Supporting Communities Fund - Monitoring of Projects Funded 2023/24
Argyll and Bute Council · 2 September 2025
Back to Bute and Cowal Area Committee — 2 September 2025 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
Page 1
ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL BUTE & COWAL AREA COMMITTEE CHIEF EXECUTIVES UNIT 2 September 2025 SUPPORTING COMMUNITIES FUND - Monitoring of Projects Funded 2023/24 1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1.1 The purpose of this report is to provide information on the impact and spend of funding awarded to community projects from the council’s Supporting Communities Fund in 2023/24. 1.2 17 constituted, not-for-profit community organisations were awarded funding in 2023/24 from the Supporting Communities Fund. Projects were required to spend their funds within 18 months and to submit an end of project report outlining the benefits of the fund to the project and providing information on any remaining funds at end of project. 1.3 Members are asked to consider the contents of this report which contains a summary of the information supplied by organisations. 1.4 Members are asked to note that no funds have been identified as remaining at end of projects.
Page 2
ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL BUTE & COWAL AREA COMMITTEE CHIEF EXECUTIVES UNIT 2 September 2025 SUPPORTING COMMUNITIES FUND - Monitoring of Projects Funded 2023/24 2.0 INTRODUCTION 2.1 This report highlights the positive outcomes for communities in Bute and Cowal through the allocation of the Council’s Supporting Communities Fund in the 2023/24 round of funding. 2.2 A total of £33,052.09 (£38,228.09 including Levelling Up monies specifically for climate change focused projects) was awarded to 17 community organisations in 2023/24. Organisations have 18 months to spend the funds and up to two months from the end of the project to complete and return a project monitoring report. 2.3 No funds were identified as remaining at the end of projects. 3.0 RECOMMENDATIONS It is recommended that the Bute and Cowal Area Committee note: 3.1 The positive contribution of the Supporting Communities Fund detailed in section 4 and within the attached table. 3.3 That no funds are due to be returned. 4.0 DETAIL 4.1 The funded projects supported a total of approximately 5,883 people within the Bute and Cowal area to participate in a variety of activities including outdoor activities, sports, music and mental health. For example: • Outdoor activities at Friends of Glenan Woods, building bird and bat boxes, improving biodiversity of wildlife and accessibility for visitors. • Gardening and cooking activities were hosted at the Dunoon Foodbank
Page 3
and ARC recovery. • Hunters Quay Community Council refurbished seafront benches and erected two new picnic tables. • Kayak instructor training and specialist kayak equipment have enabled Toward Seasports to boost membership and inclusivity. • Music dance and movement workshops at Waterbaby Arts built confidence as the group rejoined after the pandemic. • Bute Community Band staged their Christmas Concert with new percussion and sheet music. • Mental health activities at Bute Community Land Company included art, photography and yoga classes, theatre and a Scottish History event. Many of the projects supported noted increased community participation and increased numbers of volunteers. Feedback from projects showed the benefits experienced by particular groups in the community: • “…increase confidence in people in recovery…” • “…people who were impacted by social exclusion and included people over 65 giving them a sense of meaning and pride in working together.” • “…enabled the young community to experience playing for a large audience.” • “…help people of all ages to explore the heritage of their town…” • “…garden access for people with no garden…” • “…old people felt lonely as they had no-one to talk to every day – but this has helped…” • “…able to develop stronger networks of support for women starting new businesses…” • “…The main impact of the project in the short term is that the consultation and engagement process has opened up communication between local community groups…” • “…teachers have observed how much more confident the pupils are, their self-esteem has improved…” 4.2 The attached table provides more detail from individual projects funded. 4.3 16 grant recipients have submitted an End of Project Monitoring Report. 4.4 No funds have been identified as remaining from the projects spend.
Page 4
2022/23 SCF Round of Funding No Organisation Project Funded Award End of Project Achievements No. of people in communities benefitting 1 ARC Addictions Recovery Café cooking classes and refreshments for 30 people for 52 weeks as well as plants, seeds and protective clothing £2,500.00 Food is a central human point of connection and we use this as an incentive for engagement and empowerment. Some of our volunteers had never made soup before. The volunteer garden project provided an opportunity to contribute to the wellbeing of the community and increase confidence in people in recovery. 77 2 Bullwood Nature Trail horticultural supplies, art materials and building materials to effect repairs, ready to welcome new users from mental health and school groups £2,500.00 A team worked together to: Put a new metal roof on a workshop, grow vegetables in a polytunnel, create leaf mould from fallen leaves, clear and maintain paths and terraces, build and mount bird and owl boxes, clean out and restore a pond, plant willow trees, maintain grass areas and driveway. This involved people who were impacted by social exclusion and included people over 65 giving them a sense of meaning and pride in working together. 41 3 Bute Community Band percussion instruments and band uniform for the players and music stands, banners and music costs for the band as well as some sound and video engineering to support the work of the band for this year’s Christmas Concert £2,157.04 We were able to involve the high school swing band in our concert which enabled the young community to experience playing for a large audience. It also provided members of the band who suffer with their mental health to work towards a target at one of the busiest times of the year. 165 4 Bute Community Land Company sessional trainers to provide a varied programme of arts such as yoga and photography as well as events and activities in Bute £2,500.00 Our project was a direct benefit to the individuals who attended, with unanimously positive feedback from all of our events. Bute Community Forest has built up strong community bonds and has become known for delivering enjoyable events in our forest for all demographics. We have focused on events we know we can 466
Page 5
2022/23 SCF Round of Funding Community Forest deliver well with our smaller team to ensure our attendees are left impressed with what their community forest can offer them. 5 Comann Nam Parant Comphail gaelic-speaking teachers in drama, singing and Bookbug, venue and refreshment costs as well as crafts equipment in order to deliver a Gaelic immersion day £1,300.00 No report received 6 Cowal Open Studios sessional fees and art materials to enable art workshops to be delivered to 46 young people £2,488.00 The Imaginart project was a resounding success. The young people responded to the arts workshops with enthusiasm and willingness to engage and the project partners were highly supportive. Workshops were mostly delivered in partnership with Dunoon Grammar School Learning Centre where young people have mild to complex learning needs. 215 7 Dunoon & Cowal Heritage Trust expenses of a graduate trainee in order to create new outreach and teaching resources for the museum with some travel expenses to cover their delivery £2,500.00 This funding grant allowed us to create two loan boxes- one a ‘memory box’ themed around the 1950/60s, and the other a school loans box that links with CofE objectives for local schools. The aims of this project have been met, with involvement from varying age groups across the community. The aims were threefold: to bring people together through discussion of Museum objects, help people of all ages to explore the heritage of their town, and to break down barriers to involvement with the Museum as a venue. 207 8 Dunoon Burgh Hall Trust co-ordinator costs, venue hire and film licenses to enable the delivery of a diverse arts programme to 45 persons from vulnerable groups £2,500.00 We presented 12 friendly film screenings accompanied by complimentary refreshments and plenty of chat between participants and our friendly team of volunteers. We delivered an additional 4 arts workshops with professional artists and 2 live music sessions for this group. All participants were observed to clearly enjoy the sessions and reported having had a positive experience and feeling “uplifted” by the experience. 166 9 Dunoon Foodbank materials to build raised £2,500.00 The project created garden access for people with no garden 95
Page 6
2022/23 SCF Round of Funding beds and grow vegetables to benefit the users of the foodbank and the general community access and tuition to help people grow fruit and veg. The produce was used for cookery lessons and meals in the foodbank. 12 people worked on the garden and 16 people attended cookery lessons. 10 Friends of Glenan Wood (shared prosperity) transport costs for volunteers, marquee hire, tools and materials for accessibility and biodiversity improvements to the woods as well as summer events for the community £2,500.00 Volunteer activities have increased and the number of community events undertaken has also increased. These are a result of the funding provided to support Forest Ranger activities and improving the ability to increase donations with the introduction of our donation box. The Wood can now be considered a community woodland as it now holds events for other areas and events. We advertised via eventbrite in 2023 and since, a full calendar of public events and associated booking system has been available via the 'What's On' section of our website. We have also advertised a yearly programme for volunteer opportunities. 1508 11 Fyne Futures volunteer expenses, training and a delivery of 4 food sharing celebrations in order to maintain the Incredible Edible sites and pilot a new foraging programme £2,500.00 We were able to continue to support our volunteers at Incredible Edible sites and provide a light lunch for 2 work parties a week throughout the year. This equated to 81 work parties being held throughout the time of the project and 444 participants in total covering all events. This worked out an average of 5 volunteers per 2 hour session so based on living wage this equated to £9,720 of economic benefit for the island. We also hosted 4 seasonal food celebrations. 87 12 Hunters Quay Community Council (shared prosperity) two new picnic tables and paint for the renovation of the existing benches on the front at Hunter’s Quay £701.00 Speaking to people in the area – 900 people live here but there is nowhere people could sit – people have told me that they especially old people felt lonely as the had no-one to talk to every day – but this has helped and during the summer months the picnics tables get used. There is a large proportion of older people here, but this is also to benefit the community as a whole and to make the area attractive for tourists that arrive at the ferry terminal. 900
Page 7
2022/23 SCF Round of Funding 13 POP Shop Enterprises CIC accredited training courses, one to one support sessions and talks by social entrepreneurs for to up to 24 people as well as associated costs, such as venue, catering and marketing £2,450.00 This project aimed to build the enterprise capacity of the community at a local level through the provision of training, talks and one to one enterprise support sessions delivered in Dunoon. Over the course of the project, we were able to develop stronger networks of support for women starting new businesses in the local area through the provision of training, talks and events. We know from feedback that people appreciated the professional guidance, but importantly, benefitted from having peers to talk to. Peer support is informal support but can help people working in relative isolation to feel more connected and a better networked by learning from others with similar experiences to help overcome practical and psychological challenges that can become barriers to work. 283 14 Sandbank Community Development Trust Limited costs to produce a new climate and community action plan including survey materials, design and printing and distribution of same £1,975.00 The main impact of the project in the short term is that the consultation and engagement process has opened up communication between local community groups that had previously been working largely in silos. There is now a shared vision for Sandbank’s future, which has come directly from the work on the CAP. 1500 15 Scenic Sandbank start-up costs including the costs of tools, seeds and bulbs in order to create the first raised beds for production £2,500.00 The garden is still under development as there have been delays trying to get the utilities on site. However, we have been able to take the garden out to various group and the local primary school using the funds from both SLF and Supporting Communities Fund which enabled us to buy tools compost etc and take them into the community while the site is still under development. This has meant that we have built an even stronger volunteer base that now is involved at a greater level in the community garden planning for this year. 108 16 Toward Seasports Club SCIO training courses for 6 volunteers to become kayak leaders or coaches, and a £2,157.05 The project aimed to provide training and assessment for volunteer sea kayak instructors, leaders and coaches and to purchase of two secondhand high-volume hybrid kayaks for use on 31
Page 8
2022/23 SCF Round of Funding contribution towards a hybrid kayak the sea and in pool sessions. We achieved these aims. The provision of training has had additional benefits enjoyed by a wider range of club members. 17 Waterbaby Arts SCIO 16 creative movement workshops delivered to 25 persons with additional support needs and some associated travel costs £2,500.00 There has been a huge impact on all participants, as teachers have observed how much more confident the pupils are, their self esteem has improved, as they have an activity they love and look forward to. They are also less isolated within school, as they have shared this experience with young people similar to them and can begin to carry on these friendships outside the project. 34
Page 9
5.0 CONCLUSION 5.1 The project monitoring form has a section asking for comments on the grant process. Not all applicants have completed this section but of those received, the comments have largely been very positive. 6.0 IMPLICATIONS 6.1 Policy: None 6.2 Financial: The report sets out the expenditure from the Bute & Cowal area 2023/24 budget for the allocation of Supporting Communities Fund 6.3 Legal: None 6.4 HR: None 6.5 Customer Service: None 6.6 Risk: None 6.7 Climate Change: 2 of the funded projects addressed climate change 6.8 Fairer Scotland Duty: Compliant with policy 6.9 Equalities - protected characteristics: 6.10 Consumer Duty: None 6.11 Island Communities: 3 of the funded projects were on Bute 6.12 Children’s Rights and Wellbeing: 3 of the projects were delivered for children and young people Chief Executive – Pippa Milne Policy Lead - Cllr Mark Irvine Communities and Partnership Manager – Rona Gold 2 September 2025 For further information contact: Community Development Officers: Ailie Law on 01546 604707 / ailie.law@argyll-bute.gov.uk. Julie Fish on 01369708669 / Julie.Fish2@argyll-bute.gov.uk