From bramble-clearing to acoustic gigs, new donation terminals to redesigned walk leaflets, it’s – of course – been another busy couple of weeks for ACT. We’re also looking ahead to what £40,000 a year in unrestricted funds could mean for Arisaig…
Catch these updates every week on our Facebook page or drop us a line at info@arisaigcommunitytrust.org.uk – we’re always happy to hear from people who want to get involved with helping the Trust.
ACT Diary: 24th May 2026
Did you catch the heatwave this weekend? Perhaps it’s stuck behind a camper van on the A82 and will get here eventually. It makes me laugh when the UK weather forecast is full of scorching heat and at the end, as an afterthought they say something like “I suppose we have to mention Scotland – it’s still wet, windy and freezing in the north but who cares”, that is what I hear anyway! Regardless of the weather, it is all go at the Community Trust. Jenni, our new Business Development Manager is getting up to speed quickly, she has a lot to be getting on with.
There are several exciting projects underway – Chris P has been bravely battling the brambles and couch grass around the playing field and orchard, Sarah and Jenni have redesigned reprinted all the local walk leaflets, Bills Shed is nearing completion, we applied for a grant to fund a part-time Museum Development Manager, we have new tap and go donation terminals for the Land, Sea and Islands Centre and Toilets, Zoe and Jenni have been updating all the Health and Safety processes, we’ve had a really successful acoustic gig at the Land, Sea and Islands Centre – phew! And that’s just a few of the things that are happening. I do feel the Trust has turned a corner and we are in a position many community trusts would love to be in.
When we start letting Bill’s Shed (around July) and with the annual gift from Arisaig Partners, we will have around forty thousand pounds every year to invest in the village. The Trust has never had unrestricted funds like this and I’m very proud of that achievement.
So what do we spend it on? What would you like to see improved? We hope to make an announcement soon about more affordable housing and are going to look at parking, but what else is important to you? Is it running events? Youth club? Making active and safe travel ways for cyclists, walkers and most importantly our kids? I could list a heap of things, but we need to know what the community wants. Previous surveys are well out of date, so time to formally collect more feedback. Jenni is going to work on this over the summer and will collect input in a variety of different ways which we collate and publish. It helps steer the board decisions and contributes to the future sustainability of the village.
Before I go, remember – there is a Special General Meeting on Thursday at 6pm in the Land, Sea and Islands Centre. This meeting is to vote for a change to the Trust’s Articles of Association. This document sets out how the trust is governed and if you have difficulty sleeping at night, do have a read. It is as dry as an old crust that’s been down the back of a settee for years. But I’ve battled through and updated all FORTY pages of it. In a nutshell, we have had to update it, to simplify and modernise. The key change is increasing the size of the board, if we have more Directors, we can spread the work and not overburden people.
And last but not least, we would be nowhere without our dedicated volunteers. Thank you! To join the Volunteers WhatsApp group, drop us an email, or go old-skool and have a chat with one of the Directors. Zoe can add you to the list, just email info@arisaigcommunitytrust.org.uk.
This is my last blog for a wee while, as I am taking a break for a couple of months. Thanks everyone for all your kind words and for reading my ramblings!
Cheers, Anne