Rogart to spend ‘legacy funding’ on buying church and upgrading play park
Rogart Community Council has decided how it will spend legacy funding from Gordonbush Wind Farm.
The community council will use the £200,000 offered to purchase the parish’s historic St Callan’s Church and also to help fund a complete rebuild of the village’s dilapidated Corrie Play Park.
The 35-turbine Gordonbush Wind Farm in Strath Brora, developed by Scottish and Southern Electricity (SSE,) became operational in 2012.
A community benefit fund was set up, paying out around £200,000 per year to community and charitable projects in the Rogart, Golspie, Brora and Helmsdale areas.
The fund manager told communities in 2023 that money from the last five years or so of the 25-year fund could be taken early and used for a “legacy” project that would have a “lasting impact”.
Initial ideas put forward by Rogart Community Council members included a buy-out of the village’s Pittentrail Inn, a MUGA (multi-use games area), a tennis court, a cycle track and community transport.
However, at the group’s most recent meeting, chairman Frank Roach said it had been decided to buy the church, which is a mile and a half north of the village, and support the play project.
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The Church of Scotland recently undertook a national review of its property portfolio, and the Grade B listed St Callans, which is surrounded by a graveyard, was one of a large number of church buildings declared surplus to requirements.
A public meeting was held to discuss its future, and around 110 people in the community signed a petition in support of keeping the church.
Mr Roach said a voluntary group, the Friends of St Callans, had been formed, and legal representatives were in ongoing negotiations with the Church of Scotland to buy the building, valued at £40,000.
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Discussions were also under way with a view to the group retaining a £60,000 bequest made for the upkeep of the church.
“The money is sitting in a Church of Scotland account, and I hope it will be transferred to the new community group, who will then own the church,” he said.
If the £60,000 is transferred, it will be used to upgrade the church’s existing extension.
Mr Roach added that the acquisition of the church met the community, cultural and heritage objectives set out by SSE for the community benefit fund.
He said the church had been designated as a “refuge of last resort” for pupils and staff at the nearby Rogart Primary School in the event of a terrorist attack.
There has also been substantial interest in the gravestones from people of Rogart descent from all over the world who are keen to learn more about their ancestors.
Mr Roach said the church would continue to be available for funerals and weddings by popular demand.
In addition, the John Macdonald archive is stored at a controlled temperature in the vestry of St Callans.
A well-known author and historian, the late John Macdonald, the founding member of Rogart Heritage Society, collected a vast amount of information about the parish and its history over decades.
Meanwhile, £80,000 of the Gordonbush Community Fund legacy allocation will go towards the Corrie Play Park project, which is being taken forward by Rogart Development Trust.
The trust has also applied for £20,000 from the Kilbraur Wind Farm Community Benefit Trust to further support the play park project. The play park is situated near Corrie Meadow.
