Case Study – Slockavullin Village Green

In the village of Slockavullin, a group formed in 2003 to purchase and care for a central shared space known as The Green. This area, once overgrown and used as an informal dumping ground, was transformed by residents who recognised the need for a well-maintained community space.

They established a company, Slockavullin Community Group (SCG), a Company limited by Guarantee, not for profit but to give villagers collective ownership and responsibility for the land. SCG were successful in their bid to the Scottish Land Fund and The Green was purchased in 2004. Anyone living within the village boundary can become a member, pay a small fee, and have a say in decisions by voting at annual meetings.

Over the years, The Green became the heart of village life, hosting events that brought people of all ages together. These included traditional Bonfire Nights on November 5th, Easter celebrations with duck races and games, summer Wet ‘n’ Wild days, Christmas gatherings with music and mince pies, and other seasonal get-togethers like May Day parties and midsummer barbeques. Informal football matches were also a staple, with players young and old sharing the pitch.

During the pandemic, these activities came to a halt, and The Green grew quieter. When restrictions eased, SCG were eager to bring the community back together. Unfortunately, due to the lasting effects of the pandemic and a shifting demographic in the village, the group’s capacity was affected, and the company was struck off in 2021 after failing to meet statutory reporting requirements. The remaining few directors were able to remedy this situation and bring the land back into community ownership, but the existing board now felt that they needed to step back and bring in a new team with fresh ideas and more energy for the role. Sadly, however, SCG were unablet to recruit any new directors and it seemed that the next step was to consider dissolving the group and transferring The Green into new ownership.

Chair of SCG, Sally Wilkins, reached out to Argyll & Bute TSI in November 2024 as there had been an arrangement made with another local organisation to take on The Green. During the course of discussions with Third Sector Support Advisor for MAKI, Caitlin McNeill, this arrangement, too, fell through and the board felt that winding up the group was looking like the only option.

It was clear that this was not the preferred outcome for the board or the community, so Caitlin and Sally worked together to arrange a final community meeting, well-advertised with eye-catching posters and flyers, held locally and with the existing board spreading the word on the ground. Caitlin and Sally met in Kilmartin Church and despite expecting only a few attendees, over 20 members of the community showed up and there followed a positive discussion around the importance of The Green, the future of the community and the role of a director.

By the time the meeting closed, three new directors (and one very generous bookkeeper) had stepped forward to take the reins and there was a sense that a new chapter was beginning for Slockavullin. Caitlin will host a couple of group meetings with the new cohort to help them get settled in and offer some training around governance in the next few months. After the event, Caitlin said:

“It can be really overwhelming for directors and trustees when they begin to feel like they are running out of steam and Slockavullin was a stark example of how a community can reach a crisis point when the responsibilities, no matter how great or small, end up falling on the shoulders of just a couple of people. Legacy planning will be a focus of the training I do with the new board going forward so that the community can continue to enjoy The Green, and time spent together there, long into the future.”