£30,000 from windfarm fund up for grabs

At least £30k in cash from the windfarmfunded Cambusbarron Community Fund is now available to village comunity groups.

Projects which make a difference to the lives of local residents are invited to apply for the cash.

Their focus could include the environment, vocational training, community facilities, young people or the elderly.

Grants made last year include £2000 to Cambusbarron Playgroup to buy outdoor clothing and gardening equipment to open up the great outdoors to village children.

Cambusbarron Community Council also received £2,000 to replace the steps leading from Birkhill Road to Bruce’s Well, and Cambusbarron Community Out of School Club received money to provide discounted after-school sessions to families facing financial challenges.

The grant awards for 2020 will be determined by Cambusbarron Community Council whose chairperson Marion Macallister said this week: “We created a roadmap of ambition in our Community Action Plan which has been distributed around the village.

“We hope that this will encourage lots of groups to come forward with ideas and the determination to transform our community area and create an environment which enhances the lives of all residents.”

Funding comes from community benefit payments from the Earlsburn and Kingsburn windfarms, owned by Falck Renewables, in the nearby Carron Valley.

It is administered by grant-making charity Foundation Scotland whose head of communities Rachel Searle said: “We believe local people are best placed to create positive change in their own communities, so we support them to do just that.

“The Cambusbarron Community Fund is a great example of this. We’re here to bring our knowledge of grant-making good practice to help make sure funds get to where they’ll make the most difference in Cambusbarron.”

The application deadline is October 12, with full details on Foundation Scotland’s website: www.foundationscotland.org.uk/ programmes/cambusbarron