Alyth is getting ready to establish a new educational, environmental and tourism-related resource on the former sawmill site at Millhaugh, following the transfer of the land from private ownership to community stewardship.
The sale by the former owners to Alyth Development Trust (ADT) on behalf of the community was signed last week. The deal clears the way for local people and groups to join together and agree on how best to ensure that the town benefits from having access to this beloved landmark.
ADT is inviting interested parties to agree on a date for a meeting in late September to begin mapping out what sort of activities and programmes the site could be used for, and how best they could be developed. Many individuals and groups have already said they would like to be involved and ADT plans to contact them all, as well as invite others who want to join the process. Suggested dates for the initial meeting will be circulated for comment soon.
If you or your organisation would like to be included in the invitation for the initial meeting, please email millhaugh@alyth.online.
At present, the site is being made safe and is not open to the public. There is a significant amount of work to do with asbestos removal, removal of underground tanks and enclosure of some dangerous structures. This work is being done by licensed professionals, paid for with grant monies from the Vacant & Derelict Land fund and the Scottish Land Fund and support from ADT. It is expected that this work will take a few months to complete and ADT hopes to announce a more specific schedule as soon as possible.
George Hall, chair of ADT, said: “This is a vital asset for Alyth, with so much potential to benefit all sections of the community in a variety of ways. It’s essential that the community is represented as fully as possible in the design and planning that now needs to be done to make the most of the site.
“ADT is proud to have enabled the community to acquire the site and we are excited about supporting the community in deciding what to do with it. We are urging anyone and everyone with ideas and opinions to get involved and make sure their views are heard.”
Ron Kirkpatrick, on behalf of the former site-owners, commented: ““We are pleased to see this development which will see the site revitalised as a thriving asset for the community of Alyth.”