Wind farm breezes in to help Lossie bridge
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THE campaign to replace Lossiemouth's East Beach footbridge has been given a £50,000 boost.
Cash from the Beatrice Partnership Fund has been awarded to the Lossiemouth Community Development Trust (LCDT) towards the project.
The issue came sharply into focus last week after the structure was closed amid safety fears. High level appeals have since been made for action.
The bridge project is one of nine in the Moray area benefitting from £250,013 from the SSE Renewables led Beatrice offshore wind farm fund.
Today's announcement follows the official opening of the wind farm – the fourth largest in the world – on Monday by The Prince Charles.
Rab Forbes, chairman of the bridge committee of the LCDT, described the award as "tremendous news".
Mr Forbes said: "On behalf of the trust, we are delighted with this injection of finance from the Beatrice Partnership Fund, especially given the situation we are now in with the bridge being closed. We've been talking to Beatrice about this for a few months now and it is is the first real cash injection, outwith local support, that we've received.
"This will be pivotal in our fundraising attempts in the next few months as we work to raise the cash to fix the bridge."
Local support is already rolling in towards a £20,000 crowd-funding target, but the trust is realistic about the scale of the project ahead.
Mr Forbes said: "To replace the bridge we think we need to raise well in excess of £500,000, which can't be raised by crowd-funding alone.
"This is why the support of the Beatrice Partnership Fund is so important and very much appreciated. It is a tremendous boost to the campaign."
A meeting over the future of the bridge, to which all are invited, takes place tomorrow night (Wednesday) in Lossiemouth Town Hall from 7pm.
Elsewhere in Moray, £50,000 will got to Garmouth and Kingston to purchase and develop a community driven facility that will include a local food bank, heritage and learning hub.
The Forres Area Community Trust will receive £25,000 for its Forres online digital inclusion project, while the Longmore Hall in Keith has been awarded £26,000 for the refurbishment of the community facility.
Moray Reach Out has been awarded £17,500 for the creation of a garden area and the Moray Citizens Advice Bureau will get £50,000 for a benefit officer post.
Kinloss-based Morayvia has successfully achieved £18,530 to employ a development manager, while Outfit Moray has been awarded £6983 for an outdoor learning programme for young people.
The final Moray recipient, the Social Enterprise Academy, has been awarded £6000 towards the delivery of leadership and capacity courses in Moray.
Now in its third year, the Beatrice Partnership Fund supports projects that create opportunities, empower communities and help stimulate sustainable places.
Over five years, it is worth a total of £3 million and will be split between Highland (£2 million) and Moray (£1 million). The fund will open again in January.
