Alyth’s Scouts are learning new skills as part of a project to create a public sculpture for the Millhaugh community facility, thanks to a grant from Alyth Development Trust’s Community Projects Fund.
Local stonecarver Neil Paterson is running a series of workshops for the Scouts over the next few months, teaching them carving techniques. They will then help Neil design and create a public sculpture using a specially-selected block of local sandstone, which will celebrate and commemorate the Scouts’ long association with the Millhaugh site.
Millhaugh has been at the heart of Alyth life for centuries, with corn-milling and timber milling providing employment for generations of Alythians right up until the sawmill closed in the 1980s. ADT raised £170,000 to acquire the site in 2023 and refurbish the former sawmill buildings as a community event facility.
Neil explained: “We will be creating the sculpture from a lintel recovered from one of the derelict buildings demolished during the refurbishment. The sculpture will be carved as a legacy piece that will enhance the site, reflect upon the history of the site, celebrate the involvement of the Scouts in the site and encourage the community and visitors to explore and appreciate the site.
“It will be a permanent tangible memorial symbolising the history of the site and in particular the involvement of the Alyth Scouts – very much aided by scout-leader Ron Kirkpatrick, whose family formerly owned the site. It will also help to raise awareness of stone-carving as a practice and traditional craft historically associated with the local area.”
The Community Projects Fund grant is paying for materials, stone-carving tools and safety equipment for the Scouts, as well as Neil’s time and expertise. Once this project is complete, Neil will use the equipment for other community groups and individuals to learn new skills.
ADT’s Community Projects Fund distributes the community benefit funds provided for Alyth by the operators of the Tullymurdoch Windfarm, some five miles north of the town. Applications to the fund are judged by an independent panel of volunteers drawn from across the community. Apply at https://lovealyth.org.uk/projects/alyth-community-projects-fund/.
More info about the Millhaugh site is here: https://lovealyth.org.uk/millhaugh-development/