A Nairn charity is aiming to turn its skills for repurposing to an area of unused land that will help it expand.
Green Hive was set up in 2015 and has since grown from a volunteer-only organisation to employing five full and part-time staff.
Last year it acquired the Seaman’s Hall in Harbour Street for £1 with plans to renovate the property for community use.
It now wants to take over an area of Common Good land adjacent to the hall which it needs to carry out the improvements.
Why does the charity need the land?
Part of the plans include a new entrance to the building, to allow access from the riverside and Harbour Street, which would require a narrow extension.
Highland Council had begun a consultation on the proposed disposal of the land to the charity for free.
The authority is giving the Nairn community until May 10 to give their views on the future of the 51.8 square metres of land lying between the hall and the neighbouring former gas works site.
Investigations have confirmed the land is not contained within the title of either the hall or the old gas works.
It is thought to be a remnant of an area of the Royal Charter land of Nairn and is therefore classed as Common Good. It is considered to have a negligible rental value.
The consultation document says: “It is worth noting that Green Hive have acquired the Seaman’s Hall for £1 from the former trustees with the intention of restoring and renovating it for use as a community hub and to secure its ongoing use for the Nairn community.
“It would seem inequitable to assign the area of land in question a value higher than that paid for the hall in the circumstances.”
Community support for charity’s plans
Green Hive chairman Simon Noble said the charity wants to develop the hall to make it more appealing to the community.
“The narrow strip of land has no current or even recent purpose. It has not been used apart from some fly tipping.
“This could give it a purpose that it would otherwise not have.”
He said a recent consultation showed 85% of people supported their aims: “We feel there is considerable community support for what we want to do.”
The charity has around 100 regular volunteers and since 2015 around 1,000 people – about 10% of the town – have volunteered to take part in activities.
These include beach cleans and litter pick-ups, the setting up of a community orchard and removal of invasive species from the riverside.
Waste textiles are repurposed into tote bags, aprons and other items for sale.
Making good use of the things that they find
The charity’s workshop has also taken plastic items, including those from beach clean ups, and turned them into planters and benches. Some of them are seen at the Inverness Botanic Gardens.
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