Gigha residents bought their island

Local people hope to emulate other successful community buyout schemes such as those on the islands of Eigg and Gigha.

The Highland Perthshire Community Land Trust steering group, which was set up in November, believes that the 1,100 acre Dun Coilich site has the potential to be converted into a beauty spot which could attract tourists.

The group already has the support of the John Muir Trust, which owns the neighbouring mountain of Schiehallion and two years ago paid �1m for the 4,185 acre Ben Nevis estate.

Steering group spokeswoman Wendy Mattingley said: "At the moment Dun Coilich is overgrazed and overbrowsed and we would like to see it regenerated with native trees.

'Lot of potential'

"It was part of a deer farm and the hill ground was used for stalking. There are about 80 red deer on it and a few sheep which are fenced in.

"It is a nice piece of hill ground with a gorge and some lovely craggy areas. It has a lot of potential.

"The plan is for some of the planting to be done by schoolchildren, so in the future they will be able to take their grandchildren to see the trees which they planted."

Mrs Mattingley added that the trust would aim to raise money for more land purchases in the area if its bid proved successful.