The 9CC Group Tells of Their Positive Impact at Parliament
L-R: John Holland Clark - Drongan 9CCG Rep, Councillor Drew Filson - Ward 9, Gillian Martin MSP, Stephen McCarron - 9CCG Chief Operating Officer, Tony Esquierdo - Logan 9CCG Rep, Chloe Findlay - 9CCG Administrative Assistant and Alex Baird - Ochiltree 9CCG Rep.
The newly established 9CC Group met with Gillian Martin, Minister for Energy and the Environment at Holyrood this week. Following the success of their official business introduction at Dumfries House in October which was attended by over 180 guests, the group headed to the Scottish Parliament to provide the minister a brief on how the group was formed, it operates and its ambitious plans for the future. The event, attended by over 180 guests saw the much anticipated launch of the Group, which has been in the works since 2019.
The Minister welcomed the news of the funding coming soon to the 9CC and was pleased to hear that local members of the community can soon apply for grant funding to improve the area, boost the economy and inspire our young people.
Stephen McCarron, Chief Executive Officer of the 9CC Group said;
‘Informing senior members of our Scottish Government of the hard work, blood, sweat and tears that has gone into ironing out the do’s and don’ts of this first of its kind group was insightful. As we have now begun to establish a strategic business plan and way forward, we hope this can inspire other communities around the country looking to create a lasting legacy within their locality that this can be done.
With our new operational model and headquarters in the Boswell Centre, Auchinleck, we are well on our way to a truly bright future. Significant effort and investment are currently underway to ensure that governance processes and structures are set up to ensure that funds will be properly allocated, managed and monitored.
By bringing all of our community councils together, we are certain that we can create long-lasting local benefits in a variety of forms for every community located within the 9CC Group eligibility area across East Ayrshire.’
The Group, comprised of the community councils of Auchinleck, Cumnock, Netherthird, Cronberry - Logan & Lugar (CLL), New Cumncok, Dalmellington, Patna, Drongan - Rankinston & Stair (DRS) and Ochiltree & Skares. The Group was established to join forces of all community councils within the wider area with the aim to become a dedicated single Trust for wind farm developments and future community benefits in the area, which are set to be of a major scale across coming years. The 9CC Group aims to ensure fair distribution of wind farm community benefits funds borne out of these developments.
Notes to Editor
● The 9CC Group is a legally constituted group which will manage and distribute community benefit funds through a fair and equitable method of allocation and distribution.
● The idea of the 9CC group came about when many of the community councils within the group foresaw the transformational change and funds that would be coming our way in the future many moons ago.
● This area has become a national hot spot for the construction of wind farm projects. The construction of so many wind schemes in and around the 9 CC Group area does not bring direct long term jobs to the communities.
