The Annual General Meeting of the Kirkhill District Amenities Association will take place in the Williamson Room of the Kirkhill Community Centre at 7:30pm on Monday 8th December 2014.
Agenda
Refreshments will be available after the AGM.
A PROJECT BY KIRKHILL & BUNCHREW COMMUNITY TRUST TO TAKE OVER THE RUNNING OF WARDLAW MAUSOLEUM
The mausoleum is in Wardlaw Graveyard at the top of Wardlaw Road in Kirkhill, 8 miles west of Inverness. It was built in 1634 as the burial place for the Lovat Frasers on the end of the original parish church. The roof of the mausoleum was raised and a tower added in 1722 by the then Lord Lovat, the ‘Old Fox’ of the Jacobite Rebellion who was later buried in the crypt. It was used by the Lovats until the early 19th century. The building then fell into disrepair until the 1990’s when the Wardlaw Mausoleum Trust was formed to rescue it. This led to a restoration project with Historic Scotland and Lottery funding. The mausoleum is listed as Grade ‘A’ by Historic Scotland, the highest level of importance.
The 2 remaining trustees have been looking for a new body to take it over so they can retire. Kirkhill and Bunchrew Community Trust is preparing a business plan for the project and is managing the building for the WMT in the meantime. The KBCT Mausoleum Group is looking at ways to promote the building to encourage visitor numbers and other means to raise funds to pay for its running costs and future repairs. One of these is the current interest in the Outlander series of books and TV series whose main character, Jamie Fraser, is a grandson of the ‘Old Fox’. This has already brought fans of the books to the mausoleum and this is expected to increase over coming months. A Twitter account has been set up @WardlawMaus and already has 260 ‘followers’ from around the world.
The KBCT Mausoleum Group has now been formed. If you would like to join it, help with fund raising or simply arrange a visit please contact Erik Lundberg on 01463 831742 or erik.lundberg@btinternet.com. The mausoleum is an important asset for our community with a fascinating history. With your help it can be protected for future generations to enjoy
Most elderly people want to live at home for as long as they possibly can. For many of us that should be perfectly feasible – with a little bit of support.
We believe statutory services are important – particularly for addressing practical issues such as adaptations to your home or help with cleaning and cooking. But we also feel communities can take the initiative and help themselves and their neighbours and friends.
One of the single biggest issues for older people is social isolation and our aim is to find ways to develop social networks which help people live happily at home for as long as they wish.
The project encompasses Beauly, Kiltarlity, Kilmorack and Kirkhill.
What we’ve achieved so far
What we aim to do next
We are also working with other organisations to provide support and events for carers and people with dementia who face particular challenges.
We are committed to doing what we can to help people stay where they want to be – in their local community.
Membership
If you would like to become a member, either to register support for the project or to get involved, please contact Zane Wright (Co-ordinator) as follows
Tel. 07747 312396 – I am not always able to answer phone so please leave a message and I will contact you as soon as possible
or email bdcareproject@yahoo.com
An ex Kirkhill resident – Callum Rae, now studying for his PhD at Glasgow University has got in touch and asked for some help with his thesis. To collect data he has prepared a short survey – it is very easy – I have completed it.
The survey has been developed by a research team from the University of Strathclyde’s department of Architecture, and examines the varying attitudes that exist among domestic energy consumers towards energy issues, particularly when it comes to the issue of energy demand flexibility. The survey takes 5 to 10 minutes to complete, and consists of around 10 (mostly multiple choice) questions. All information given is entirely anonymous and confidential. The results will go on to inform further energy research at the University of Strathclyde, and will hopefully be published in academic journals.
The survey can be accessed here
Highland Council is providing a green waste collection again this summer. It is also doing a household recycling survey based on the contents on the green and blue bins from 50 households in each of 4 communities – including Kirkhill. The contents will be analysed, by community not household, to show what is being collected in each bin and if additional items could be collected in the blue bin. Discussions are also being held with companies that would take the additional items for re-use re costs/prices per tonne. This is part of the programme to increase the % of household waste that is recycled and a decision on additional items will be taken later in the year.
A Refuse Collection Vehicle will be parked at Kirkhill Community Centre 12pm – 2pm each Saturday on 21st June, 19th July, 23rd August and 20th September to collect garden waste. More information can be found here
There was an excellent turn-out and fine weather for the Kirkhill & Bunchrew Community Trust Spring Volunteering Day on Saturday 3rd May. Many thanks to Rob Kinghorn and Lindsey Stout who helped tidy the willow structures and trim the bushes in the park. The willows look very neat and should continue to grow into more solid structures – excellent for hide and seek and other games.
There was high demand for sticks and bags at the litter pick and some interesting finds including a very large TV, road sign, plastic drum, odd bits of metal and the usual assortment of bottles, cans and other rubbish. All parts of the village were covered as well as the back road to Beauly. Many thanks to all the children and adults who turned out to help. The next Litter Pick will be in the autumn after the return from the school holidays but don’t leave any litter you come across until then – bin it!
