Eight community groups in Forres and Speyside receive share of £78,650 Berry Burn funding
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EIGHT community groups in Forres and Speyside have benefitted from money distributed by the Berry Burn Community Fund.
A total of £78,650 was handed out to local groups in what was the 29th round of funding awards, bringing the total distributed to £1,812,747.
Rothes Tennis Club received the highest portion of the funding – £25,000 – with Moray Hydrotherapy Pool in Forres receiving £18,660.
The Sanquhar Dam Restoration Group – also Forres – received £15,400, while Forres Area Community Trust (FACT) was given £5840.
Speyside Community Car Sharing Scheme (£5000), Rafford Village Hall (£4000), Let’s All Talk North East Mums (£3650) and Rothes Community Limited (£1100) also received grants.
The fund's operational boundary takes in the community council areas of Forres, East Nairnshire, Grantown-on-Spey, Cromdale and Advie, Speyside, Heldon, Findhorn and Kinloss, Finderne and Dyke Landward.
Chair of the Berry Burn Community Fund, Dr. Jana Hutt, said: “This is our eighth year of operation and we are delighted that the Fund is still receiving many good applications.
"We congratulate all the successful applicants.”
The successful applicants are listed below
- Rothes Tennis Club (£25,000): For the replacement of three existing tennis courts and the addition of a fourth to meet demand
- Moray Hydrotherapy Pool (£18,660): To replace two heating boilers and carry out essential improvements in the boiler room
- Sanquhar Dam Restoration Group (£15,400): To dredge the pond – desilting, and clearing water-based plants – and install silt barriers
- Forres Area Community Trust (£5840): To engage a Heritage Project Consultant to devise a phased plan for the Forres Town Hall refurbishment works and apply to the appropriate funding bodies
- Speyside Community Car Sharing Scheme (£5000): Towards running costs (volunteer expenses) to continue the provision of a voluntary transport service
- Rafford Village Public Hall (£4000): to continue the Parent, Baby and Toddler Group for the next two years
- Let’s All Talk North East Mums (LATNEM) (£3650): To launch quarterly mental health peer support meetings in Forres
- Rothes Community Limited (£1100): to upgrade the computer equipment used to design and produce various publications and other printed material
Applications received were for more than twice the amount of funds available, therefore it was not possible for the fund to help everyone.
The Community Fund receives an index-linked annual budget of £234,844 from international renewables company Statkraft, whose 29-turbine Berry Burn wind farm lies between Forres and Grantown-on-Spey.
The annual budget is spread over three awards rounds held during the year.
The fund is overseen by 11 volunteer fund members. Due to the imminent retirement of some of the members of the Fund there will be vacancies from March 2024.
Full details on the role of a fund member and an application form can be found at www.berryburncommunityfund/documents.
Applicants must live in one of the relevant community council areas. The closing date for applications is February 16, 2024.
The next Berry Burn Community Fund awards meeting is on February 26, with the closing date for applications on January 22.
Details of how to apply and an application form can be found online at www.berryburncommunityfund.co.uk
