Latest News

WISHART WELCOMES 0.5 MILLION POUNDS OF CLIMATE CHANGE CASH FOR PERTHSHIRE

WISHART WELCOMES 0.5 MILLION POUNDS OF CLIMATE CHANGE CASH FOR PERTHSHIRE

Mr Pete Wishart MP, Member of Parliament for Perth and North Perthshire and Ms Roseanna Cunningham MSP, Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Perth constituency have congratulated a range of Perthshire organisations that have been successful in securing nearly half a million pounds from the Climate Challenge Fund (CCF) to help local communities reduce their carbon footprint and become more energy efficient.

Welcoming the announcement made today (Thursday) by Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead, Ms Cunningham said:

"This was a particularly successful round of grant awards for Perthshire organisations with nearly half a million pounds being secured by organisations from Perth and Kinross.

"The great thing about the Climate Challenge Fund is that it directs funds at a really local level, enabling individual communities to really take charge of playing their part locally in tackling the global challenge posed by climate change."

Mr Wishart added:

"Congratulations to the organisations from my constituency who have been successful in this round of grants. I am sure that they will all make really good use of the funds they have been awarded and I look forward to more such good news stories in the future.

"I have visited a number of organisations recently who have recevied support from the Climate Challenge Fund and I am impressed by the work being done and the commitment shown by groups and communities throughout Perthshire."

* * * *

Note: Successful Perthshire projects benefitting from the sixth round of CCF are:

Glenlyon Woodfuel Initiative - Research and Evaluation Proposal. The aim is to reduce reliance on heating oil in Glenlyon by replacing it with a wood fuel sourced entirely from under-utilised woodlands in the glen. Doing so will provide employment and benefit biodiversity while reducing fuel expenses and carbon footprints. - £21,500

PKAVS (Perth and Kinross Association of Voluntary Services) - Powerful Choices. Powerful Choices aims to support hard to reach communities in taking positive environmental action to reduce the carbon footprint. In practical terms this means involving the communities in installing energy saving equipment within the Gateway community hub, raising awareness amongst Adult and Young Carers and Mental Health groups, providing training on energy saving methods producing community action plans and promoting behaviour change within these communities. - £168,017

Comrie Development Trust - Comrie Climate Change Delivery Plan. Comrie Development Trust will implement the Scottish Government's Climate Change Delivery Plan: Milestones and Actions at a community level in Comrie and act as a model for other communities. This work will build on the existing Carbon Challenge Project and focus on the sustainable development of the Cultybraggan Eco-Hub and on village-wide activities aimed at reducing carbon emissions by 80 per cent by 2050. - £176,072

Muirton Park Community Development Trust, Perth and Kinross - Greening Muirton Development Officer and Local Green Champions. The Muirton Park Community Development Trust will lead an 18-month pilot project to build a low-carbon community in this large-scale regeneration project. Three Local Green Champions (part time) will work with the Greening Muirton Development Officer (full time) to prepare and implement 'Greening Muirton Plans' with residents. These plans will cover e.g. energy use, transport, composting, waste, recycling and volunteering. They will run a 'Greening Muirton Advice Centre' at the new community flat. - £86,065

COBRA User Study, Perth and Kinross - COBRA - Campaign to open Blackford Railway station again. COBRA recently organised an e-petition to the Scottish Parliament which was first considered in January 2008 and is still open as more information is considered. The group also lobbies key stakeholders including TACTRAN, Network Rail and ScotRail amongst others. COBRA are fully committed to developing the detailed business case for the reopening of Blackford railway station. Funding is being sought to engage suitably qualified consultants to work with COBRA and its stakeholders to assess formally the social, environmental and economic benefits that a reopened station would bring to the community and its wider environs. The group are particularly committed to assessing the environmental impact of a reopened station on reducing pollution, encouraging the use of public transport over the growth in private car use, improving the multimodal use of public transport and providing commuters, tourists and local residents with a real alternative to car use. - £11,750

Go to the News page