Where to find us:
Buccleuch House,
4 South Hermitage Street
Scottish Borders,
TD9 0RS
NDCT Case Study by Community Land Scotland
A short summary of our achievements since we started in 2015. Looking back much has been accomplished, we are currently working hard on the next phase of community development on Holm Hill and look forward to sharing that with everyone as elements evolve.
“We are locked in our small parcel of land and want to create a better, more sustainable life for our grandchildren, owning land and assets enables us to do that” Chair, Greg Cuthbert
We could not have achieved all that we have without the support of our community and all our funding partners to whom we say thank you.
Sign up for Membership
If you live in the Newcastleton and Upper Liddesdale & Heritage District Council areas, you can become a member of NDCT.
It is free to join you must live within the boundary and be 16 or over to join.
We are happy to welcome supporters to be added to our mailing list who will receive updates about what we are doing.
Become a trustee SIGN UP NOWOur Aims
Economic Benefits; Generate wealth in the local community.
To tackle dereliction and decay, preserve and enhance our local environment.
Create environmentally sound solutions for local problems, providing leadership within the community through self-help activities and initiatives combating social problems.
Newcastleton & District Community Trust
Newcastleton & District Community Trust is a membership organisation, formally established on September 16th, 2015. It is registered in Scotland. Co Ltd by Guarantee no SC515720. Scottish Charity no. SC045988.
Join our team NDCT is hugely reliant on community volunteers to manage the organisation, workload continues to increase, we are dependant on them to support the work of paid staff to directing strategy and providing focus to the organisation.
If you love where we live and wish to see our community continue to flourish and thrive please consider joining us as a Trustee or a volunteer. The first step is to sign up for membership (below) and the next is to get in touch, thankyou. secretary@newcastletoncommunitytrust.co.uk.
BECOME A TRUSTEE AND JOIN THE BOARD Nomination to Board 2023
About Newcastleton & District Community Trust
NEWCASTLETON is a small remote rural community of 762 people, we refer to ourselves as a landlocked island, often cut off from neighbours due to power cuts, road closures or weather events. As a result, we are a tough, resilient tight-knit community who work collaboratively to get things done.
Newcastleton & District Community Trust was formed in 2015. It is a membership organisation open to all aged 16+ within catchment of Newcastleton and Upper Liddesdale & Hermitage. A geographic region of 1,200 square miles.
Priorities are set by local people for the benefit of the whole community and all our projects are based on sustainable outcomes.
Principles of dignity, fairness and respect are built into all aspects of our engagement process and service delivery. We are a Charity and a Ltd Company.
We aim to:
- Regenerate of the community by the maintenance or improvement of the physical, social, and economic infrastructure
- Assist people who are at a disadvantage because of their social and economic circumstances through the provision of localised services and support
- Provide leadership within the community, developing initiatives that make us fit for the future
- Advance educational and recreational opportunities by developing strategic community spaces and facilitating development programmes and activities
Achievements and performance 2022-2023
Community Projects
2022-23 has been a challenging year, but Trustees continue to put community need and benefit at the heart of our workplans.
The energy crisis and subsequent cost of living rises has had serious impact on many in Newcastleton, outreach services have never been as needed as they have been during this time. These events, coupled with the ongoing impact of Storm Arwen (Nov 2021), combined to add an additional burden on local business, primarily due to lost visitor incomes as a direct impact of the closure of the 7stanes mountain bike trails. Happily, these have now fully reopened but it will take some time to re-energise the local business sector.
There have been major positives with the launch of Innov8, our local community youth club. This now operates twice weekly and has an average attendance of 25+ children at each session. Our investment in a dedicated youth leader
means that we can provide a safe space for young people to receive support and informal education.
The bunkhouse reputation continues to grow and although incomes have suffered from the closure of the trails, but we are confident that the visitor sector marketplace will return. This is already apparent in road cycling on the recently launched Kirkpatrick Coast to Coast Road cycle route, which features the village as a stop off.
NDCT invested in a digital twin to help us model future projects, the first completed during this time; developing models to help the community play its part in decarbonising itself. The interactive database allows us to import
community actions to track changes and consider wider approaches to support efforts to redress climate change impacts. The database also enables us to capture current and future developments and is being used to help the project
planning of Holm Hill which is where much of our effort is now focused.
Trustees and staff will strive to try to maintain current services during this challenging period. We look forward to seeing the implementation of the community Active Leisure strategy so the community has more control over own destiny and to continue to provide more local benefits to all who live here.
Financial review once approved at the AGM to be held on Nov 28th 2023 the approved accounts can be found here.
N0024T- Signed AccountsBoard of Directors
The current Board of Directors:
Greg Cuthbert, Chair
Born and bred here Greg lives in the heart of the village and is determined to see the community thrive. His true passion is to see the railway reinstated in his lifetime – to bring wealth north from the south. Greg is a committee member on the Campaign for Borders Rail and an active member of the Community Council and volunteers for the Resilience Group in times of crisis.
Steve Hartley
Steve is an active farmer, running a smallholding, a passionate horseman and a devoted family man. He lives in Liddesdale on the outskirts of the village and experiences life living even less ‘connected’ than the majority of us – R100 cannot come soon enough! An engineer by trade his clear thinking keeps us on the right path.
Barbara Elborn, Secretary lives on the outskirts of Newcastleton village with her husband and dogs. Passionate about the village and its people she plays an active role in the community; a member of the Newcastleton Business Forum, and Newcastleton & District Community Council. Barbara is secretary of the Newcastleton & District Community Trust.
Margaret Elliot of Redheugh, Vice Chair 29th Chief of Clan Elliot. Deputy Lieutenant of Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale. Trustee of Boswell Trust, Sir Arthur Eliott Memorial Trust, Roxburghshire Landward Trust. Newcastleton & District Community Councillor. Vice President, Liddesdale Agricultural Society. Member of the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs.
Scott Wilson lives in Copshaw Holm, the common name for Newcastleton village, and is passionate about ‘the Holm’, having lived here all his life. Scott is a member of the Newcastleton & District Community Council and a director of Newcastleton & District Community Trust.
Robert Leishman or Bert as he is known locally runs Border Autos located in the heart of the village and loves nothing better than tinkering under bonnets! His experience of running the garage with first-hand knowledge of the health and safety disciplines needed to manage a fuel site has been invaluable in helping establish the community fuel pumps.
Barry Patterson lives and works locally and is often found out on the hills – his day job is land management. He is our ‘go-to’ ask when we need advice on what to do with land parcels, forestry, and many other land-related issues. Barry is a passionate sportsman and is an active member of Newcastleton Golf Club as well as a committee member of Polysport.
Peter Irving, lives in the heart of the village with his wife Fiona. Peter is an active community volunteer often seen astride the grass cutter maintaining the greens and fairways at the golf club and community playing fields. He is an electrical engineer by trade and will play a valuable role in helping the trust make the right decisions about how to tackle decarbonisation.
We are happy to be contacted for further information or to answer any questions you may have:
