Far north community groups benefit from £79k funding grants
Over £79k has been committed to community groups in the far north thanks to grants awards from the Caithness and North Sutherland Fund (CNSF).
Funded by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, a wide range of community-led projects throughout the Dounreay travel-to-work area are to benefit from the grant support.
Strathnaver Museum has been granted £30,000 towards the costs of installing professional interpretation designs that will create innovative exhibition displays and improvements to access and visitor flow, as part of the museum’s major redevelopment plans.
Strathnaver Museum project manager Fiona Mackenzie said: “We are delighted to have this support from CNSF to install professional interpretation which will establish Strathnaver as a world class visitor attraction. By creating new displays and better visitor facilities we will improve access to the collection and enhance the visitor experience, helping to tell the story of north west Sutherland for everyone to enjoy.”
Other grant awards included £24,216 to Farr North Community Development Trust to help with the costs of establishing the new development body, which has been recently formed following a community consultation. The grant will be used towards the community trust appointing a manager and development officer in order to take forward numerous development priorities.
Advocacy Highland was awarded £11,283.50 to establish a Young People’s Advocacy Pilot Project in Caithness and North Sutherland that will help to support young people aged 11-16 who are in need of advocacy support.
Wick Gala Committee saw £5,356.80 awarded to help refurbish the Wick riverside boating shed roof to protect and improve the community building that will enable the gala body to continue to make use of the facility as a safe and secure base to run the annual gala as well as to support other community activities.
Reay Golf Club was granted £5,000 to refurbish its clubhouse exterior that will preserve and enhance the golf club building to provide an attractive and modern recreational facility for the community and visiting golfers to enjoy.
Farr High School Parent Council was awarded £4,029.80 to help deliver a creative project involving local children to design and construct "iconic sculpture signposts" to install at each of the North Coast Campus schools. The purpose of the sculptures is to represent and promote the culture and heritage of the north Sutherland school campus.
Gillian Coghill, CNSF chairperson said “We commend the efforts of these community groups who are working hard to deliver improvements for our communities, particularly during these challenging times. We continue to look forward to supporting worthy proposals that meet our improvement aims, to help ensure Caithness and north Sutherland is an attractive place and in turn has a sustainable future.’’
The CNSF distributes money to community projects that increase the attractiveness of Caithness and north Sutherland as a place to live, work and invest. Since its inception the CNSF has committed over £2.6M to 194 different projects.
Applications are assessed on a quarterly basis and information on how to apply can be found at the CNSF website www.cnsf.org.uk
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