Funding available for Highland Fishing Communities
20th January 2014
The Highland Fisheries Local Action Group (FLAG) has recently been successful in securing further funding to support fishing communities in Highland under Axis 4 of the European Fisheries Fund. Funding of £198,642 is available to help communities where fishing requires supporting measures to build skills and knowledge and increase the capacity of local fishing communities and business networks through innovation, collaboration and diversification.
The Highland FLAG has approved 11 applications to date, with funding of £433,294.64 committed toward a range of projects relating to skills development, tourism, diversifying activities, infrastructure improvements and the promotion of the culture and heritage aspects of fisheries communities.
Three projects were approved under the latest funding round including Mackay Underwater Technology Ltd, based in Wick, who were awarded funding of £1,100 to purchase and put into use an air compressor as a provision for both leisure and fishing industry scuba divers as part of a promotion of Caithness as a leisure diving location. As part of the project, Mackay Underwater Technology intends to register with the British Sub-Aqua Club as a dive “Resort Centre” which will establish the centre on a national and international scale.
Lybster Heritage Trust was awarded £6,534 for the preservation and display of a replica of the fishing yawl ‘The Spirit of Lybster’ which operated from Lybster in the 19th Century when Lybster Harbour was one of Scotland’s main herring fishing harbours.
Gairloch and District Heritage Company will also benefit under the latest funding round, with funding of £1,354 approved to digitise Gairloch’s Heritage Museum’s collection of fishing related objects and archival material and record oral history interviews relating to the fishing industry in Gairloch.
Details of all approved projects to date and information on the Highland EFF programme are
available at: www.highlandeff.org.uk
Councillor George Farlow, Chair of the Highland Fisheries Local Action Group, said: “The Highland FLAG is thrilled by the ambitions of the projects approved so far and the benefits these projects will deliver to the communities involved. As funding is allocated on a first come first served basis, we would encourage groups and businesses to contact the EFF Team as soon as possible to ensure they do not miss out on the opportunity of funding for an eligible project.”
Expressions of interest for potential projects should be submitted by close of play Friday 7th February for consideration under the next funding round. A further funding round will be announced should funding remain after this round. The Highland FLAG must have all funding committed by the end of June 2014 although the cash drawdown period will extend into 2015.
For further information and to obtain a copy of the Expressions Of Interest form please visit www.highlandeff.org.uk or contact the EFF Regional Development Officer, Sarah Lamb on 07788 387510 or email sarah.lamb[AT]highland.gov.uk
Related Businesses
Related Articles
Households across Scotland have received £4.1 billion in relief since the Council Tax Reduction scheme was introduced in 2013. People on low incomes are eligible for the benefit if they live in Scotland - there is no equivalent in England where most councils require each household to contribute a minimum amount of council tax, irrespective of ability to do so.
The Highland Council is preparing to carry out improvement works in Thurso at Ormlie Road and at The Mall riverside path adjacent to Janet Street. The scope of works on Ormlie Road will include junction improvements between Castlegreen Road and Juniper Drive with new drop kerbs and tactile paving and some surface repairs.
A Highland-wide partnership launched earlier in 2024 to support people on their journey towards, into and within employment is looking forward to a New Year in 2025 full of exciting opportunities designed to help hundreds more people across the Highlands unlock their work potential. Work.
The Highland Council is delighted to share that its Energy Efficient Scotland: Area Based Scheme has won the Outstanding Project Award at the Scottish Green Energy Awards. Described by Scottish Renewables as a "pioneering clean power scheme", this £7 million project demonstrates the incredible impact that can be achieved through combined public and private sector investment.
The ambitious yet focused ‘Highland Investment Plan' is committed to addressing our asset challenges over the next twenty years. By using a place based approach, to ensure a more integrated community offering through the creation of new community facilities.
Applications to the Inverness Winter Payments Scheme, which is fully funded by the Inverness Common Fund, have already been awarded to 1,035 eligible households within the 7 specified Inverness Wards. Leader of Inverness Area, Councillor Ian Brown said: "Since the Scheme was opened to applications for this winter, already £114,885 has been awarded to people who live in the eligible Wards of Aird and Loch Ness, Inverness West, Inverness Central, Inverness Ness-side, Inverness Millburn, Culloden and Ardersier and Inverness South Wards.
The first Highland-wide virtual jobs fair held last month has proved to be a hit with participants and businesses. The week-long virtual event, which was delivered by the Local Employability Partnership for the West - The Highland Council, Skills Development Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Department for Work and Pensions, Developing the Young Workforce and UHI North West and Hebrides was timed to coincide with Scottish Careers Week 2024.
The Service Centre will close at 5pm on Tuesday 24 December, re-opening on Friday 27 December (opening times 8am to 5pm). It will be closed on 1 and 2 January and open 8am to 5pm from Friday 3 January 2025.
Members have considered an update on the Council's medium term financial plan and the impact of the UK and Scottish Governments’ budgets on the coming year’s funding settlement. The position is currently looking more positive than initially planned for, however more detail needs to be worked through.
In November, The Highland Council launched a public statutory consultation to seek views on the proposed introduction of a Visitor Levy scheme across the Highlands. The Council has announced an extension to this consultation period, which will now give businesses, visitors and communities until 31 March 2025, an additional seven weeks, to take part and have their say.
