John Muir Trust buys Kylesku land and plans community hub
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The John Muir Trust is looking to create a major community and visitor hub at Kylesku after completing the purchase of more land in the area, the Northern Times can exclusively reveal.
The charity, which has been involved in an ongoing row over deer culling at its nearby Quinag estate, revealed that it has snapped up a 45-acre site on the shoreline of Loch a’ Chàirn Bhàin.
The land includes 10 lodges situated close to the Kylesku Bridge which are popular with visitors travelling the North Coast 500.
The trust now says it wants to work with local communities and crofters within reach of the area to develop plans for the centre, which it hopes will create employment opportunities in what it calls the "fragile economy of the area".
It also says it has an ambition to increase the resident population and strengthen the bond between people, landscape and nature in this beautiful part of the Highlands.
David Balharry, the CEO of the John Muir Trust (JMT), said: “We believe this could be a fantastic opportunity for the area. We don’t want to pre-empt the community consultation by setting out specific plans at this stage.
“We will start by conducting a feasibility study around design and funding, then engage in wide-ranging conversations with local residents, organisations and businesses.
“Strong local involvement will not only generate ideas and inform our plans but ensure the social, economic, cultural and environmental benefits created will be real and lasting.
“Within every rural community there is a mix of different priorities. We are keen to hear from local people from all walks of life with a broad range of views and suggestions.”
An extensive consultation will be launched later this year which the JMT says will help inform the future of the site.
The existing business located on the site – Kylesku Lodges – will continue to operate as usual during the consultation period.
The site already has existing planning consent for more lodges in keeping with the surrounding landscape. It has a dramatic view across the loch to the spectacular three-peaked mountain Quinag, which the JMT has looked after since 2005.
The charity has been conducting a deer cull on its Quinag estate after gaining an out-of-season and late-night licence to the end of March from NatureScot, but that has been bitterly opposed by its neighbouring landowners, including Assynt Crofters’ Trust (ACT).
The licence was intended to protect fragile woodland on the JMT's 3699-hectare Quinag estate.
But ACT said it would consider a hostile community takeover of the land as the row escalated.
The argument led to JMT withdrawing from the Assynt Peninsular Sub-Group (APSG), which comes under the West Sutherland Deer Management Group and provides a forum for those involved in deer management locally to discuss issues.
In addition to Quinag, the JMT manages a number of culturally and environmentally significant areas of land including Ben Nevis, Sandwood Bay, Schiehallion, and parts of Skye, Knoydart, the Scottish Borders and the English Lake District.
The charity’s mission is to protect and restore wild places for the benefit of communities, nature, climate and visitors.
