East Kintyre Windfarm Trustees
Argyll and Bute Council · 7 September 2023
Back to Argyll and Bute Windfarm and Renewables Trust — 7 September 2023 and its agenda
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East Kintyre Windfarm Trust Annual Report 2023 East Kintyre Community Council (EKCC) currently consists of 5 elected members. These members, along with 3 independent trustees, make up East Kintyre Windfarm Trust. During the financial year ending 31 March 2023, EKWFT received £61,918 in grant pay- ments from Argyll & Bute Council in relation to Beinn an Tuirc 1 and 2 and Deucheran Hill Windfarms. A total of 13 applications for grant funding were received during the year with 12 being approved and 1 refused. Grants totalling £44,415 were agreed, although only £30,215 was paid out during this period. This remains less than half the pre-pandemic level and, while this may partly be due to clubs and groups only slowly becoming active again, the opening of the East Kintyre Community Fund has undoubtedly had an impact. This fund received 18 applications during the year and agreed grants of over £125,000. The decrease in grant payments compared with the previous year is also explained by a significant grant of £25,000 being included in the 2021/22 figures. This grant helped Car- radale Community Trust establish the Carradale Community Shop and Post Office, which now employs one full time manager and 2 part-time Post Office Assistants. A group of about 20 volunteers also help staff the checkout and stock the shelves. The shop is now recognised by HMRC as filling a primary CCT charitable purpose, meaning it is exempt from tax and can apply for grants to help with running costs. It has been a huge success and become the hub of the community, and is greatly appreciated by both residents and visitors who can now save themselves a 30 mile return journey to the shops in Campbel- town. Carradale Golf Club, which is registered as a Community Amateur Sports Club, received grants of £12,071 towards the purchase of replacement grass cutting equipment. This machinery is also available for the maintenance of a significant area of playing fields owned by the community council. Indeed, the maintenance of a network of tracks and paths in the Carradale area is a priority for the community. Walking and outdoor recre- ation were identified in the East Kintyre Local Development Plan (LDP) 2020/25 ( http:// eastkintyre.org/ldp.php) as priorities by both residents and visitors. To help with this, EKWFT sets an annual budget for the maintenance of paths and community areas and facilities. in the last year £3876 was paid out to local contractors to carry out these works. A grant was also made to The Kintyre Way to assist with the maintenance and promotion of the East Kintyre section of the route. A grant of £3,000 was made to Carradale Parent Council to help them develop an out- door learning space at Carradale Primary School. This will consist of an outdoor pod and polytunnel and will benefit the whole community through extra-curricular gardening clubs that will support the school vision of encouraging healthy eating. Village halls remain a priority for the community and grants totalling £8,412 were made to Carradale Village Hall for the purchase and installation of a new heating boiler and to- wards the annual insurance premium. Use of the hall is increasing again, including by a group for the elderly run by Shopper-Aide, which was given a grant of £800 towards their expenses.
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Heritage is seen as a key element in providing a sustainable, resilient and connected fu- ture for East Kintyre in it’s LDP. To assist with this, grants were made to Carradale Com- munity Trust for the purchase of a display cabinet for the Heritage Centre at the Network Centre and to Saddell Abbey Trust for the installation of new posts and chains around the car park at Saddell Abbey. EKWFT will continue to support larger projects such as the Community Shop and Post Office, which are more likely to deliver long term benefits to the community, in line with the East Kintyre LDP. To assist in this regard, a development fund was established in 2016 and currently has a balance of £65,360. Each year, 10% of all community benefit funds received are transferred into a retention fund (2 bank term deposit accounts) for use by future generations. At 31 March 2023 it had a balance of £76,282. Wherever possible, trustees look for evidence of match funding from applicants, although a degree of flexibility is often necessary as it becomes increasingly difficult for them to obtain such funding. NOTE - This report should be read in conjunction with the attached audited accounts. Alasdair Bennett Secretary & Treasurer East Kintyre Windfarm Trust 1 August 2023