Happy Christmas and a Healthy New Year. | 17 December 2025 | Stratherrick & Foyers Community Trust

Happy Christmas and a Healthy New Year.

Wednesday, 17 December 2025

On behalf of the Directors and Staff we would all like to wish everyone a very Happy Christmas and a Healthy New Year. We’ve had a busy year and offer our sincere thanks for your support through occasional “choppy waters”, but also some good times and one or two achievements. It has generally been a positive twelve months and there is no doubting the commitment of all our staff under the leadership of Jewels. As for the Directors, well, I can assure you we do our best and commit an awful lot of time and thought to the management of our Community Benefit funds. It’s not always easy, and we can’t please everyone all the time, so please feel free to help out - just get in touch with your thoughts and ideas – we have an excellent kettle and a good supply of biscuits and would love to sit and “chew the fat”.

Of course, there is one major subject that is currently front and centre in the Community - the proposal by BCC to acquire Foyers Stores and Café. Now, because this is such a significant and sensitive subject, we thought we would furnish you with some facts, so as to mitigate against the inevitable rumour and gossip.

The process, circumstances and proposals are: BCC have been successful in an application to the Scottish Land Fund for a significant sum of money towards a potential purchase of the store. They have now made an application (on 5^th December) to SFCT for a further very substantial sum. The Board of Directors, Independent Assessors and SSE (our funders) have all now read the application and reverted to BCC with a series of questions. We must do this, as it is the Community’s funds they are requesting, and it would be irresponsible not to do so. We have asked for responses to the questions by the 5^th January, the first working day of the New Year. Thereafter, we propose to hold a Public Meeting on 14^th January (make a note in your diaries!), where the Community can also “have a say”. Then, on the 21^stof January, a special meeting of the Board of Directors will occur, when a recommendation on the application will be passed to our Funders.

That is all there is to know at present. No decisions have yet been made, due diligence is occurring, and all will be given an opportunity to comment – so no matter what anyone tries to tell you, there is no more to know.

Having said all of that, we again wish you a very Happy Christmas and a peaceful and healthy New Year.

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Stratherrick & Foyers Community Trust,
The Wildside Centre, Whitebridge,
Inverness IV2 6UN
admin@sfctrust.org.uk
07300 562443

Mission statement: To act to enhance the quality of lives of people by engaging with the issues that matter to the community and by supporting people, at a sustainable level, to help people make things happen.

Thanks: Many thanks to our funders for making this site possible - SSE Renewables, Greencoat UK Wind, Green Highland Allt Luaidhe (228) Limited, Easter Aberchalder Partnership. Also the Trust extends its heartfelt thanks to all the community volunteers who have contributed ideas and content to the site.

Fair Work First Statement - Stratherrick and Foyers Community Trust (SFCT) is committed to advancing the Scottish Government Fair Work First Policy and the criteria as set out within the Fair Work First guidance document. We confirm that we pay our staff the Real Living Wage. We make every effort to ensure that our suppliers/contractors are offered the same Real Living Wage rate when procuring goods or services. We also confirm that we offer our staff and/or volunteers an Effective Workers Voice channel within the workplace. Our full policy can be found in ‘Our Documents’, then click on ‘Good Governance’.