Drawing by Charlotte Watters
The people in our communities are at the heart of our NW2045 approach. To create the NW2045 Vision in 2021 we asked young people to have conversations with others within the communities. We have continued this approach with our Regional Land Use Partnership work, starting with our in-depth Land+ pilot work in Kinlochbervie. (Read more in our Land+ Handbook), and our Land+ Handbook with its Principles and Learnings).
In early 2026 we had the opportunity to undertake valuable research across the other six communities of the NW2045 area.
A team of community co-leads holding land-use conversations
In line with the Land+ approach of empowering local people, we recruited a team of ‘community co-leads’ for this work, from Coigach to Bettyhill: Abi Muir ~ Coigach; Ruth Hinsley ~ Assynt; Laura Pearce ~ Scourie; Merlin Henley ~ Durness; Dee Roberts and Nadine Malcom ~ Melness, Tongue & Skerray, and Nadie Malcom ~ Bettyhill.
We were lucky to have a strong local team collaborating to manage the work: Natasha Hutchinson (Wester Ross Biosphere); Fiona Saywell (North West Highlands Geopark); Mandy Haggith (UHI / Freeland Creative); Rich Williams (Wilder Williams Regeneration), representing a broad range of experience, knowledge, skills and perspectives.
The community co-leads reached out to people within their area to have conversations about the land around us: how it is being used; how that is changing; how decisions are being made; the challenges to overcome and opportunities to be explored.
Common issues emerging across the area
This brief piece of work has provided a snapshot of the issues facing people – and the land – across our area. The main themes emerging across the area were:
- Opportunities for young people
- Land management
- Crofting and access to land
- Housing
- Renewable energy and infrastructure
- Tourism was also an issue in some of the areas.
Cutting across all these themes is the issue of community voice and empowerment.
The findings were shared at our first RLUP Gathering – in Elphin, in May – to help us decide where and how to focus RLUP efforts in the years ahead, and to support collaboration that will overcome these issues and make the most of opportunities.
Watch this space!
