Second community benefit deal signed
Shetland Community Benefit Fund has signed its second benefit fund agreement with a local renewable energy company. The Shetland Aerogenerators Community Benefit Fund opened on 1st May 2021. Funding for the first two years have already been committed – see below.
Shetland Aerogenerators Ltd, operators of the Burradale wind farm, signed an agreement with SCBF for £10,000 a year for the next 10 years beginning from 1st May 2021. This follows the agreement SCBF has already signed with the Viking windfarm developers, SSE Renewables.
The Shetland Aerogenerators Community Benefit Fund will be managed by SCBF completely separately from the Viking Community Fund.
For the first two years of the fund the money will be used to support active travel and road safety projects in Shetland and then it will be open to support projects that promote Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) in Shetland’s schools. Up to 20% of this annual funding will be available for scholarships to benefit pupils working towards a STEM career.
SCBF chair, Chris Bunyan, said he was delighted to have signed this second community benefit agreement. “SCBF was set up to work with all commercial renewable energy developers in the islands and this agreement shows how each one can be adapted to suit the developer and community interests. I would like to thank the directors of Shetland Aerogenerators for their positive help and encouragement in finalising this agreement.”
Future funding
Details of how to apply for STEMS funding when the fund re-opens in 2023 will be published here
SACBF – Helping Shetland get more active
Shetland Community Benefit Fund is to support a Shetland-wide scheme intended to encourage people to be more active through walking, running or cycling with a £20,000 grant.
This is the first award from the newly agreed Shetland Aerogenerators Community Benefit Fund and among the benefits of the scheme should be more pupils walking to school, increased physical and mental health among pupils and their families and also help to improve road safety.
The Activate Shetland Project is being initiated by the Bell’s Brae Primary School Parent Council and the grant will be used to commission a consultation plus development and design work ahead of a six-week event to get more people throughout Shetland being more active through walking, running and cycling.
The idea of the Activate Shetland Project is to run a Shetland-wide activity game, starting in May 2022, using RFID and Geofencing technology.
The community benefit grant will be used for a specialist public health investigation to establish existing activity levels in the community, reasons for inactivity, and levels and reasons for health inequalities. After the game is completed the consultations will be repeated to give comparisons and to identify how to encourage and maintain any increased activity levels after the game.
4th May 2021
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