Pairc Trust gets cash boost from Scottish Land Fund and HIE Funds are in place to help a community complete its decade-long campaign to buy an island estate, according to the Scottish Government. Residents of Pairc Estate, who want to take over 26,775 acres on Lewis, will receive £230,000 from the Scottish Land Fund. Highlands and Islands Enterprise is also announcing funds of £76,500 to bolster financial support. The Pairc Trust is pursuing the purchase for half a million pounds following an agreement with the landowner which should conclude early in the new year. In a separate land reform project, the Scottish Government said a group will get almost £100,000 to buy four plots at Johnstonebridge in Dumfries and Galloway. Environment Secretary Paul Wheelhouse said: "Land reform is a crucial part of our plans for a more successful Scotland, and I believe that, just as those who live and work in Scotland are best placed to make decisions about the country's future, local communities are best-placed to decide on their futures. As a result I am delighted to announce such crucial funding for Pairc and Johnstonebridge. From the Highlands and Islands to Dumfries and Galloway, land ownership is clearly a matter close to the hearts and minds of communities the length and breadth of Scotland. That is why we have instigated an ambitious target to place one million acres of land across Scotland into local ownership by 2020, empowering communities, sparking regeneration and driving renewal. Community buyouts, such as the one at Pairc will go towards meeting that ambition, but more importantly will breathe life into the land right across Scotland. The group behind the Pairc deal was given right-to-buy approval in March 2011. At the time, about 400 people lived on the estate in south-east Lewis. The whole community has worked tirelessly, Mr Wheelhouse said. "This funding means the community truly are masters of their own destiny," he continued. Today's announcement marks an important milestone in the ten-year journey for the Pairc Estate residents, who can now look forward to a sustainable future in which their destiny is in their own hands and the decisions that affect them in terms of land management can be taken at a local level. The chairman of Pairc Trust, Angus McDowall, said the extra funds will help the purchase along terms approved at a public meeting last month. "There now seems every prospect of concluding arrangements to transfer the estate to the community during the early months of 2014," he said. In Johnstonebridge, additional funds will help towards the purchase of two aces and employ a new part-time development officer. Fred Dale, chairman of the Johnstonebridge Centre and Community Development Trust, said: "We intend to make full use of our new land purchase for everyone's benefit, both for current and future generations. This award is the culmination of many months of hard work and we are so thankful to the local community who have supported this project.