The entrepreneurial spirit of a Highland Community which has secured its local medical practice, has been recognised with the award of nearly £100,000 in grant funding.
A local campaign group raised over £600,000 to rebuild a health centre in Fort Augustus, at the south western end of Loch Ness.
Last year the medical practice in the village on the Caledonian Canal was destroyed by a fire, and the GP owners, who were approaching retirement, did not wish to pursue a replacement.
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NHS Highland said they did not have sufficient funds to replace the facility, but could potentially pay a lease on a building.
So the Fort Augustus and Glenmoriston Community Company (FAGCC) is now seeking to purchase and redevelop the site having raised £630,000 of the required £680,000 for the construction of the new centre.
It is confirmed today that the group will also receive £98,724 from the Scottish Land Fund, which is funded by the Scottish Government.
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Local Kate Forbes, SNP MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, welcomed the news: “This is great news for the Highlands and the people of Fort Augustus and Glenmoriston are to be congratulated for showing such entrepreneurial spirit.
“I am well aware that the continued provision of healthcare is a huge issue in rural parts of Scotland, so I think it’s highly significant that we have an enterprising community who have taken the bull by the horns here."
She said not only would medical services be improved with an expanded facility allowing for new provision of physiotherapy and an optician service, but it clearly demonstrated how community ownership could transform the Highlands.
“This community group has single-handedly secured medical services in this rural community for the foreseeable future," she said.
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