The CCDC is governed by articles of association. All directors, including those appointed during the year by the existing directors to fill vacancies, resign and offer themselves for re-election at the Annual General Meeting of members. All the directors are unpaid volunteers and none of them nor anyone connected with them,receive any remuneration or other benefit from the company.
Objectives and activities
Colonsay Community Development Company (CCDC) is a registered charity with the following aims:
- Promoting the wellbeing of the residents of Colonsay and Oronsay.
- Advancing education amongst the community, particularly among young people and the unemployed.
- Addressing the issues of social and economic exclusion and providing access to employment and enterprise.
- Protection and preservation of the natural environment of Colonsay and Oronsay, for the benefit of the local population
The organisation works with the community to find out what their basic needs are particularly for those who experience disadvantage or acute isolation. We respond by fundraising and securing grant funding to deliver a wide range of community learning activities and development projects. We aim to create opportunity for islanders, their families and visitors to come together through learning, history and celebration, Owner and managed by the community, we aim to promote a more sustainable future for our residents.
CCDC is independent but seeks to work in partnership with other private public and third sector organisations. It has the ambition to reduce dependency on grant support by generating income through enterprise and the ownership of assets. All trading surpluses are reinvested in the organisation and the community.
CCDC consists of a board of up to 8 local Directors and two co-opted Directors all of whom are democratically elected by the company’s membership each year at the AGM.
CCDC currently employs an administrative assistant and three part-time project officers
CCDC manages the service point on the island on behalf of Argyll and Bute Council under a service level agreement.
The CCDC office is in the Service Point (situated at the far end of the Village Hall). We can also be contacted by email contactccdc1@gmail.com or telephone on 01951 200244
Trading Company
Colonsay Trading Company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of CCDC. The company buys bulk supplies of coal, bottled gas and road fuel for retail sale and owns the island’s community filling station.
The aim is to sell these fuels at non-profit rates – although with high operating costs and overheads, low turnover and expensive transport and ferry charges Colonsay’s fuel prices still end up being some of the highest in the UK.
From December 2025 sales of unleaded petrol and diesel are pay-at-pump. All major cards (and contactless payments) are accepted, as are AllStar fuel cards for commercial customers. Cards must be chip-and-pin enabled. We no longer accept cash payment, or sell fuel on account.
Opening hours for the filling station are currently 09:00-13:00 Monday to Saturday. The pump is able to operate 24/7 but strict fuel retailing regulations limit our opening hours to when we can provide cover in the event of an emergency. If you’re a resident and would like to be part of the emergency rota so we can open for longer, please get in touch.
Paradoxically perhaps, the filling station is now “net zero” in operation, powered by solar panels and large storage battery – believed to be the first (or one of the first) in the UK. The system is still connected to the grid but is a net exporter of electricity.
Coal and Gas can be bought from the Service Point (situated at the far end of the Village Hall) between 09:30-12:30 Monday to Friday. Supplies are now stored in the yard by the new business units (along from the Brewery / Bookshop)
CCDC and the Colonsay Community are extremely grateful for all the financial support received from HIE, Argyll & Bute, the Colonsay and Oransay Community Fund, MOWI and many others. Without their help few of the projects that we have delivered or are working on nor the services we provide would have been possible.