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About
Frequently asked questions
About Grow Nairn
Grow Nairn is a community-led voluntary organisation working to establish a community market garden for Nairnshire.
Our aim is to grow fresh, local food while creating opportunities for employment, learning, and community involvement.
Grow Nairn is seeking a lease to use 4 hectares of Sandown Common Good Land to develop a community market garden. We are currently in discussions with the Highland Council about the potential to lease this land, the lease has not yet been agreed.
The site would be used for:
• Growing fruit and vegetables
• Tree planting and orchard development
• Polytunnels for food production
• Pathways within the site
• Small-scale infrastructure to support growing crop shares
Grow Nairn is a community organisation operating as a social enterprise.
Income generated from produce sales supports:
• Jobs
• Training opportunities
• Site maintenance
• Community activities
Any surplus is reinvested into the project.
The project is designed to benefit the Nairnshire community, including:
🥕 Local households (fresh food access)
💼 Local workers (jobs created)
👩🌾 Volunteers (skills & wellbeing)
🏫 Schools & groups (learning opportunities)
🌍 The wider environment
Yes.
The land would remain Common Good Land.
Grow Nairn is seeking a lease to manage the land for community benefit.
✔ Puts land into productive use for the community
✔ Supports local resilience
✔ Aligns with Highland Council strategies
✔ Reflects priorities in the Local Place Plan
The Sandown Development Brief also identifies this field as suitable for mixed use and community-aligned activity.
The site is primarily a working growing space, but the project will:
• Include internal pathways
• Provide volunteering opportunities
• Support educational visits and events
Access arrangements will be designed to balance public benefit and safe food production.
No.
The project is designed to complement the allotments, not replace or compete with them.
Both initiatives support:
• Local food growing
• Community wellbeing
• Sustainable land use
The development will be funded through a combination of:
• Grant funding
• Fundraising
• Social enterprise development funding
• Produce sales
No ongoing public subsidy is required for core food production once the project is established.
Grow Nairn has engaged with local producers and retailers.
Feedback indicates:
• High demand for local produce
• Existing waiting lists for veg boxes
• Capacity for additional supply
The market garden is intended to add to local food provision, not displace existing businesses.
Initially:
• Three new local jobs (two full-time equivalent roles)
Longer term:
• Additional seasonal opportunities
• Volunteer and training placements
The project will follow sustainable growing methods, including:
🌱 Organic production
🚫 No pesticides
♻ Composting
🌳 Tree planting
🌾 Soil improvement
The project contributes to priorities including:
✔ Sustainability and resilience
✔ Jobs and skills
✔ Green space and wellbeing
✔ Local economic vitality
A full summary is available on our Local Place Plan Alignment page.
Yes!
Right now you can:
🌱 Become a member
💬 Attend events or open days
And once our project is up and running you will be able to:
🤝 Volunteer
🥕 Subscribe to a veg box
We would love to send you updates and news on our community market garden project, you can sign up to our mailing list to be the first to hear our annoucements - check out the bottom of this page!
Get in touch with us
Do you have feedback or suggestions for the Grow Nairn team? Get in touch below
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