In July we submitted an “Expression of Interest” to the Forestry Commission for their Office in Dunreggan, and under their Disposal procedure this gave us 56 days in which to carry out local consultation into possible community use of the site.  We advertsied our request for suggestions here on our Website, on Facebook, through the Glencairn Gazette, and through face-to-face discussions at the Moniaive Gala.  We received three suggestions: general community space, car park, and campsite/bunkhouse.  No evidence of community need or wider community support for any of these was forthcoming.  No local community group or organisation approached us with a specific requirement for space that could be fulfilled by this location.  Given that the site is located in a flood risk area and a residential area, it is subject to planning restrictions that make it unlikely that we would achieve planning permission or grant-funding for any significant development of the site.  Moniaive Initiative therefore took the decision to withdraw our Expression of Interest in this site.

With the children back at School after the Summer holidays, now is the time for us to return to our proposals for improving play equipment provision on Macara Park.  Grant funding for such projects is very limited at the moment, so we are putting together a revised package which will hopefully secure provision of a new “Toddler Area” and an Aerial Runway for older children, as well as repairs to the existing equipment.  You can see pictures of the options we are considering here:

equipment pictures_1_July2015

equipment pictures_2_July2015

equipment pictures_3_July2015

We welcome feedback on the various options, and you can leave your comments either here, or by posting on our Facebook page.

The Forestry Commission has advertised the forthcoming disposal of their office site in Dunreggan, and Moniaive Initiative has submitted an “Expression of Interest” on behalf of the community.

We have just two months to formulate any ideas into a project, so please do contact us if you feel you have a feasible and sustainable community use for these premises. Please remember that options for the site are limited by it’s situation on a flood plain and in a residential area.

If no suitable project is forthcoming, the disposal process will resume in early September and the site will be offered for sale on the open market.

Any suggestions for use can be forwarded to us using either the comments box below or the Contact Form on the LINKS page.

For an update on our first full year of operation, the Project Officer’s Report from the Moniaive Initiative AGM in May 2015 is now available to read here:

PROJECT OFFICER REPORT_May2015

From June-Sept 2015 we will be seeking public opinion on options for High Street Regeneration in Moniaive.

We have already started with a quick digital survey, open to everybody, which you can access here:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CB2WHK2

This will be followed by a period of one-to-one consultation with High Street Businesses and Residents.

Then finally, another survey will gather the views of residents of the wider Glencairn area, and those of visitors to village.

Visit this page again to keep updated!

Hello everyone, my name is Deborah, and I’m the new Project Support Officer at Moniaive Initiative.  I moved to Moniaive from Northumberland early last year with my husband and two primary-school-aged children.  I have several years’ professional experience managing environmental and community projects for a county-based Trust in England, and more recently have worked as a volunteer with a rural social enterprise.  I shall be progressing a couple of schemes over the coming months, and look forward to speaking to businesses, residents and visitors as I start work on the public consultation phase of the High Street Regeneration project

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