Aileen MacVicar

Exciting times ahead in Dufftown! Our AGM is coming up on Monday 10th November at Glenfiddoch, and we’d love to see you there. We have had a busy month. Read on to catch up on all the latest news and ways to get involved!

Bike Hire Updates
Our long-term bike hire has been a huge hit! We’ll have more availability in the new year, so keep an eye out if you’ve been waiting to grab a bike. Our funded day hires are still going strong thanks to support from HiTrans. Spaces are available, so get in touch to book your bike and get out exploring.

Community Forum Success
A big thank you to everyone who attended our recent Community Forum. Lots of fantastic ideas were shared, including plans for a large fundraising event bringing all Dufftown community groups together. Exciting things ahead!

Food Larder & Support
Our Food Larder continues to be popular, helping the community with food vouchers and the Baby Fund. It’s wonderful to see such strong support making a difference in the Community.

Cooking Classes with Sarah
Sarah from Moray Food Plus will be back over in the October holidays with cooking classes for kids on 14th October at the Community Centre. She will also be running a 6-week block of Cook, Share & Connect classes starting in November. More details to follow soon – keep an eye on our social media.

Growing Project Steering Group
We’ll be organising our first meeting to establish a steering group for the growing project over the next few weeks. Watch social media for updates and how to get involved.

Clock Tower Project
Progress continues on the Clock Tower as we move towards securing the Building Warrant and putting the capital work out to tender.

Warm Spaces Lunch

We’re also celebrating the success of our Warm Spaces Lunch, thanks to funding from The Robertson Trust. Over 40 lunches were served!  It was wonderful to see the Legion so busy and then I had the pleasure of hearing some great music and chatting at the over 60s club which is held on the first Wednesday of the Month at the small hall in the Mortlach Memorial Hall. The next lunch is on the 29^th October 12-2pm.

Save the Date – AGM
Our AGM is on Monday 10th November at Glenfiddoch. We hope all our members can join us! Andy Fairgreave will give a short talk on the Artists in Residence Programme and there will be an opportunity to view some of the work. Tea, coffee, and delicious homebakes will be served.

 

 

We recently asked the community whether a Community Growing Project would be a welcome addition to Dufftown, and the response was overwhelmingly positive! Out of the people who shared their thoughts, 90.9%  felt this project would be successful, showing strong support for growing together locally.

Volunteering and Participation
Nearly half of respondents expressed interest in volunteering. People are open to helping in a variety of ways—from hands-on gardening to supporting roles like fundraising, awareness-raising, or leading tours. Most can realistically give 1–2 hours per week, with some flexibility depending on their schedules.

What to Grow
Community members shared a long list of ideas, with a focus on seasonal fruits and vegetables and staple crops like potatoes, carrots, onions, and leafy greens. Herbs, berries, and flowers were also popular suggestions.

Making it Accessible and Welcoming
Key factors for making the garden inclusive include:

• Easy access for all abilities, including raised beds and wide, flat paths
• No pressure or rigid commitments
• Clear guidelines for taking produce through voluntary donations
• Good communication via social media and signage
• Location that’s easy to reach and park at

Sharing Skills and Learning
Many volunteers have some gardening experience, while others are keen to learn. A mix of hands-on and support roles would help everyone contribute according to their skills and interests. Some are even interested in joining a steering group to guide the project.

Community Benefits Beyond the Harvest
People highlighted that the project could offer far more than fresh produce. Benefits include:

• Opportunities to learn new skills
• Social connections and new friendships
• A peaceful space to relax and engage with nature
• A sense of community pride and togetherness

Other Thoughts

• Some noted previous attempts had stalled, but the community is excited to revisit the idea.
• Challenges such as wildlife (e.g., deer) need consideration, but supporters are keen to contribute in any way they can—even by purchasing produce if they can’t volunteer.

Overall, the survey shows strong enthusiasm for a Community Growing Project in Dufftown. With careful planning, accessibility, and a welcoming approach, this project could nourish both people and community spirit.

 

The Dufftown and District Community Forum is run quarterly with the aim to facilitate information sharing and collaboration in our community.

Our latest forum was held on the 17^th September 2025 at 7pm

The Community Groups presents were;

• The Royal British Legion
• Dufftown Trust
• Dufftown 2000
• Dufftown in Bloom
• Dufftown Community Centre
• Mortlach Memorial Hall
• Speyside Youth
• Dufftown Highland Games
• Dufftown and District Community Association
• Dufftown Cubs and Scouts
• Moray Council
• Dufftown Football sent apologies

 

The forum had two key points on the agenda, a follow up discussion from a tsiMoray Funding Workshop attended by some of the group over the Summer months titled- ‘Income Streams for the 3^rd Sector’ and a review of the Dufftown Community Development Plan.

Opportunities for creating Funding Streams

At the workshop, attendees shared updates on the progress they’ve made and the exciting ideas that have come out of their work, with support from tsiMoray. The response was overwhelmingly positive, and already steps are being taken to explore different ways to raise funds, including JustGiving, PayDay Giving, and selling merchandise.

One idea that really sparked the group’s imagination was the possibility of joining forces to organise a large-scale fundraising event for all the local groups. There are lots of creative options to consider, and we’ll be sharing updates with the community as the plans take shape

 

Community Action Plan

We focused on the Actions of the Community Action Plan 2021-2026, the group discussed what actions had been achieved and what were the next key priorities that would be most beneficial to the community and visitors. I have noted some of the key actions to follow up on below.

• Whilst a lot has been done there is more that we could do to make the Dufftown Path Network better for all.
• Develop Cycling and MTB trails around Dufftown and District.
• Improved signage in the town for routes and attractions.
• Support the Football Club with improvements to changing facilities.
• Continue to engage young people in Cycling and the Outdoors.
• Revisit woodland survey
• Publicise the groups working in the community and key contact details
• Encourage and Support volunteering across all groups.

While there are still items to complete on the Community Action Plan, it’s worth taking a moment to celebrate the dedication and passion shown by each group. Their contributions are helping to make Dufftown a stronger, more vibrant community for everyone, and we’re excited to see the next steps unfold as these plans continue to take shape.

Conclusion

The forums are a great chance for groups across Dufftown and District to come together, share ideas, and support one another. We talked about how best to celebrate the work of our amazing volunteers and how to raise more awareness in the community. Other discussions included the possibility of more cooking classes, opportunities to meet new people, growing projects, and many other ideas we’ll share as they develop.

Thank you for all who attended the Forum and shared their experiences with us and then contributed to the discussions around future events.

As always, if there is any feedback on the Community Forums or further suggestions of themes or speakers that would be of interest to groups in the community then please get in touch- aileen@dufftowncommunity.co.uk.

Next community forum – online Wednesday 3^rd December at 7pm – invite to follow.

Hello Dufftown & District,

I hope this newsletter finds you well and you are enjoying the last of the Summer warmth. I wanted to give you a round up of the last month from DDCA HQ and a look ahead at what is coming soon.

Thanks to the generous support from HITRANS we have been able to offer free Ebike hire to the local community which, has also included a led ride. This has been very popular and has been great to see so many of you enjoying the bikes. We have now expanded this service to include long term hire for the quieter months. As the demand was so high we have confirmed 3 blocks of  3 week loans to 12 riders. All participants are hoping to use the bikes for commute and pleasure, hopefully creating some lifestyle changes through active travel. The bike lockers have been ordered for the park to offer more flexibility to pick up and drop off the bikes so, it will soon be very easy to explore Dufftown by bike. We will look to do another block of long term hires around Feb/March time and then daily hire will still be available until the end of March. If you haven’t been in touch to book a bike there is still plenty of time!

We continue to make plans to utilise our award from the Robertson Trust which will allow us to expand our impact in the community. With this funding we hope to launch a series of new community initiatives. The priorities being the Community Food Growing Scheme, Warm Spaces and Back to work Skills and Support Program. We would be eager to hear any ideas you have to shape these projects. Your input is always gratefully received and if you can spare any time to volunteer with us please get in touch to find out more.

Over the coming months we will continue working on the Clock Tower renovation. We are currently working with our Architect, Angela and her project team to submit the Building Warrant as well as introducing the project to potential funders.

The DDCA is still recruiting Trustees and a Treasurer for The Board, we are a friendly relaxed group who meet on the last Monday of the month at the Shand Centre- the next meeting is the 29^th September and we are just in the process of confirming the date for our AGM. We will share this with you shortly.

Green fingered helpers and experts for the Food Growing Scheme and additional volunteers for other projects and events are essential to support our plans so, please get in touch with us on the email below if you are able to spare a little time. Spread to the word and invite neighbours, friends and family to get involved or become members. We need the passion and support of the community to strengthen our impact in the Dufftown and District Area.

Please share any ideas you have- we would love to hear from you!

aileen@dufftowncommunity.co.uk

Looking forward to another busy month ahead!

 

We hope that you are enjoying the Summer months and have been able to make the most of the warm sunny days! We are continuing at good pace with our up and coming projects and developing well established services to ensure we are able to offer continued growth and positive change to the community.

 

The last few months have offered me great variety in my role as I have continued to work on the Clock Tower project, learning about funding streams, the work that needs to be carried out and time scales involved in this, offset by being lucky enough to attend some great events in the Local Community and getting the opportunity to meet and chat to some of you.  I attended both events by Moray Food Plus who offered cooking lessons to young people and then a family picnic with games, crafts and food. Both were well attended and it was great to see families making some really cool crafts and some delicious food. If you would like the best 3 ingredient chocolate brownie recipe- pop me an email!! The Bike Dr with Tyred n Cranky was also a great success and we hope to have them in Dufftown again soon.

 

We have received funding from HITRANS to allow us to offer free bike hire to the local community- hope as many of you as possible will get the opportunity to try the E-bikes- they are great fun and super for getting back on a bike and taking part in gentle exercise. HITRANS are also funding two bike lockers so that the Bikes can be easily dropped off and picked up allowing us to offer more flexibility in our service.

We have also been successful in our application to the Roberston Trust who will be supporting one of our pillars, which we base our activities on, to improve prosperity in Dufftown. These funds will be issued to us over three years and we hope to be able to establish a Community Food Growing scheme, Warm Spaces for the Elderly/ Soup and Sweet, Baby Fund- this will support vulnerable families with essentials for young children, Clothing Swaps, Food Vouchers, Cooking Classes and Back to work/Skills and Support for job seekers. Happy to hear your suggestions on this project so please get in touch with your thoughts!

 

I am looking forward to attending my first Dufftown Highland Games on Saturday, do pop past and say hello! Two of our trustees will also be on the stand. We will have our 50/50 raffle (last winner bought two tickets for a £1 each and won £50! so worth a go and we are hoping for a bigger pot). I have spent quite a while this week wrapping up a lot of presents for the Lucky Dip which we have organised for the kids- some great prizes in there!

 

As always, please get in touch if there is anything you would like to share ideas on, find out more or perhaps even get involved! We are still looking for a Treasurer for our Board and if we are to find space for a Community Growing Scheme then we will require green fingered experts in this area! Contact details are below- hope you all have a great weekend.

hello@dufftowncommunity.co.uk

07928986261

 

 

 

Yesterday I visited Glenfiddich Distillery to receive a donation of £500 from the staff at William Grant & Sons. We are very grateful that they have chosen to support Dufftown and District Community Association at this time. The generous donation will be used to launch an additional service as part of our Community Food Larder Project which, falls under one of our six pillars to Improve Prosperity in the Dufftown and District Area. This additional support will be for families with young children who require access to baby essentials such as nappies, wipes and formula. We will be working with the Local  Health Visitor to distribute the goods however, families will also be able to come to us directly.

As always, please get in touch with us on the email below if you have any queries.

hello@dufftowncommunity.co.uk

Dufftown Clock Tower Project – Planning Permission Approved

Dufftown and District Community Association (DDCA) are delighted to share the news that we have finally received planning permission for the Clock Tower Restoration Project which, we have been working towards for quite some time.

When the Clock Tower was switched off in the Summer of 2016, the DDCA quickly took action to find a solution to this problem. It was unacceptable that the most iconic building in the area was left in disrepair without a working clock .After purchasing the Clock Tower from Moray council in 2019 for a £1 under a Community Asset Transfer order the DDCA started to make plans to  restore the grade B listed building and develop it into a future community asset.

The DDCA consulted with the community of Dufftown and District to determine the future use of the tower. The most popular plan, that we submitted for planning consideration earlier this year, is to have a flexible community space on the ground floor and the remaining 3 floors will be converted in to a one bedroom bespoke holiday rental which will generate income for the upkeep of the building.

The next stage of the project is to apply for a building warrant, secure funding for the restoration works and to develop ideas around a theme and design for the accommodation.

We hope to be able to start the building work on the Tower towards the end of the year. We have had good responses from local businesses to early enquiries with regards to donating materials for the build and we hope that this will continue with other opportunities for sponsorship to be announced soon.

This project would not be possible without the drive and passion of our Board of Trustees, their vision along with the support of the community has allowed this project to reach this monumental stage.

We are proud of all the work that has gone into this project from former and present Trustees and our previous employee, who did a tremendous amount of work to ensure that this project could become a reality and we will continue to be passionate and determined about the Clock Tower to ensure its completion and future in the heart of Dufftown.

As always please get in touch, great to hear from you- hello@dufftowncommunity.co.uk

 

 

We had a great session with Wendy yesterday who, is the Money Advice Support Worker for Moray Food Plus. Wendy has supported residents throughout Moray to claim over £1 million of unclaimed benefits in the last year so it was wonderful to chat with her at the Combat Poverty Workshop this week.

The work shop took the form of three relaxed activities with the aim of getting the group talking and thinking about the topics. We looked at different types of poverty, myth busting and we also discussed budgets and case studies.

 

Within Moray there are many different types of poverty including rural poverty, fuel poverty, digital poverty, social isolation, poverty caused by health conditions, families breaking down and also period poverty. Wendy showed us a selection of images and we chatted about what could be going on in someone’s life based on the image we saw. The clear message here was that you never know what someone is dealing with, not all poverty is obvious and it can happen to any of us. The ripple effects of redundancy, supporting children through the ‘bank of Mum and Dad’ and the complications and challenges of trying to find and apply for help online are huge in Communities in Moray.

 

We looked at myth busting around topics such as universal credit, childcare payments, savings in relation to claiming benefits, the Scottish childcare payment, carers allowances and social broadband tariffs. I have to admit in this exercise  what I believed were true or false statements were often wrong! The good news is that both Moray Council and Moray Food Plus can offer Benefit Checks which, do not take long and may be able to help find additional support to you and your family.

 

Through case studies, Wendy was able to demonstrate how she had worked with pensioners, single mothers and those with mental and physical health problems who were struggling and now have an increased monthly income and access to additional free services. Examples of some of the benefits Wendy was able to help people claim include- Attendance Allowance, Pension Credit, Housing Benefit, Scottish Childcare Payments, Best Start Foods, Best Start Baby Grant, Social Tariffs for Broadband and Warm Homes discount. There are also grants available that can be applied for to purchase specific items including cookers, carpets and medical equipment.

 

I have placed some flyers and cards in the Community Food Larder in the Legion in Dufftown with more information and contact details for Wendy at Moray Food Plus and also an image below.

 

Just a reminder, that the DDCA has a hardship fund and access to Food Vouchers so if you or anyone else you are aware of requires this support please contact us on aileen@dufftowncommunity.co.uk or call 07928986261. All information will be treated confidentially.

 

Thank you again to those who attended and to Wendy for delivering such a great workshop.

     

We are excited to share with you a program of FREE events that we have organised over the Summer …so far! We are working and hoping to bring a few other events to Dufftown but we wanted to share with you what is already confirmed so you can start booking …NOW

Contact – bookings@dufftowncommunity.co.uk or call 07928986261- if there is no answer, please let a message and we will call you back.

All the events are loaded on to our Facebook Page but please get in touch with any questions that you may have- happy to help!

(Combat Poverty, Clothing Swap and Bike Dr do not require booking- The Clothing Swap and Car Boot sale is in Partnership with the Mortlach Memorial Hall, Dufftown – £10 per car- pre booking is essential) 

Thank you to all our Funders and Partners who have helped us create this program

Hitrans, Food Plus Moray, EDF & Dorenell Ranger and Moray Flying Circus 

Last week I was fortunate to attend a webinar on Technology in Modern Society- how do we tackle digital exclusion, delivered by THRE (Third Sector Human Rights and Equality) as part of their lunch time webinars program. I was joined by colleagues in similar roles as my own right across Scotland and the session included inspiring stories by guest speakers Mhor Collective who take a Human Rights approach to digital inclusion.

The session highlighted the impact digital exclusion and equality can have on a person’s life – whether it is seeking help, filling in forms online including benefit and job applications, keeping in touch with loved ones or simply being involved in your own community and finding out about news and events.

This got me to thinking about residents in the Dufftown and District area and how this topic impacts their day to day life’s….

The DDCA will continue to promote events using posters and flyers as well as online to ensure we are engaging with as many people in the community as possible. If you know of anyone who would benefit from assistance accessing the digital world we are more than happy to help and you can contact us at aileen@dufftowncommunity.co.uk or pass along our contact number – 07928986261. All these details will be available in the Food Larder, Health Centre and Local Shops. If this is assistance that is valuable to the people of Dufftown we can look to arrange pop up sessions in the future where residents can ask questions or make an appointment to be supported in form filling etc.

In the meantime, I wanted to highlight some key websites that may be of use to the Community of Dufftown when it comes to accessing resources, finding help for others to support their journey online, keeping children safe online and accessing Social Tariffs.

 

Ofcom social tariffs Cheaper broadband/phone packages: phones-and-broadband/saving-money/social-tariffs

Data Banks free mobile sim cards for data: Goodthingsfoundation

LEAD easy read resources for staying safe online: lead.easy-read-and-accessible-resources

Learn My Way – Free digital skills: learnmyway

Internet Matters – Social media tools to keep children safe online: Internetmatters

 

As always,  please get in touch with any questions- we would be delighted to hear from you.