Coul Links unique crowd funding help passes £100k mark

Northern Highlands venue thanks its supporters as next phase is underway

A DRIVE by a community-led group to raise funds to help its bid to gain planning permission to develop a new world-class Mike Keiser course and protect a stretch of stunning wild coastal land in the Northern Highlands of Scotland is continuing after it passed the £100,000 milestone.

Communities for Coul (C4C), a not-for-profit company set up by local people in the Dornoch Firth area, launched a £150,000 crowdfunding campaign earlier this year to help them realise their vision.

At its heart is the new Mike Keiser golf course, which will fund a comprehensive environmental management plan that will restore and protect the entire Coul Links Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), on the scenic east coast of Sutherland.

As well as perpetually protecting the wonderful wild coastal environment, the development would create local jobs and further enhance the reputation of the area as golf destination.

Working with Keiser and the acclaimed golf architects Coore & Crenshaw, C4C submitted a scoping application for the project to The Highland Council earlier this year. The group aims to apply for full planning permission in the coming months and, if the project is approved, work on both the golf course and the environmental management plan will commence next year.

Supporters from the UK and other parts of the world have backed C4C by making donations to help fund its work.

The group is using the money it is raising to pay for the various environmental studies it is undertaking as part of the planning process and the other associated costs.

Andy Stewart, of C4C, said in a release to the media: "We are delighted by the response to our crowdfunding drive so far and, having passed the £100,000 mark, would like to publicly express our thanks to everyone who has contributed for their generous support."

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