Gigha and Tayvallich receive share of prosperity fund

Two Mid Argyll and Kintyre projects will receive over £60,000 of UK Government funding.

The Isle of Gigha Heritage Trust got a grant of £50,000 from the Shared Prosperity Fund for its Gigha Mugha project by Argyll and Bute Council officers.

Tayvallich Initiative Ltd benefits from £10,045 from the same fund for its ‘Tayvallich Grows’ scheme.

They are two of nine community projects across

Argyll and Bute which will share over £300,000 of funding, following agreement by a full council meeting on Thursday, April 25.

It was the first scheduled full council meeting since the Strategic Partnership became the council’s administration.

Dunoon Community Development Trust will be allocated £17,120 for ‘Grow Food, Grow Dunoon’ at Struan Lodge.

We Are With You’s Bute Recovery Hub will receive £17,000, and £50,000 is granted for phase one of Benmore Botanic Garden’s redevelopment.

Project 81 Youth and Community Enterprise, in Garelochhead, gets a grant of £46,465, while Cove Sailing Club receives its full request of £49,998 towards the building of its new clubhouse.

The McDougall of Dunollie Preservation Trust has been granted £37,346 from the Shared Prosperity Fund for its ‘Improving the World of

Trees’ project by Argyll and Bute Council officers.

And the Mull and Iona Community Trust gets a boost of £25,000 for its Sound of Ulva Gateway Heritage Interpretation.

Executive director Kirsty Flanagan said: “Following an open application process, Argyll and Bute Council received 38 applications from community organisations across Argyll and Bute.

In total, this amounted to a funding request of £1,328,612.31. Following closure of the fund, a robust assessment process took place in line with the UK Government and council guidance issued to applicants.

“For projects which met the minimum scoring requirement, it is proposed that funding is allocated to the highest scoring projects, with nine projects being recommended to be funded as outlined in this report.

“The total grant awarded under the proposals set out amounts to £302,974 of grant award and leaves a small surplus of £1,288 which is proposed to be held to enable small uplifts of funding to be awarded to any approved project which may experience price increases or require additional works within the scope of the project.”

Councillors were recommended to agree that all nine listed projects were offered a grant as set out in the report. It was agreed unanimously.