Carnoustie Community Development Trust Update

Carnoustie Community Development Trust was set up some time after the Town Charrette back in 2015 with the aim of working towards raising funds to deliver some of the projects identified by the Town Charrette back in 2015. Once the formalities of creating a Trust and electing a Management Board had been achieved, the first thing CCDT did was pressure Angus Council until they delivered on their commitment on one of the Charrette demands to change the lorry and bus parking area on Links Parade to overflow car parking.

The next major activity was negotiating funding from Angus Council and the Links Committee and organising Carnoostival as part of the celebration of the Open Golf Championship, a day long festival of music, a farmer’s market and entertainment by local children’s dance and music groups. The Trust also organised a Directory of local traders, a team of ambassadors welcoming spectators to Carnoustie, and a series of short films about Carnoustie and local traders. The films are still available on YouTube and the Hello Carnoustie site.

The following year was spent developing plans and investigating possible funding around some of the other projects from the Charrette – Improving the railway underpasses, scope for a town square for Carnoustie, interpretation boards at the seafront, lighting along the seafront footpath. None of these will be inexpensive and so careful and what may in some instances be lengthy planning and negotiations with funding bodies is necessary.

At a recent meeting of CCDT’s Board, Chairman Derek Miller updated members on progress with some of the Trust’s projects. Using Scottish Government Town Centre Fund monies, plans to improve the Fox Street and Ferrier Street railway underpasses by means of special lighting to make both visual and safety improvements have been able to make only limited progress because of Covid restrictions. Nevertheless, tenders have been invited from contractors for the electrical installation works in the hope that as restrictions ease, we can be ready to make further progress.

The organisers of the Dunhill golf tournament have made funding available to facilitate installation of interpretation boards and hopefully a public use telescope along the seafront to help make some of Carnoustie’s section of the coastal path even more interesting and informative as well as one of scenic beauty. We have lots of flora and fauna to be celebrated and enjoyed and this will highlight some of the wildlife on our doorstep. Work is in hand on identifying suitable content, getting relevant permissions in place, and sourcing designers and installers.

The Charrette identified a community priority as finding a way of creating a town square for Carnoustie. The Kinloch site was the clear preferred location, but efforts by Angus Council to dispose of the site to developers have been an obstacle to such a project. These efforts to dispose of the site have so far been unsuccessful, and the Trust has recently confirmed that there is a possibility that the Scottish Land Fund might provide funding for a feasibility study regarding development of a Town Square, and if the results of such a feasibility study are positive, might fund the acquisition of the site for community use. Early days as yet, but discussions with Angus Council and the Scottish Land Fund are being pursued by CCDT.

The Trust has limited resources in terms of people and time to pursue projects, so some prioritisation is inevitable, but other Charrette projects such as lighting along the seawall footpath between the railway station and Links House is also being explored, and support and advice is being offered to those pursuing the possibility of retaining and upgrading the Panmure Centre.

Currently, CCDT has 4 vacancies for Board members and would welcome expressions of interest from anyone interested in joining the Board. Just drop an email to chair@carnoustiecdt.org.uk outlining your background and experience and indicating what you feel you could bring to the work of the Trust. To see more about CCDT, go to www.carnoustiecdt.org.uk.