People are being asked to help buy the last bit of land the MoD does not own inside the country’s biggest bombing range.
At the centre of the unusual community buyout is just 111 acres around Cape Wrath Lighthouse in Sutherland.
Already the appeal has raised more than £1600 towards its £15,000 target.
Three years ago the MoD was halted in its £58,000 purchase of the land from the Northern Lighthouse Board, which would have added to the 25,000 acres it already owns in the area.
The then First Minister Alex Salmond claimed it marked a step towards the Scottish government’s new target of a million acres of land in community control by 2020.
Scottish Environment Minister Paul Wheelhouse approved an application by Durness Development Group (DDG) to register a community interest in the site.
“The NLB’s intention is to sell and trigger the right-to-buy – which effectively gives us a few more months to raise the money,” said Neil Fuller, local development officer with DDG.
“Because of the cycle of the Scottish Land Fund we will not be able to make an application until April, so we are launching an appeal now. We hope to tap into the power of social media and the worldwide love for Cape Wrath.
“We want to work with the MoD – and are meeting with one of their access officers this week to create a safe corridor to maintain public access during range activity.
“Cape Wrath is vital to the local economy and we want to safeguard public access and as a first step put public toilets there.
“There is a great deal of love for Cape Wrath, DDG are hopeful that this love could create a decent sum of money that help with the land purchase and also help with the building of public toilets at Cape Wrath, a facility that is long over due.”
