Langhope Rig community fund celebrates year of success
The Langhope Rig Wind Farm Community Fund is celebrating a successful year with its final round of awards for 2024.
The fund supports projects and individuals located within the areas of Ettrick & Yarrow, Lilliesleaf, Ashkirk & Midlem, Upper Teviotdale and Borthwick Water, and is provided by Greencoat UK Wind and administered by Foundation Scotland.
It's been an exciting year for the Langhope Rig fund, having awarded over £115,000 to local groups and individuals through two award schemes - the community benefit fund and the Education and Training bursary scheme. The aim of the community benefit fund is to support projects which encourage community spirit, ensure adequate access to services, build the local economy and community capacity, and develop and maintain community assets. The Education and Training bursary scheme directly supports individuals with learning new skills to enhance employment and volunteering opportunities.
All awards are determined by a panel of residents from the Fund areas. The Panel Members use their local knowledge and passion to ensure that awards are making a direct impact in the community. Thanks to their knowledge and insight, and the commitment of many volunteer groups across the area, the Fund has made a huge difference to the local residents and the wider community.
In 2024, the Panel awarded ten organisations a total of almost £112,000 of funding to support a range of projects, and six Education and Training Bursaries, totalling £6,400.
Organisations receiving funding included Ettrick Forest Sports and Recreation Club, who were awarded £11,210 to fund a new Pétanque Piste. Each year, the local community celebrates Brigend Week, which has included an informal Pétanque Piste competition. Due to the growing popularity of the sport in the local community, the club consulted with the community to understand the need for the Piste on a full-time basis, and following positive feedback, set about raising funding to install a Pétanque Piste, providing two lanes with the aim of starting regular games.
The Panel was delighted to see a local project which complemented the aims of the Fund and agreed to award the cost of construction of the Piste, as well as supporting the organisation by providing an annual payment over three years to support with the club’s insurance provisions.
This is a great example of how the Fund can be used to support a construction project as well as club running costs, and make a tangible impact to the community. This project will provide a low impact local sporting opportunity which will improve players health and wellbeing, as well as attracting participants from all walks of life, reducing social isolation and encouraging social connections.
A member of the Ettrick Forest Sports and Recreation Club said:
We are delighted to have received an award from the Langhope Rig Fund to be able to install two petanque pistes at our sports field in Ettrickbridge. The club aims to encourage sport and recreation for all ages and already has a tennis court, a children’s play area and a basic clubhouse, and the two pétanque pistes will be a welcome addition to the facilities on offer.
Linda Jackson, Chair of the Sports Club added:
Pétanque is a bit like bowls except that you gently toss the balls at the small target ball, rather than rolling them along the ground. It’s a great game for people of all ages and we hope that the school children will also use the new facility, once it is installed. Petanque is a very sociable game and a good way for people to enjoy the outdoors, be a little more healthy and meet up with others. We also hope to introduce a local community petanque ladder league and play competitions against other borders towns and villages.
The clubs runs a gala week every summer which includes a very popular pétanque competition.
Debbie Adams, who joined in this year’s competition, commented:
After years of playing on uneven grass and not being able to predict where the pétanque balls will go, we are all looking forward to getting 2 pistes installed so that we can play the game the way it should be played. It’s also a great way to meet up with others in the local community and enjoy some fresh air and gentle exercise at a weekend or on a summer’s evening.
The club hopes to go ahead with the installation of the two pistes in the early Autumn.
A second award was made to Friends of Yarrow, a local organisation who were seeking to install a playpark in Yarrow Feus Hall to provide children and young people with a safe space to play. The Panel agreed to award £10,721 to support with the project which will have a positive impact on the young people within the village.
A Panel member from the Fund said: “As a member of the decision-making Panel, we see firsthand how individuals and groups are seeking to improve the lives and conditions of residents within our area. It is a great feeling to approve an award, whether it is for a new heating system in a village hall, funding local support groups or for an individual to improve their qualifications and employment prospects. The impact of the fund across the area has allowed many vital activities and services not only to start up but also to continue to develop and improve, thus ensuring communities are supported both now and in the future.”
Since the Fund opened in 2017, it has awarded around £420,000 (including Education and Training bursaries) to 83 groups, charities and individuals located within the Fund area.
Community benefit fund awards of between £1000 and £20,000 are available, and Education and Training Bursaries are available up to £2,800.
The deadline for the next round of funding for community organisations is the 5th of January 2025.
For more information on the fund:
https://www.foundationscotland.org.uk/apply-for-funding/funding-available/langhope-rig