TWO new donation boxes have been placed at the new Staffin viewing platform to help meet the development’s running costs.
Staffin Community Trust opened the platform, new footpaths and a car park at Lealt gorge in August, as part of its Skye Ecomuseum development. Feedback to the year-round attraction has been overwhelmingly supportive and SCT is now working to install new interpretation signage illustrating the industrial story of Lealt, and the other crofting townships in Staffin, across all its ecomuseum sites. It is hoping to install those works by April next year.
The community-led development secured funding for the construction of the platform but requires revenue to help pay for the site’s annual running costs. There are no grants available for maintenance costs so as a responsible community organisation, SCT decided to install donation boxes at the platform and new car park to help source revenue to meet for the upkeep. For example, the Public Liability Insurance costs several hundred pounds per year, an engineer will be required to carry our safety checks on the platform and ensuring the site is kept clean and tidy is hugely important.
SCT would be grateful for any size of donation from visitors to the site, both tourists or locals. It is hugely important that SCT looks after the site after it secured the financial support from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Coastal Communities Fund and the SSE Sustainable Development Fund to deliver the development and the sustainability of all its projects is a key part of its work.
SCT purchased the heavyweight and secure donation boxes from Stirlingshire-based company, Blueton. The firm supplied the stainless metal boxes, which are shaped like Royal Mail boxes, and local welder DL MacKenzie installed them into large boulders placed by the car park contractors, Staffin Groundworks. The boxes will be emptied daily by SCT’s staff so no money will be left overnight.
If anybody wishes to make a donation direct to SCT please contact the office on 01470 562 464 or email staffin.ldo@gmail.com
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