Local Benefits
To find out more about our work with communities visit our Community webpages.
The An Suidhe Wind Farm fund will invest over £600,000 into local community activities and projects in Furnace, Inveraray, Eredine and Dalavich throughout the lifetime of the wind farm. The fund supports communities living within a 10km radius of the site, for a map showing the area of benefit click here.
In 2011 the annual fund, which is index linked in line with the retail price index, was worth over £29,700.
The fund is administered by independent grant making charity, the Scottish Community Foundation (SCF).SCF provides administrative support and guidance to a local grants panel that make decisions on awards from the fund. The panel consists of representatives from communities within the area of benefit. This means that decisions about how the funding is spent are made by the people that know and understand their community best.
For more information and a form for grant applications between £200 and £7,000, please visit SCF’s website.There is also a Micro Grants scheme in operation for applications under £200; applications can be made in writing directly to the secretary of the Furnace, Inveraray, Glenorchy and Innishail Community Councils and Dalavich Improvement Group.
In 2011 grants were made to support 8 community projects and included:
· £3,000, to Cairndow Community Child Care to assist with the running costs. A number of local families from the local area use the service on a regular basis which cares for children from infants to 12 years of age allowing parents to access employment and training.
· £6,681, to Dalavich Improvement Group to assist the group to install and reinstate a number of health and safety projects in the village. This will include grit spreaders and access to fire hydrants at appropriate points around the village. This will assist the local residents to maintain their village and be able to keep pathways clear during the winter months.
· £5,736, to Furnace Amenity Association to allow much needed improvements to be carried out in the village hall including the replacement of five existing single-glazed windows with new double-glazed units. The hall is the main community venue in the village and this grant will bring the hall back into a condition which will make it a warmer, more welcoming environment.
