Wester Ross project awarded Highland Coastal Communities Fund

A project to repair and refurbish public toilets in Coigach has been provisionally awarded £20,148 from the Highland Coastal Communities Fund today by the Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh Area Committee, pending formal confirmation of £5000 in match funding.

Within an overall allocation to Highland (£3,201,134), the Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh Area Committee has been awarded £339,108.57 of Crown Estates revenues for distribution within the local area. £120,445.15 has already been committed by Members to previous successful projects.  

Area Committee Chair, Cllr Biz Campbell said: “I am delighted that we were able to provisionally agree just of £20k of funding towards improvements to public conveniences in Coigach. The village is nearly an hour away from the nearest facilities and so investment in facilities in our rural villages is essential for the local economy as tourists will have access to open, clean and reliable conveniences when they visit.”

The Coigach Convenience Refurbishment project will look to repair and refurbish the conveniences which will help to halt further damage and the visual appearance will also enhance the entrance to the village. Improvements will also be made in the disability toilet by improved grab rails and upgraded sanitary ware and changing facilities.

The Highland Coastal Communities Fund is designed to support economic regeneration and sustainable development around coastal areas in Highland. The fund is derived from revenue generated by Scottish Government Crown Estate marine assets.

Projects are expected to prioritise economic recovery, community resilience, mitigate the impact of climate change or address the challenges of rural depopulation. The successful projects will also demonstrate sustainability or viability, value for money, additionality, local support/benefit to their community and evidence the positive impacts for their coastal community/economy.