Groups from all over Scotland are celebrating the excitement and optimism of community empowerment as part of Community Land Festival which takes place over the next fortnight.

The Inverclyde Shed is among dozens of community-owned projects highlighting the aspirations and benefits of local empowerment.

On Saturday, October 26 from 9am to 5pm The Inverclyde Shed will be hosting an open information day as part of Community Land Week.

It’s a chance to come along to the shed and find out more about our story of community asset control and speak to Inverclyde Council’s Community Asset Team and Development Trust Association Scotland.

As well as an exhibition showing the shed’s transformation, we’ll have local groups including Creative Regeneration, Green Tangerine and information from Port Glasgow 2025 and the Inverclyde Climate Action Network.

There will be soup and honey from our gardens, tea and coffee and a rendition of Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is your Land’ from our very own Ukulele band.

Control of assets is at the heart of a resilient and thriving community, the people best placed to decide what happens with their local resources are the people living there.

This is not to negate the work required by communities to organise, manage and make a success of running a building or land.

In Inverclyde, we have examples like the Coppermine Hall run by 1st Gourock Scouts that has reinvigorated a hall threated with closure, Port Glasgow 2025 are breathing new life into John Wood Street one unit at a time.

At the shed, achieving long term control of our workshop space and community growing spaces through community asset transfer legislation has been crucial for our sustainable growth and we very much encourage other groups in Inverclyde to consider it.

The Community Land Festival is organised by Community Land Scotland and is a follow-on from Community Land Week.

Such was the level of demand from the burgeoning number of enthusiastic community groups that Community Land Week was extended to a fortnight and has now developed to a Festival.

For the first time this year, aspiring community buyouts groups can participate in the celebrations and highlight their ambitions for their area.

"There has been a general sense of gloom about the economy and the cost of living," says Meg Taintor, Assistant Development Manager at Community Land Scotland.

"We do think that community-level ownership and development are a very direct and practical way to improve life for local areas. Local people know what is best for their community and the process of taking control and empowerment often brings optimism and aspiration to communities."