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Monday 14th October 2014: COMMUNITY FUND PROVIDES SUPPORT FOR LOCAL GROUPS AND PROJECTS

Ten local groups and projects have been awarded grants totalling over £30,000 in the recent funding round for Hill of Towie Wind Farm located between Drummuir and Mulben in Moray. The fund was set up by RES, the operator of the 21-turbine Hill of Towie Wind Farm, following its completion in June 2012.

The Community Benefit Fund is open to applications from groups and projects which benefit the communities in Mulben, Drummuir, and Keith. Local charity REAP supports a panel of local community representatives and residents who make the decisions on funding applications. The following grants were awarded:

  • Newmill Renewables CIC £3,000 – towards the cost of installing solar panels on the village hall.
  • Boharm WRI Mulben £200 – running costs.
  • Keith and Dufftown Railway Association £5,738.53 – to rebuild the platform at Towiemore Station.
  • Mulben Picnic Committee £3,000 – to fund the annual fireworks display.
  • Botriphnie Primary Parent Council £950 – for the St Fumac Scarf Project.
  • Sunshine Developmental Playgroup £600 – running costs and swimming session.
  • Keith Community Radio £200 – running costs.
  • Keith Community Council £5,000 – new Christmas lights for Keith.
  • KeRBS £6,317 – towards new equipment in Keith skate park.
  • The Loft Youth Project £5,764.48 – to fund the refurbishment of the cafe.

Sharon Duncan, Project Manager Loft Youth Project, commented: “The Loft Youth Project Keith has provided a safe and fun environment for young people from Keith and rural areas since 2000. Sadly, after severe weather caused major water damage, the project had to close its doors for ten weeks. To turn a negative into positive, we applied to the Hill of Towie Wind Farm Community Benefit Fund to take the opportunity to refurbish the cafe bar. It was in need of upgrading, and doing work now means the project won’t have to close again in future. The cafe bar will give training experience to young people, as well as enhancing the venue. Success with our application means we can re-open with a new and up-to-date cafe bar that can cater for a variety of settings and events. We are delighted to have received the grant and work is progressing at top speed.”

Elizabeth Runcie, Co-chair, Sunshine Developmental Playgroup, commented: “The Hill of Towie Wind Farm Community Benefit Grant is great news for Sunshine Developmental Playgroup and we are delighted to receive it. The grant will be used to fund a swimming session for children with developmental needs and their families, so they can receive support and build confidence about going swimming themselves in future. It will also be used to purchase some new equipment and toys to help keep Sunshine a healthy, friendly and stimulating environment.”

Miss Gillian Findlay, Head teacher of Botriphnie, commented: "Having invested a great deal of time and effort into designing and producing the scarves for the St Fumac Scarf Project, the money received allowed us to use a film maker to work with all the children to make an advert for You Tube which has helped us to market the scarves. The money was also beneficial in allowing us to pay for professional printing of information cards designed by the children to attach to the scarves."

Rod Lovie, Director Newmill Renewables, commented: “Newmill Renewables are very grateful to Hill of Towie Wind Farm Fund for the grant towards our solar panel project. The funding will allow our project to go ahead and help the village hall in Newmill to reduce its carbon footprint. This is another step in having a variety of renewable energy solutions at the hall to make our community buildings more sustainable.”

Stewart Cree, Keith Community Council Lights Committee Chairman, commented: “The Hill of Towie Wind Farm Community Fund has granted £5,000 to ensure that the town of Keith has a sparkling Christmas. Planning of the Keith Christmas Lights is co-ordinated by a sub-committee of Keith Community Council, with volunteers working hard throughout the year to ensure that the town has a display to brighten up the darkest days of winter. This is an extremely generous amount of money which will go a long way in funding our £15,000 plus Christmas lights project. This donation would be appreciated at any time, but especially so this year when we are investing in a major upgrading of our town centre lights display. This will include 15 new cross street lights going from lane to lane on Mid Street. We are looking forward to our new lights show being lit up for all to see, with the switch on of the display taking place at 4pm on Saturday, November 29, as part of the annual Keith Christmas Extravaganza."

Commenting on the application process, Catherine Sinclair, REAP Projects Administrator said: “It is inspiring to see the amount of work carried out in our local communities, and very satisfying to know that a grant from the Hill of Towie Community Benefit Fund can make it happen. The application process is straightforward. Forms can be handed in any time and support is available from the REAP office if needed. If you’ve never applied before, or need any help, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. We would love to hear from you.”

The next deadline for the fund is 27th March 2015 and application forms can be downloaded from the REAP website: www.reapscotland.org.uk.