Our Team

The team consists of passionate and dedicated individuals from the local villages. Currently we have community organizers and activists, farmers, engineers, business directors, storytellers, health workers, concerned citizens and more. The combined experiences enable us to support development in the community as best we can. We are always on the lookout for diversity in our thinking and to reach as much of the community as possible.

  • Arlene Cullum

    Laurence Slavin

    Alistair Lamont

    Nick Davies

    Charlotte McLean

  • Euan Wright

    Gauri Raje

    Ali Mills

    Susannah Conran

    James McLean

    John Auld

    Sheena Edwards

    Anthony Keating

Touchstones of Our Community Project

About the CEIS Grant

The Community Enterprise in Scotland (CEIS) Group works, among other things, to support communities to create more inclusive economies, to tackle inequality, strengthen communities and improve the performance of businesses to create a better society.

The grant also supports its recipients by providing them with a mentor. We have an inspiring and hands-on mentor in James Finnie from CEIS, with whom we meet monthly. The grant for Cove & Kilcreggan was issued year by year, with each year indicative until we had proven to be on track! We draw down funds as and when we need them. Funds must be spent within the agreed categories set out in the fund criteria.

Community Empowerment

The Community Empowerment Act (2015) aims to empower communities to take control of their own destinies, promote growth, and create stronger, more resilient communities across Scotland. Thriving communities emerge from countless acts of collaboration and collective action. The act provides communities with a range of powers and rights to help shape the future, to improve services and infrastructure and to take ownership of assets.

The Community Empowerment Act has been vital as we have been trying to create an inclusive vision of development in our villages and reaching out to all members of the community to engage with our efforts. These actions for community involvement will culminate in drawing up a Local Place Plan (LPP) for our villages.

LPP is a community led plan that sets out the aspirations and priorities for a particular area. They enable communities to have a greater say in shaping the future of neighbourhoods and creating places that reflect their values and aspirations.

Community Surveys

In February 2023 the community began inputting into the LPP by responding to the Community Survey. We had a 30% response rate, a great start. To gather more results we’ve run multiple events at the Burgh Hall, a fantastic event at Kilcreggan Primary School (thank you to the children!) and, most recently, more information gathering through the community groups set up as a result of the survey results. There is still lots more to do to make sure the LPP represents the whole community.

To see the results of the survey in February 2023, click here.

About SKS

SKS Scotland specialise in supporting communities who aim to make a positive impact locally. They have been providing us with support along the way, particularly when it’s been important for an external organisation to provide impartiality and transparency to the project in reaching out to the different members of our villages through community surveys and other strategies. Thank you, SKS, for your invaluable support and guidance.

Timeline

June to August 2024 is set aside for gathering further community views and presenting the work of  the community groups. The aim is to have a draft LPP for the community to comment on in the Autumn of 2024. The current funding runs out at the end of March 2025.

Final phase of drawing up the Local Place Plan for Cove & Kilcreggan: Roadmap for submission to Argyll & Bute Council

With multiple upcoming community consultations, the drawing up of a Local Place Plan for Cove & Kilcreggan villages is entering its final phases. Our Community project hopes to involve the community and its voices at every stage of this process. Please find above the diagram of the road map for submission of the Local Place Plan to Argyll & Bute Council in March 2025 with all the relevant dates and the community consultations leading up to that.