To strengthen the long-term sustainability, operational resilience and community capacity of Nairn Community & Arts Centre as a key community anchor organisation delivering community-led regeneration.
Estimated Cost
£90,000
Nairn Community & Arts Centre (NCAC) is one of the area’s most significant community assets and a trusted community anchor organisation serving Nairn and wider Nairnshire. The Centre supports thousands of residents annually through affordable activities, family support, youth provision, volunteering opportunities, creative wellbeing programmes and accessible community space for local groups, charities and partner organisations.
NCAC provides one of the few affordable, inclusive and accessible multi‑use community spaces in the area and acts as enabling infrastructure for local groups, support services, volunteering and partnership delivery. More than 75 community groups and organisations regularly use the Centre, generating over 65,000 visits annually.
The Centre supports a broad range of community‑led activity including family support, youth work, health and wellbeing groups, creative learning and arts, older people’s activities, volunteering, community participation, local events and partnership delivery.
Community Need and Local Context
Although Nairn is often perceived as relatively affluent, several neighbourhoods fall within or close to the most deprived 50% of SIMD for rural Scotland, including Nairn South, Nairn East/Harbour and parts of Nairn Central. Many residents experience rural poverty, financial hardship, social isolation, poor mental wellbeing, limited access to services and transport, and reduced opportunities for participation and social connection. In a rural area where statutory services are increasingly stretched, accessible community infrastructure and preventative local support are critically important.
NCAC provides a safe, welcoming and trusted environment where people of all ages can participate in community life, access support locally and build social connections. The Centre plays an important early‑intervention and preventative role by reducing isolation, improving wellbeing and strengthening community cohesion.
Community Anchor Role and Community Wealth Building
NCAC is essential community infrastructure underpinning social connection, local resilience and community‑led regeneration across Nairnshire. The Centre supports local employment, engages more than 80 volunteers annually and provides affordable operational space for grassroots organisations and community initiatives that would otherwise struggle to access suitable facilities.
NCAC contributes directly to Community Wealth Building and place‑based regeneration by supporting local employment and volunteering, enabling grassroots organisations to operate locally, strengthening partnership delivery, creating opportunities for skills development and community leadership, supporting local supply chains and community spending, retaining social and economic value within the area and strengthening long‑term community resilience.
Without the Centre, many local groups, support services and community activities would struggle to operate locally, significantly reducing opportunities for participation, support and community connection.
Alignment with the Local Place Plan
NCAC aligns closely with Local Place Plan priorities, particularly strengthening community resilience, increasing access to inclusive community spaces, supporting wellbeing and social connection, encouraging volunteering and participation, sustaining local services and facilities, and supporting inclusive and sustainable community development. The Centre’s work supports wider community regeneration by ensuring local people continue to benefit from accessible facilities, affordable opportunities and locally rooted support services.
Proposed Use of Funding
The requested £90,000 would help secure the Centre’s long‑term operational sustainability and strengthen its capacity to deliver inclusive, community‑led regeneration across Nairnshire. Funding would support core staffing and operational resilience, volunteer coordination and community engagement, affordable access to community facilities, building operational costs and maintenance, support for community‑led activities and partnerships, development of inclusive programmes aligned to local regeneration priorities, and strengthening long‑term community participation and resilience.
Investment will enable NCAC to expand community participation, strengthen partnership delivery, improve long‑term sustainability, increase community resilience and local capacity, and sustain affordable and accessible community provision.
Long‑Term Impact and Sustainability
Funding would protect and strengthen one of Nairnshire’s key pieces of community infrastructure. This investment would not simply sustain existing provision; it would strengthen NCAC’s long‑term role as a permanent community asset supporting future generations. After the funding period, NCAC will sustain increased capacity through a diversified income model combining earned income, community use, partnership delivery, local commissioning and targeted fundraising.
Without sustained investment, the area risks losing an essential community asset that supports vulnerable residents, local organisations and inclusive community participation. Strengthening NCAC’s operational resilience and long‑term sustainability will deliver lasting social, economic and community value while supporting inclusive, place‑based regeneration across Nairnshire.
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