Loch Melfort

and

Kilninver

Company Ltd

Map of area

Community Survey

The Kilninver and Kilmelford Community Council, in partnership with the Loch Melfort and Kilninver Company Ltd (LMKC), is developing a Local Place Plan (LPP). This is a significant opportunity for our residents to have a direct say in the future of our area.

There is a survey as requested by Argyll & Bute Council, please see the description here.

Summary of status and recent activities.

During this first full year of running the company, amongst other things we have:

• Attracted over 80 members
• Had our first AGM and an EGM to approve changes to our Articles
• Organised a Litter pick, Table Top Sale and Ceilidh
• Participated in the Summer Festival and Christmas Fair
• Worked on a business plan
• Prepared various policies and procedures required by funders and others
• Worked with the community council on preparing the local place plan
• Attended two events for regional and national community bodies
• Opened a new bank account and commissioned a logo
• Maintained a presence on social media and emailed members on various topics
• Held 7 Board meetings, 2 informal discussions, won 2 small grants, reported to 6 meetings of the community council and met with 3 local businesses and land owners to establish connections.

A community company like ours is very different to a company set up to trade or sell a service and be profitable. One of the issues we have is communicating what we are about and what the differences are, both to our members and to the community. It is not easy to get our message across to the whole area, but we are trying and are always happy to listen to all views, both positive and negative.

There are many possibilities for LMKC to make a real difference to the community and take advantage of all the help and assistance we can access that a private company cannot. However, we have to be mindful of a whole range of issues, and make sure the company has solid foundations to have the best chance of getting funding and support from different sources.

During the second half of the year LMKC has turned its attention to possible projects after listening to what the community wants during our very interesting discussions before our AGM, amongst other places. There are many possibilities for ways to improve our area in a sustainable way but we felt it best to concentrate on three initial areas, given our limited resources. We have 7 board members in total but limited time available to devote to company business, with work, family commitments, health issues and other reasons meaning we cannot always make rapid progress.

The first area we have looked at is housing. We have been gathering information about the current issues that people face when they want to move to live here or get a job in the area. We have spoken to one of the housing associations in Oban for their views on social housing. We are aware of the difficulties people have in being able to afford houses here and for local employers trying to attract people to work for them. We cannot influence the type of existing houses that become available for sale or rent, the cost of those houses or the amount of the rent, or the timing of them coming on the market - that is still up to individual owners. There are also few available sites which would be suitable for possible housing development.

The next area is leisure and recreation. We spent a fair bit of time this year looking at a potential site which offered significant opportunities for developing several types of recreational use. However, discussions with the current owners eventually proved unsuccessful. Again, a lack of alternative sites within the area is problematic but we will continue to search for them, given there is a demand for these facilities within sections of the community.

The last area we have been investigating is a retail unit of some description, possibly incorporating another business such as a cafe, given the wish amongst many people we speak to for a place to meet up during the day. At times it seems hard to make a business case for a traditional village shop here but we are looking at ways to attract someone to provide an alternative offering which would give people a reason to stay local and to visit. A big task for us is finding the right people to run this type of business and put in the effort and time it requires. We have to consider alternatives which may offer greater potential for benefit to the community as well as making sense from a financial point of view.

The recent purchase of the Cuilfail Hotel gives us optimism regarding its development and refurbishment in the near future which will definitely be a major benefit to the area. There may well be an opportunity to engage with the new owners regarding them providing facilities within the building to help meet the needs of the community in some way.

We have identified one potential site for a new retail unit but the owner of this has proved difficult to contact. Other sites may be of interest but are not currently available or are subject to planning restrictions.

If you know of anyone who is interested in setting up a hospitality and/or retail business or a suitable location for this, please do get in touch with us.

There are several other areas where we could look at projects, such as community energy production and tourism, but we do not currently have the time or manpower to investigate these just now. The Board of Directors are very committed to having something that will make a difference to the community as our first big project, but we have to contend with a lack of suitable sites, the cost of those sites and of any building work, the shortage of contractors locally, the decreasing amount of financial aid from the Scottish government and more competition for this from other areas, and generally our inexperience in setting up and running projects such as those outlined above.

Descriptions of older events (before December 2025) can be found here.

You can find descriptions of older events here.