Huge Cash Boost for Nearly 40 Community Projects
ALMOST 40 community groups and projects across Cumnock and the Doon Valley have benefitted from a £200,000 funding boost.
The windfall winners were announced following successful grant applications to the 9CC Group, which manages and administers community benefit from local wind farms.
Funding was provided by Invenergy, developers of the Pencloe site, for New Cumnock, Patna, Cumnock, Drongan, Rankinston and Stair and Lugar, Logan and Cronberry.
The biggest share - £31,508 - is going to organisations in New Cumnock, which is closest to the development with £5,000 each going to New Cumnock Development Trust and New Cumnock Working Men’s Club, as well as £4,000 to New Cumnock Bowling Club and £4,500 to Glenafton FC.
Patna groups received £18,716; Drongan, Rankinston and Stair got £20,998; Cumnock £18,823; and Cronberry, Logan and Lugar had £13,406.
In addition to the successful new applications, a £30,000 grant will support the roll-out of an electric vehicle initiative across all the 9CC Group areas.
A further £70,000 will aim to sustain the funding of 15 current multi annual project commitments.
Alex Baird, chair of The 9CC Group, said: “Crucially, the distribution of these funds is about democratic, transparent decisions made by local people for their own communities.
"This money will deliver immediate local benefits and go a long way to help make our former coal mining communities better places to live, work, play and visit.
“It’s also important to recognise the commitment of Invenergy who provided such significant advance funding ahead of their Pencloe development coming on stream when there was no legal or statutory requirement to do so.”
To date, community benefit managed by The 9CC Group has supported 70 local organisations and helped fund 20 apprenticeships. The latest round takes the total to 107 organisations.
The 9CC Group coordinates the distribution of community benefit from the cluster of wind farms being developed in the area surrounding the nine communities in the Cumnock and Doon Valley.
Chief operating officer Stephen McCarron added: “Our communities have hugely benefitted from our partnership approach and a fair and democratic funding model based on the government and industry good practice principles.
“We have no involvement on wind farm planning decisions, but we are hugely influential in ensuring any resultant community benefit is distributed to ensure all communities benefit from impactful local funding as well as the strategic investment in creating a positive lasting legacy.
“The political and community support for our charitable organisation is rooted in our transparency, credibility and industry wide recognition of our best practice model of administering, managing and funding collective community benefit for all communities.
“It’s the reason developers put our faith in us to the extent they are prepared to commit such significant advance funding. They trust us to make a positive difference.”
The full list of projects funded below:
Cumnock Junior Colts 2013- £1,000
Cumnock Action Plan (computer)- £640
Cumnock Action Plan (fun day)- £1,596
Cumnock & District Round Table- £2,438
Cumnock Juniors 2018- £1,000
Cumnock & District Camera Club- £999
Cumnock & District Leisure Group- £2,500
Cumnock Juniors FC Social Club- £2,000
Cumnock Community Council- £4,560
Keir Hardie Hill Tenants and Residents Association- £700
Cumnock Action Plan (QR)- £462.50
Rankinston Community Association- £4,000
Rowantree Court Social Club- £3,000
Stair Community Association- £1,000
Drongan Grassroots Community (afterschool)- £9,512
Drongan Grassroots Community (DITP)- £1,000
Drongan Rankinston and Stair Regeneration Group- £1,400
Littlemill Primary School and ECC parent council- £998
Lugar Bowling Club- £10,000
Loyal Orange Lodges No 38 & No 2- £1,000
Logan Primary School and Early Childhood Centre parent council- £1,000
Cronberry Scottish Women's Institute- £800
EPIC Pipe Band Academy- £4,000
Galloway and Southern Ayrshire UNESCO Biosphere- £4,240
New Cumnock Working Men's Club- £5,000
The Honeypot Children's Charity- £5,000
New Cumnock ECC- £979
Release Ayrshire- £1,000
New Cumnock Events Group 2010- £1,000
New Cumnock Bowling Club- £4,000
New Cumnock Primary Parent Council- £2,369
Glenafton Athletic Football & Sporting Club- £4,500
New Cumnock Development Trust- £5,000
New Cumnock Community Football Club- £1,000
New Cumnock Evangelical Church- £1,000
New Cumnock Community Council- £591
Patna Playgroup- £1,000
Patna Extravaganza Group- £3,000
Patna Primary Parents Council- £3,473
For more information please refer to the 9CCG website
Or contact Donald Martin at:
DM Media Consultancy Ltd
Tel: 07711 451330
