trees, or manage for quality timber production and/or fire-wood). 

• In areas where the conifer trees are well-grown some of them are still young enough to be managed sensitively for fire-wood by thinning out the trees, leaving the fatter trees to grow on for later felling and selling to saw-mills.  

• Some stands are too advanced in their growth to manage other than by clear-felling and these areas could be considered for woodland crofts once they have been clear-felled.

• A tree nursery is currently being set up by RSPB and this may in the future become another community enterprise.

Map 2 shows the current species and ages on the site and pointers to some of the attributes or management requirements of the site.

Existing water supplies drawn from the burns on site will need to be safeguarded. It is recommended that new woodland croft homes will be serviced with water from the public water-supply.  Any livestock introduced to the crofts will need to be fenced in and kept away from the water catchment above the water supply intakes

Public access routes will need to be agreed in advance of woodland croft allocation so that Woodland Croft development does not impinge on the provision of public access.  Some of these are already identified as core paths and new routes might link with public access improvements in Knock Park.

Historic features will need to be properly surveyed, mapped and protected in ongoing management of the site. 

Similarly, an overall plan will need to show how the whole woodland will be managed by MCW in partnership with the Woodland Crofts to deliver environmental improvements. Memorandums of understanding will be agreed between MCW and the Woodland Crofts to facilitate this.  An indicative plan for native woodland restoration and public access enhancement is illustrated in an accompanying plan (Map B). It is expected that from time-to-time community volunteers will assist in these access and environment projects.

Planning Permission will be required to build on the Woodland Crofts and so croft homes will need to be well designed and built. The overall woodland plan will need to demonstrate no net loss of woodland cover. Individual croft plans will need to be realistic. Homes will need to be serviced appropriately and accessible for emergency services. Access onto the B849 will need to be approved.  Anticipating what will be acceptable to planners and, as a means of keeping the costs of servicing the plots low, initial plans for woodland croft access and accommodation are all close to the public road.

If temporary accommodation is required on the woodland crofts until a suitable permanent dwelling has been built, this will be provided by timber-built cabins that meet the requirements of a ‘mobile home’.

On a similar theme it is appropriate to minimise the use of the existing forest haul roads to get access to what will be domestic homes. The timber haul roads are at times busy with timber lorries and perhaps not suited to regular domestic access as well. Mud, dust, safety for children getting to and from school all have to be considered.

Map 3 shows an indicative ‘master plan’ for Lochaline Community Forest.

Please access our feedback from here: https://forms.office.com/e/9vWgS9EWVm

Many thanks,

Piers Voysey - Community Woodlands Association