A former church near Portobello’s seafront offers a practical lesson in community finance. Action Porty raised £186,750 from more than 1,000 shareholders to help improve Bellfield, now a hub for local activity. The Business explores how community shares are supporting projects across Scotland, from a Dunbar greengrocer to a Bute pub and a Balerno hydro scheme.
A beach-pebble’s throw from Portobello’s bustling promenade on the fringe of Edinburgh, a lesson in community fund-raising is being rolled out. Action Porty, a volunteer-led community campaign group, was given the right to buy a former church in the leafy streets behind the seafront in 2016.
The Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act, which came into force on 15 April 2016, promoted community rights to buy assets in urban areas and provided a legal mechanism to register a community’s interest in land preventing any private sale before the community had the opportunity to acquire it.
Garnering intensive local support, Action Porty successfully opened Bellfield, a former Church of Scotland building, using it for local activities for both commercial and community not-for-profit enterprise.
How Action Porty funded Bellfield’s next chapter
The church and its hall had been operating for eight years as a vibrant community hub when it was decided to upgrade the listed building for modern usage.
A group of 40 volunteers combined to raise a minimum of £100,000 through a local community shares offer.
An arduous campaign began which targeted 5,000 homes in the area, involving thousands of fliers, a welter of social media activity and fancy-dressed street volunteers, to raise profile of the campaign. “It was a military operation,” says Jennifer Elliott, one of the Action Porty organisers.
It was an outstanding community share scheme, bringing in £186,750 and more than 1,000 shareholders.
The Bellfield Big Build is among a number of successful community share schemes being replicated by communities across Scotland. It allows philanthropic giving on a micro scale which is enhancing community life and revitalising neglected assets.
There has been much discussion over the years about building ‘a share-owning democracy’, but community share ownership, although relatively small, is a growing segment, and one that has backing from the Scottish Government.
Community shares support projects across Scotland
The Crunchy Carrot, a greengrocer in Dunbar, East Lothian, was bought after a community share offer in 2019, which raised £65,630 from 578 members.
In 2020, the Anchor Tavern in Port Bannatyne Development Trust (PBDT) on Bute was bought by the local development trust which raised £105,000 from 270 members to buy the local pub, while Harlaw Hydro Ltd, in Balerno, south of Edinburgh, was established in 2012 as a community-led organisation. In 2013, it launched a community share offer to develop a hydro-electric scheme raising £403,000 with 250 members.
Across Scotland, a total of £21.8m has been raised through community share schemes, with more than 21,000 shares bought
Across Scotland, a total of £21.8m has been raised through community share schemes, with more than 21,000 shares bought. The combined assets value of the investment is £38.9m. Encouragingly, 95 per cent of these community enterprises are still running.
[Over the past decade, Development Trusts Association Scotland’s community shares programme has supported 70 share offers, raising more than £21 million from 21,468 investor members. The figures show how communities are using local investment to fund and sustain assets and services.]
What do community shareholders receive?
Typically, the shares are non-transferable, with the prospect of an interest payment. In one share scheme in Linlithgow, solar panels have been fitted on the roofs of several sports facilities.
The initial investors have all had their money repaid with modest interest, although because this is for community benefit, many people have left their original stake in the fund to be reused for future community benefit.
Development Trusts Association Scotland (DTAS) is a national support organisation for over 350 economic development trusts from Kirkcudbright to North Yell in Shetland. Community shares support in Scotland is delivered through Democratic Finance Scotland, a programme run by DTAS.
At its recent conference at Glasgow Caledonian University, delegates from various community trusts, which are designed to become economic entities, learned about community shares.
Why community shares matter to Scotland’s local economy
Pauline Smith, the chief executive of DTAS, said: “Community enterprises are an increasingly important part of Scotland’s economic landscape.
“Communities across Scotland, led by volunteers and assisted by professional development workers, are able to take on assets from village pubs to hydro schemes, social housing, and disused churches. It’s a movement that is gaining ground and influence, and community share schemes are a central part of democratic finance in Scotland.”
For the investor, this is not a place where shares can be traded and a fortune made, but on a philanthropic level it is about supporting economic activity in rural and urban areas, often where a service was in danger of being lost.
This article is featured in the Autumn 2026 edition of The Business magazine.
Distributed with The Sunday Times Scotland.
FAQs
What is the Bellfield Big Build?
It is Action Porty’s community share campaign to fund improvements to Bellfield, the former Portobello Old Parish Church buildings used as a community hub in Portobello.
How much did Bellfield’s community share offer raise?
The campaign raised £186,750 from more than 1,000 shareholders, exceeding its £100,000 minimum target.
What kinds of projects can community shares support?
The article gives examples including Bellfield, a greengrocer in Dunbar, a pub on Bute, a hydro scheme near Edinburgh and solar panels at sports facilities in Linlithgow.
Can investors sell community shares for a profit?
Community shares are typically non-transferable. An offer may provide for interest and repayment, but its terms and risks depend on the individual society.
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