BACKGROUND

Applecross Steading, which belongs to the Applecross Trust, is located close to the Street in Applecross and adjacent to the popular Applecross Campsite.  It is a large building, dating back to the mid-1800s, which consists of four wings originally built for agricultural use set around a large central courtyard.  It is a Category C Listed Building which is currently in a poor condition. However, the recent renovation of a small part of one wing into residential accommodation shows that it has plenty of potential to be brought back into use. 

WHAT WE WANT TO DO

The objective of this project is to work with the local community, including local businesses, creatives and people with an interest in heritage and tourism, to work out the optimum uses of the building and to work out how they could be achieved. Ideas currently include small retail units for local businesses, an arts space including studios and gallery, A heritage-related attraction (including looking at local land use and agriculture past and present), live/work units and/or seasonal worker accommodation. The courtyard space also offers exciting potential for small events and activities etc. A number of similar buildings elsewhere in the Highlands, including Logie Steading and Scalan, demonstrate what can be achieved by bringing old agricultural buildings back in to use.

The project aligns with the priorities of the Applecross Community Land Use Plan, 2019, including to:

• support Slow Tourism in Applecross (ie develop activities to retain tourists in Applecross for longer periods
• develop a new visitor attraction/centre (the steading was identified as a favoured location for this)
• identify locations for business premises
• promote local produce and agriculture
• develop live/work units and accommodation for seasonal workers as well as other types of residential accommodation
• develop a visitor hub/heritage centre/gallery with flexibility for a variety of uses.

The project also aligns with a number of key objectives in the Applecross Community Company's Action Plan 2020-2025, including:

• developing and enabling economic and small business opportunities through workshop units and other workspaces
• supporting the development of more jobs of increased diversity and opportunity
• increasing income retained in the community from tourism
• creating new community amenities which all can enjoy.

WHY THE PROJECT IS IMPORTANT FOR THE LOCAL COMMUNITY

The development of the steading could potentialy help address a number of the priorities identified in the Applecross Place Plan and the Applecross Community Companies Action Plan. Then potential benefits for the local community include:

• new visitor attraction helping to promote Slow Tourism by encouraging visitors to stay longer and spend more in the local area, supporting local income and jobs. It will also help extend the season, addressing current seasonality issues for tourism operators locally
• a new arts/studio/gallery space allowing local creatives to create, promote and, especially in the case of the visual arts, sell their work
• affordable retail units to enable local producers of craftsand food etc to sell their products to visitors and local people
• new live/work units enabling local people to start small-scale businesses in an affordable way (and overcoming the current shortage of affordable residential and premises for small businesses)
• affordable accommodation for people working for local businesses, particularly in the tourism sector.  This is currently a challenge for local tourism businesses especially in terms of attracting and retaining seasonal and year-round staff, and can lead to short-staffing and resultant inability to open fully or provide the range iof services which would other wise by available to visitors. 

POSITIVE IMPACTS

The proposed development would have a number of extrmely positive impacts for the local community, including: 

• providing new opportunities for local businesses  - both to businesses which operate from the proposed live/work units, creative spaces and retail units and to tourism operators in the wider area. 
• providing opportunities to promote Slow Tourism and overcome some of the current problems of visitors who pass through Applecross or stay only a very short time without spending much (or anything) locally.
• help extend the visitor season and support year-round income and jobs.
• support local tourism businesses in need of accommodation for their staff.
• providing opportunities for local people, especially young people, to start up businesses locally.
• supporting local creatives by (1) giving them space to create, display and sell their work, and (2) creating a new focal point for creative activity and peer networking in the area.
• providing new opportunities for people who would like to return to live and work in Applecross to do so, by providing them with affordable live/work space  and retaill space etc.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

The objectives and prioritities identified in the Applecross Community Land Use Plan and the Applecross Community Company Action Plan were based on extensive community engagement and helped highlight potential uses for the steading. The Applecross Trust is currently in the process of arranging (and covering the costs of) further community engagement activities to review/confirm existing information and to check whether there are any new demands/needs/opportunities which have arisen.

REQUEST FOR SUPPORT

We will need financial support to undertake the work needed to produce detailed plans and costings or the development of the steading. This will involve public consultation/liaison with stakeholders, the commissioning of architects to provide advice and costings for recommended renovations and re-design of interior and exterior spaces for new uses, and the production of a detailed Development Plan and Business Plan (including options appraisal, business case and potential sources of capital and revenue income for the project etc). The estimated costs of this work are around £30,000 exclusive of VAT.

ANTICIPATED TIMESCALES

We would like to commission consultants to undertake the above works towards the end of 2026/beginning of 2027 with a view to getting consents and a funding package together which would allow works on site to commence in 2028/2029.