Cove and Kilcreggan looks to Newcastleton for inspiration

Could a village in the Scottish borders could point the way to a sustainable future for Cove and Kilcreggan?

A team from the Rosneath Peninsula travelled to Newcastleton this month to see what had been achieved there over the last 20 years.

The ‘Our Community’ project was launched in Cove and Kilcreggan last year, aiming to make it ‘a sustainable, healthy, place where people want to live, stay and work and that is fit for the 21st century’.

After a survey and community workshops in January and February, seven of the team went to Newcastleton, a village similar to Cove and Kilcreggan in having a primary school and a 40-minute bus journey to secondary school.

Newcastleton and District Community Trust, a social enterprise, has created:

• A multi-use pitch with floodlights and a community-run sports centre
• Two unmanned fuel pumps and an electric car charging point – 1p from each litre of fuel sold goes back to the community
• A bridge over the River Liddle, to connect  he forest with the heart of the village
• Flood defence bunds following damage from two major floods
• A bunkhouse with self-catering facilities for 14 people
• And a community laundry
• Afterwards a spokesperson said: “We returned re-invigorated to keep the ‘Our Community’ project moving forward and to help bring to life the aspirations evident in the February 2023 community survey.

“We need people to engage on a personal level, to offer help for the enthusiasm of the adventure, to protect, preserve and promote our villages for our children, grandchildren and for future residents.

“We should embrace the local services we have, so that that this impact will permeate through to the community.

“If we can’t love our villages, make dreams, and enjoy living here, then what is the point?

“The tragedy is that we don’t really appreciate what we have until we lose it – so let’s not lose it!”

The three-year project is run by Rosneath Peninsula West Community Development Trust, in partnership with the Cove and Kilcreggan Community Council, and was funded by the Scottish Government’s Strengthening Communities Programme through CEiS.

Euan Wright told the community council this week that a land use report had now been created for the whole of the Rosneath Peninsula, adding: “There is quite a lot going on short-term and also in the medium to longer term, it’s very positive.”