Members' Newsletter December 2025

Update from the Chair and Board

Message from the Chair

Dear Members,

Well it has been another busy period for CDT with lots happening at the Camp and beyond.

Traditionally the end of the year allows a bit of time for reflection and whilst there's no doubt there are still big challenges ahead in the year to come, I wanted to share with you some of the highlights and achievements this year. In no particular order:

• Every tenant of the Camp issued with a lease and a common payment system
• Legal action taken against bad debtors and sadly some evictions
• Money owed to CDT reduced by £88,969
• Number of tenancies increased by 19
• Occupancy of self catering units over summer up to 71% well above the local average
• Airestop for overnight motorhome parking introduced - busy and getting brilliant reviews
• Massive improvements in the tidiness and presentation of the Camp
• Funding secured from a range of sources to repair the Museum roof
• Funding secured for a youth worker for Comrie (thanks to all those who voted for us)
• Visitor numbers increased and although we don't count them over 4,500 visitors at the museum alone gives a strong indication
• A heritage conservation framework for the camp produced
• Private and community events held on the camp including the Strathearn Marathon, 2 bike rallies, the Scottish Scything Festival, the Big Family Sleep Out, VE Day celebrations, a visit from the German Consul, and Comrie Primary History Project
• Cattle grid removed, sold and replaced with electric gates (sorry deer)
• CARES feasibility study underway for a solar farm on camp that will lower electricity costs to tenants and create a community benefit fund that will be able to offer financial support to local groups every year.
• Some progress made with opening pedestrian access to the North East corner of the Camp. Unfortunately the pace is too slow for all of us but hopefully PKC will act soon
• Defunct biomass system sold and removed
• Cafe Hut 21 opened and a roaring success (well done Ken and Karen)
• Community housing action group initiated

Finally a big thank you from me to all the people who work tirelessly to make things happen: the staff team, Seona, Unc and Olena (and Les who retired in the summer ), all the volunteers in all the groups (you know who you are), our tenants and owners, the Board of Trustees, who steer the ship and without whom, I in particular, would be lost, our partners in particular Comrie and District Community Council, our funders (including the Gannochy Trust, Perth and Kinross Council, The Mushroom Trust, The Pilgrim Trust, Crieff COOP, Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust), and most importantly you the members for your ongoing support and involvement.

Wishing you all a good time over the festivities and a happy and prosperous new year when it comes

Best wishes

Fiona

PS Don't forget the CDT Christmas gathering this Friday from 7pm at the White Church Pub night.

Thank you to all our supporters in 2025!

CDT would like to thank all the funders and individuals who made our work possible in 2025. The Gannochy Trust has generously supported our work over a number of years. The Pilgrim Trust and PKC CLLF funding have made the repair of the Grade A listed museum block roof possible. Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust and PKC CLLD funds allowed us to go ahead with the conservation heritage framework project. The Mushroom Trust are supporting work with the orchard and allotment area. We would also like to thank everyone who voted for us in the Fairer Communities Participatory Budget Fund. This award will allow us to support a youth worker for the Comrie Area in partnership with LOGOS Youth Project. A special thanks goes to Crieff COOP and all their local members for their grant of **£1800 **towards our work.

In early 2026 we will be putting up metal signs with our new GiveTap Donation QR code. This is a simple digital system to allow visitors to contribute to the upkeep of this unique site.

Heritage and Conservation at Cultybraggan

This has been a great year for heritage at the camp made possible by the volunteers of the Comrie Heritage Group who welcomed more than 4,500 visitors to the museum. The heritage group organised a Christmas lunch at Cafe 21 to thank everyone for all their volunteers for the hard work over the year. The museum is now shut until Easter next year. Dates will be posted in 2026. Work on the repair of the museum roof will begin on the 5th January.

Conserving the camp for future generations

CDT recently commissioned Sara Carruthers (Certified Building Conservation Specialist CIOB) to carry out a heritage assessment of the camp in order to develop a conservation framework. We now have a fantastic survey of all the key heritage features, a history of the camp's development, and a hut by hut record of maintenance and repair issues. There is a big task in front of us to conserve the camp for the future but this report gives us a clear way forward. One of the main findings was that, as well as the current line of listed buildings from the guard house up to the Crossfit Gym at Unit 55, it is the footprint of the entire camp and the external appearance that has great historical significance. Most of the huts on site, especially those from the internment period (1941 to 1947), have high heritage significance, but the challenge is that so many are in a poor condition.

In the next 3 months we will be agreeing how to address the suggestions in the report and we will run an event to involve members in shaping the plan. We will put a version of the entire report on the website in early 2026 and we will produce a maintenance and repair guide for tenants and owners. In addition we hope to run skill share workshops in the near future to ensure that the huts and their special heritage survives. We would like to thank Sara Carruthers and Gavin Lindsay for their work and also Perth and Kinross Council (CLLD funds) and Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust for funding this important piece of research.

Comrie Community Orchard and Comrie Community Woodlands

Community Orchard

The fruit has all been harvested but volunteers continue to work to make the orchard a nice place to visit. Benches and picnic tables made by Jim Thomson have been installed in various places throughout the orchard, and he has also made a beautiful welcome sign. At the last work day, a large group of helpers trimmed the long hedge next to the drive, and future jobs include clearing and mulching round the soft fruit, and pruning of apple trees. Work days are always the first Sunday of the month 1100 to 1500 with a break for lunch. New volunteers are very welcome and no experience is required.

CDT and the Orchard Group would like to give their heartfelt thanks to Di McNab who has worked tirelessly as the secretary for the orchard group since it started. She has volunteered countless hours over the years to make the community orchard a welcoming place for people and nature. We would also like to thank Joan Walker for agreeing to take on Di's role and we wish her every success.

Community Woodlands 2025 saw a big change in the community woodland, with trees making good growth, signs of a lot of natural regeneration, and a plethora of wildlife from exotic invertebrates, through stunning plant life to birds and mammals. The woodland year concluded with a pre-Christmas day on 21st December. Activities will resume with our first woodland day on Sunday 18th January from 10am. Anyone interested in becoming involved with the woodland would be most welcome. More information is available by emailing [email protected].

**Other News & Upcoming Events **

Thank-you from Friends of Comrie Library

Back in March/April this year the successful 'Save Comrie Library' campaign secured the immediate future of Comrie Library. Thank you to everyone who supported the library campaign - we feel very fortunate to still have our library! Since saving the library from threat of permanent closure the group has evolved into Friends of Comrie Library and has been working quietly to optimise the Library as a community resource. CDT were approached by Friends of Comrie Library for support to enable community access to, and use of the library space out with the opening hours. We are delighted that out-of-hours access has now been secured! If you would like to book to use the library space please email Friends of Comrie Library - [email protected] Friends of Comrie Library have some exciting initiatives planned for 2026, so please keep an eye out for opportunities to get involved with, and support the growing activities of Friends of Comrie Library.

Draft Climate Change Plan consultation and Community Action Plan

In January, CDT will be co-hosting - together with the RSGS (Royal Scottish Geographical Society) - a series of drop-in events and workshops about the Scottish Government's draft Climate Change Plan, which is currently out for public consultation, with a focus on where it overlaps with our Community Action Plan and how it might support much of the work we arealready striving towards as a community.

The drop-in events and workshops will be held at Comrie Library between 12th - 24th Jan 2026, with exact time and dates to be confirmed shortly. We hope you will help spread the word and encourage as many friends locally to engage in what will be a very valuable exercise as we collectively evolve Comrie & Districts community action plan and bring it alive.

Comrie Development Trust: Company limited by guarantee – Registered in Scotland – Reg. No SC305425 - Charity reg. no SC038596 Registered office – Unit 3 Cultybraggan Camp, Comrie, Perthshire, PH6 2AB Tel no: 01764 670769

This email was sent to [email protected]