Wester Ballindean Community Heritage Orchard

08/05/2026

08/05/2026

Further progress is being made with the removal of self seeded elders within the orchard. The bramble thickets cut down earlier in the year (before birds started nesting) have also now been cleared. This is making space for the planting of new fruit trees later in the year.
The importance of water for biodiversity is well known so we intend to have a wildlife pond in the SE corner of the orchard. The basic shape, including a shallow sloping “beach” area to allow hedgehogs and small mammals safe access, has now been dug and will need further fine tuning before the liner is installed and plants added.

05/04/2026

Delighted with progress in the orchard.

05/04/2026

The community has owned the orchard for less than a month and already there’s a huge difference to see. Accumulated litter has been collected, self seeded elders and other non fruit trees have all been cut down and chipped and, most excitingly, a new boundary fence has been installed which will protect the orchard trees to be planted in the future.
Many of the trees within the orchard have been hidden from sight for decades. Some of the oldest trees may be dead but they still provide an amazing habitat for so many birds, lichens and invertebrates as well as still looking magnificent in their own right.

22/03/2026

22/03/2026

An initial assessment of the trees has now been carried out and a plan is starting to take shape for the future pruning of some of the old specimen trees, planting new trees in the gaps and creating a path through the orchard.
Spring has definitely sprung ….the orchard is humming just now with the sound of bees and other insects enjoying the blossom.

14/03/2026

The brush cutter has done a great job and cut down most of the thickets of brambles that were preventing access to much of the orchard. None of the old fruit trees have been damaged by the machinery and the work has been completed prior to birds starting to nest.
Our aim is to balance the wish to preserve and enhance biodiversity with a desire to create an accessible and safe environment for the community to enjoy.

05/03/2026

Today the community finally became the proud owner of our heritage orchard! It has taken more than 5 years to achieve but we are now in a position to restore, develop and prevent further deterioration of the orchard that has been abandoned for so many years.
After some initial clearance work of bramble thickets with a brush cutter before birds start nesting allowing access by a fruit tree expert to assess the existing trees, we will then be seeking community involvement in the project.
This really is a momentous day for the small village of Ballindean as our community company is the very first in the whole of Scotland to complete a community purchase using Part 5 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016- being a purchase to further sustainable development.

21/12/2025

Some further good news to report just before Christmas. The independent valuer has taken account of the whole circumstances surrounding the orchard and accepted the community’s view that the valuation should not be inflated by any “hope value” in respect of future development. Funding towards the purchase price has been approved by the Scottish Land Fund and we now just await finalisation of the purchase legal procedures. It’s been a long process…but the end is finally in sight and the community should soon be in a position to preserve and develop its heritage orchard.

24/10/2025

Delighted to announce that yesterday we received the news that we’d been waiting for…..a decision in the community’s favour to buy our neglected heritage orchard!
It will still be months before the purchase can be completed and work can start to restore the orchard to its former glory but the decision in our favour by Scottish Ministers is a huge step along the way!