Forres groups benefit from Berry Burn wind farm Community Fund awards
Natural energy has generated another £50,000 for Forres area projects.
In its 33rd round of awards, the Berry Burn Community Fund has approved grants totalling £86,143 - including £49,830 for 10 locally - to help finance 16 schemes across the designated Moray and Highlands area.
Acting fund chairman, Alex Ross, confirmed applications received were for more than triple the amount of funds available but the latest round brings the total contribution towards local causes to £2,151,217.
He said: “As always, there were many good applications. However, it is always regrettable that the fund cannot meet all the applications for projects that meet the criteria.”
The local beneficiaries were: Forres Baptist Church received £10,301 for the remodelling of the interior to create a larger community space to expand community activities; Forres Osprey Bus got £8800 to “improve wellbeing”; the Growing2gether charity will use £7000 for nursery programmes; The Paddock nursery at Broom of Moy received £4,602 for a Polycrub; The Park Ecovillage Trust got £4600 for the ‘Carbon Action Project’; Moray Firth Credit Union will use £4,382 for their ‘Window of Opportunity’ project; the Nature4Health charity received £3215 for its ‘Branching Out’ project; Healthworks Holistic Healthcare got £3200 for a front door replacement; Active Travel Forres will use £1,230 for a topographical survey for an upgrade to the entrance to Grant Park from St Leonard’s Road; and Moray Flying Circus received £2,500 to attend the 2025 National Youth Circus Event.
Elsewhere: Mandal Garden Project will use £5,955.80 for a tractor and mower attachment to double food production; Active Schools is to invest £3,730.83 in the Speyside programme; Grantown Swim Club has £2,535 to replace equipment and support four swimmers to complete the Scottish Swimming Teachers Qualification; Strathspey Works – Grantown Remakery will use £12,000 for workshop staff; and Anagach Woods Trust has £8,121 for delivery of the ‘Anagach Woods Vision’.
The community fund receives an index-linked annual budget of £255,501 is spread over three awards rounds held during the year from international renewables company Statkraft, whose 29-turbine Berry Burn wind farm lies between Forres and Grantown-on-Spey.
The fund is overseen by 11 volunteers, living and working within its operational boundary which takes in the community council areas of Forres, East Nairnshire, Grantown-on-Spey, Cromdale and Advie, Speyside, Heldon, Findhorn and Kinloss, Finderne and Dyke Landward.
Vacancies exist for new members to be appointed and applications are being invited. Visit https://berryburncommunityfund.co.uk/documents/ for more information.
The date of the next awards meeting is June 16, with the closing date for applications May 12. For more information, visit https://berryburncommunityfund.co.uk
