A “dangerous” derelict sawmill in Alyth is a step closer to being transformed into a hub for community events.
Alyth Development Trust have been granted £94,000 in Scottish Government funding for their project to regenerate the former Millhaugh sawmill site.
Trust secretary Russell Willis Taylor said: “It will be a place where we can gather for classes, informal events and a community wide ceilidh every so often.”
Plans to buy the site
The trust plans to purchase the site on Bamff Road once they have raised enough money.
It has lain derelict since the 1980s and is now in a bad state.
Russell says a committee will decide how best to use the land.
It sits right next to the Den ‘o’ Alyth – a Site of Special Scientific Interest – and has potential to be a gateway to the woodland walk.
Trust directors have teamed up with the Cateran Ecomuseum for the project.
The Ecomuseum isn’t a museum in the traditional sense. It is an outdoor project aiming to educate people about the area’s heritage while encouraging walking outdoors.
Meanwhile, Russell says the site owners are “very responsible” about keeping the sawmill site secure.
However, she adds while the derelict buildings remain in their current state, they are tempting for young people to explore.
“It is seen as a danger at the moment.
“A couple of the buildings are falling down. We are very concerned about it being used as a place where young people may go and gather not knowing that it is so unsafe.”
Not a ‘development’
Russell is keen to point out that the site is not being ‘developed’.
Rather, the plan is to demolish unsafe buildings and make the site safe, reusing and recycling the materials on site where possible.
“We are making it safe and creating a public space out of the materials there, and re-civilising it for public use.”
The Scottish Government grant will cover half the cost of the first phase of the project, including acquiring the site.
Trust directors hope to hear about further funding awards in the coming weeks.
Conversation