Caithness & North Sutherland Fund July 2012 Grant Awards

21st August 2012

The Caithness & North Sutherland Fund recently awarded its 3rd round of grants for 2012 to community projects totalling over £79K.

Six groups in Caithness and two groups in the North Sutherland area have been awarded funding for projects that help to improve the attractiveness of their area as a place to live, work and invest.

At the recent assessment meeting, Chairman John Henderson welcomed new members to the Caithness & North Sutherland Fund Board, Wick Cllr Gail Ross, Civic Leader Caithness and NW&C Sutherland Cllr Linda Munro, Highland Children's Champion.

Chairman John Henderson stated "The Directors of the Fund have been very impressed with the quality and variety of applications coming forward for support, and this reflects the excellent job that communities are doing to continually improve environmental and social conditions of their home area and the Fund is making a positive contribution to securing a sustainable future for the Dounreay travel to work area."

The awarded projects are:

Helmsdale Community Golf Club - Helmsdale Greens Replacement Project
£6,877.65 awarded towards the costs of replacing 9 new golf greens including a 1 year greens aftercare programme at Helmsdale Community Golf Club.

St Johns Loch Improvement Association - Anglers Lodge Project
£12,250.00 awarded towards the costs of constructing a 6m x 4m angler lodge situated at St Johns loch harbour with paved front area for picnic & wildlife watching including public information boards.

Caithness Horizons - Joint Museum Information Management System Project
£5,000.00 awarded towards the costs of purchase, installation and training of a Mimsy XG specialist museum collections information system at Caithness Horizons and Strathnaver Museum.

Thurso Heritage Society - Thurso History Interactive Project.
£8,000.00 awarded towards the costs of Thurso Heritage Society carrying out a digital Thurso history project in partnership with North Highland College that will provide interactive access to archive documents, photographs and artefacts as well as creating a smart phone application and online learning resource.

Dunbeath Centre - Heating System Upgrade Project.
£5,000.00 awarded towards the costs of replacing Dunbeath Centre's current 20 year old heating system, gas fire and selected radiators.

Mackay Country Community Trust Ltd - Social Enterprise Project
£27,656.00 awarded towards the start-up and development costs of Mackay Country Community Trust establishing a social enterprise: Mackay Country Trading Ltd.

Britannia Hall Committee - Essential Building Refurbishment Project.
£10,153.00 awarded towards the costs of refurbishment of Britannia Hall's damaged flat roof with a one piece EPDM membrane roof, and replacement of selected windows and harling.

Home-Start Caithness - Home-Start Parents Group Project
£4,820.10 awarded towards Home-Start Caithness establishing a weekly support group pilot project based in Castletown to support vulnerable and isolated parents in the surrounding area.

The closing date for applications for the next Caithness & North Sutherland Fund assessment round is the 5th of October 2012.

1. Caithness & North Sutherland Fund is a company established by Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, DSRL and Dounreay Stakeholder Group to distribute funding provided by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority as a planning condition associated with the construction of the low level waste facilities at Dounreay.

2. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority will provide £4M funding via DSRL; £1M at the start of construction (already received) and £300,000 pa from 2014 to 2023.

3. Funding is distributed in line with the NDA socio economic policy.

4. The Board Directors of Caithness & North Sutherland Fund comprises (i) up to three Highland Councillors from Caithness & North Sutherland nominated by the Highland Council; and (ii) four individuals appointed to represent the local community as a result of an open application process.

For further information on Caithness & North Sutherland Fund, please see www.cnsf.org.uk or contact the Fund Coordinator on enquiries[AT]cnsf.org.uk Tel: 07841 204 982

July 2012 Awarded Projects Summary
Helmsdale Community Golf Club - Helmsdale Greens Replacement Project £ 6,877.65
St Johns Loch Improvement Association - Anglers Lodge Project £12,250.00
Caithness Horizons - Joint Museum Information Management System Project £ 5,000.00
Thurso Heritage Society - Thurso History Interactive Project £ 8,000.00
Dunbeath Centre - Heating System Upgrade Project £ 5,000.00
Mackay Country Community Trust Ltd - Social Enterprise Project £27,656.00
Britannia Hall Committee - Essential Building Refurbishment Project £10,153.00
Home-Start Caithness - Home-Start Parents Group Project £ 4,820.10
£79,756.75