IDI has set aside an initial 25 acres of Cornabus Community Forest to deliver housing, a Community Orchard, Garden and allotments for the community. 

In 2021 we carried out extensive consultation on the proposed development site within the now community owned Cornabus Forest. Formerly a commercial Sitka Spruce plantation, the whole site will eventually be replanted with native broadleaf to replicate the Atlantic Rainforest once prevalent on Islay, delivering significant biodiversity benefits but also on the community wish list from the consultation was housing for young people, allotments, an orchard and forest trails and a garden areas. 

The project will endeavour to add social and environmental value to the site and also create a space for community members and groups to enjoy. In 2020 Islay lost it's well-known community garden at Islay House, due to the property being sold on the open market. This was a much loved and used community space. Although the site at Cornabus is not a walled garden, extensive research on other forest garden initiatives was carried out in 2022 - including visits to Royal Botanical Society managed forests and formal garden spaces, such as Benmore and Puck's Glen. The intention is to take some elements of the old community garden site and duplicate them and the new, with lots of additional features.

The project is highly ambitious, and the first stage of funding has been secured from Inspiring Scotland for development of the tree nursery site where we will grow the replacement trees.  Secondary funding has come from Carbon Neutral Islands, specifically to create some of the infrastructure and assist with a circular economy approach to fuel wood supply on the island at affordable rates. 

This is a lifetime legacy project that will create a destination for outdoor enjoyment but also offer a range of solutions to the socio-economic challenges that the island faces with a strong focus on becoming Carbon Neutral. Islay is in a housing crisis and the addition of 10 affordable houses will help address some of those issues. To ease pressure on the Grid, the project also comes with it’s own district heating system using the remaining Sitka Spruce on site as a fuel source, a wind turbine and solar panels.  

The finished project will deliver a host of positive benefits including but not limited to:

• Employment
• Affordable Housing
• Circular Economy approach/local fuel
• Community garden
• Allotments
• Carbon capture in new tree planting
• Significant destination space for locals and visitors alike.

The project will link into Argyll College, Islay High School, Youth Initiative and employability. Partners and funders will be Scottish Government – Rural and Islands Housing Fund, Argyll and Bute Council and National Lottery. Community group usage will be open to all groups on the island and will link into national networks such as Community Woodlands Association, Scottish Islands Federation and Community Tree Nursery Network.

Who are we?

An Tobar and Mull Theatre (AT&MT) is a vibrant multi-arts centre on the Isle of Mull and the only producing theatre in the Hebrides. As a hub for artistic excellence, cultural expression, and community connection, we play a vital role in our island's creative and social ecology. We aspire to be an island voice holding space for island experience in global culture at a time when the voices of rural communities are drowned out. Through our wide-ranging programme of theatre, visual arts, creative learning, and music, we serve: 

• Local and visiting artists, providing space, time, and collaborative opportunities to experiment and grow. 
• All school-age children on Mull, providing arts engagement and curriculum enrichment. 
• Young people, creating pathways in the creative industries and amplifying youth voice through the arts. 
• Older adults, including those living with dementia and other long-term conditions, supporting wellbeing and inclusion.

AT&MT has been recognised as a leader in community-based arts practice by the Federation of Scottish Theatre and as an essential part of local infrastructure by the Mull and Iona Community Trust.  The value of our community outreach, arts provision, and advocacy for rural communities is reflected in the thoughtful feedback we continue to receive from our local community:

“Engaging directly with one’s local community and peers is a valuable experience as it provides opportunity to share ideas and experiences and reinforces connectivity across our islands. I feel that this type of outreach work [AT&MT’s community outreach programme] is fundamental to a thriving cultural ecology on Mull and Iona” – Studio Cèilidh participant

“Because of Mull’s geography and lack of public transport many youngsters have difficulty accessing creative activities [...] The work has been taken to them through schools and location theatre. This ensures equality of access.” – Long-term Community Members

What do we want to do and why?

To secure our future and deepen our impact, we are launching an ambitious development project that responds directly to the needs of our island community. At the heart of this project is the purchase of the land beneath Mull Theatre and extension of the building to include dedicated creative workshop spaces for artists and visiting practitioners and an on-site crèche and early years facility to support families and broaden access to the arts. 

This project is essential to: 

• Protect the future of Mull's only professional theatre and the only producing theatre in the Hebrides. Currently operating under a lease, securing ownership of our site will give us long-term stability and the confidence to plan boldly.
• Address a critical shortage in early years childcare. Mull faces a well-documented lack of affordable and accessible childcare. This project offers a creative, community-centred solution that support parents and caregivers to participate fully in island life and the creative sector. 
• Nurture the next generation of artists and islanders. The crèche and workshop spaces will be designed with care, learning, discovery, and cultural enrichment at their heart. 
• Grow the island's creative ecology and promote the artistic excellence of Argyll and Bute on a national and international level. New workshop spaces will allow us to host more artists-in-residence and facilitate peer exchange. It will also offer affordable rehearsal and creation space for local and visiting artists, and extend our ability to deliver training, workshops, and events that connect Mull and Argyll and Bute to the wider cultural landscape of Scotland and beyond. 
• Strengthen community wellbeing. As we emerge from the social and economic challenges of recent years, this development supports community recovery through creativity, care, and collaboration.

Who are our partners?  

We will work in partnership with: 

• Local early years creative learning practitioners and educators, ensuring the crèche is child-centred, safe, and rooted in best practice. 
• Forestry and Land Scotland, to navigate our land purchase and ensure the building extension is designed with care and attention to our beautiful natural surroundings. 
• Mull and Iona Community Trust (MICT), to ensure the facility is bespoke and meets the needs of our island community.
• Our Community Advisory Group, to ensure that local voices and lived experience remains at the heart of the project. 

We believe that access to the arts, like access to care, should not depend on geography. This project is about more than bricks and mortar, it's about building a future where creativity, care, and community thrive side-by-side. With the support of our partners and funders, we're excited to take this next step in our journey, ensuring that AT&MT remains a place where island voices are heard, nurtured, and celebrated for generations to come. 

Operating under the governance of the Dunoon Community Development Trust and in partnership with Argyll and Bute Council, the Save the Pier working group has been actively seeking funding and carrying out further research to progress the necessary technical studies needed to inform these types of developments.

The initial goal of the working group is to develop a robust, evidence-based feasibility study, providing a clear case for the pier’s redevelopment and its potential role within the future of the town’s wider marine infrastructure. Longer-term they hope to begin the process of the pier’s renovation.

The wider team —comprising volunteers with expertise in public sector infrastructure, finance, heritage preservation, project development and community engagement —has been engaging with stakeholders in the public and private sector, having discussions with potential funders, and laying the groundwork to ensure any future redevelopment is viable and sustainable.

Our Progress So Far

The project has involved extensive positive collaboration with Argyll and Bute Council, alongside wider stakeholder consultations, a public petition, and collaboration with advisors in major infrastructure, heritage conservation, and funding options.

Community Involvement

Community engagement will be essential to shaping the pier’s future. There has consistently been a lot of interest on social media and in the newspaper with large numbers of people getting behind the idea of Dunoon Pier being regenerated. It is clear that there is good community support for the idea and the working group welcomes the input of local residents, businesses, and local organisations as the project evolves.

At this stage, the focus is on gathering the necessary technical and financial evidence to determine what is achievable.

Next Steps

Funding is currently being secured to complete a feasibility study, which will provide a comprehensive assessment of the pier’s future potential. This study will form the foundation for securing funding to progress any future redevelopment. However, given the scale of the project, careful planning and a phased approach is required. We aim to complete this initial phase and be in a position to share the feasibility study by Summer 2025.

Looking Ahead

Public infrastructure projects of this scale take time, but the dedication of the team working with the support of the local authority and Dunoon Community Development Trust means that there is a good chance that this project will progress positively. The Dunoon Pier working group is committed to communicating on their progress and will provide regular updates via Dunoon Community Development Trust and partners as the project moves forward.

The new sports facility will be suitable for all weather conditions and will enable the playing of various sports on the same surface, including five-a-side football, netball, basketball, and shinty practice.

The Jura Community Development Plan, produced by the Jura Development Trust, highlights the necessity for improved youth and recreational facilities on the Island and concludes that further investigation is required regarding the preferred nature of these facilities.

Developing community-owned and managed assets is strongly supported by national and local policy.

In 2021 and 2022, IKDT secured funding to construst 1.79KM of brand new road connecting the North and South of the island. This project has been in the pipeline for many decades and has connected up the two different communities and is allowing our island to thrive as one. Just after we have secured the funding for the 2nd stage of the project, the tar topping, war broke out in Ukraine. Apart from the obvious humanitarian crisis, this had an instant impact on the price of all the raw materials required for surfacing. It meant we had to scale stage 2 back and make do with tarring the new built section of the road with a single layer of tar and leave approx 500 metres of road in an unbound, farm track state. Our plan for stage 2 had been to deliver 2 layers of tar over the new road (1.79km) and the 500m of existing road when we could petition the council to adopt the road as it connects up the existing council road to several council tax paying households. As it stands, while the road is in use and is hugely beneficial to life on the island however the maintenance burden on IKDT is not ideal. The council will not consider adoption until the road is brought up to the standard we had planned for stage 2 so we are hoping to complete the job. Adoption is key to the long term future of the road and indeed to whole community as it will allow unfettered access to all including vital services, emergency vehicles and access to the lifeline ferry service. The surfacing could be delivered in one week but the effects would be felt for generations to come. We would hope to continue the excellent working relationship with A&B Roads department to help deliver the best value for money possible.