The Cairngorms Trust has awarded grants under the Scottish Government supported Cairngorms Community-Led Vision Fund.
The fund was available to apply for in the summer and had 26 applications.
22 projects from across the Cairngorms National Park were selected totalling £301,477 in funding for projects: from supporting the community-owned toilets in Grantown-on-Spey to St Margaret’s Church in Braemar.
Education, support, and skills for young people in the Cairngorms featured highly in the awards, with grants for IRL Education in Kingussie; Cairngorms Youth Local Action Group; Strathspey Camanachd in Grantown; Cairngorm Ski Club; Countryside Learning Scotland’s pathways to rural work project; and Wild in Mind from Carrbridge.
Projects must be delivered before 10th March 2024 and grants were awarded based on supporting one or more of the following priorities:
- Build community capacity to facilitate and support local development
- Help the economy of the National Park to deliver Net Zero by supporting communities and existing businesses (priority theme)
- Attract, support and retain young people in the National Park
- Increase community service provision in the National Park (priority theme)
- Cultural Heritage and Recreation – Creating a Well-Being economy
The full list of all the supported projects will be available soon on the Cairngorms Trust website, but here’s a snapshot:
£22,000 to support the refurbishment and reopening of the community-owned Burnfield Toilets in Grantown-on-Spey.
In addition to the provision of fully accessible toilets, there will be a motorhome waste disposal point on the site.
The community took over the toilets after they were closed by Highland Council in 2018.
£15,920 to Back Country Biking in Aviemore, to set up a community-cargo bike scheme and a bicycle re-use scheme.
These are aimed at the local community and will support the use of bikes as a cost friendly way of both exercising and transport.
Nancy Chambers, Trust Manager, Cairngorms Trust commented:
“It is exciting to see the breadth of community-based projects that have applied for this fund.
“The trustees had to make some very tough decisions as there were many more applicants than funds available.
“We are looking forward to seeing the projects that were successful continue to grow and develop resources for their communities within the Cairngorms.”
The Cairngorms Community-Led Vision Fund has distributed over £566,000 in funds since 2022 to community-led projects throughout the Cairngorms National Park.