Wind farm community funds and other grants
Community Grants and Benefit Funds
There are a number of local funds available to community groups in Heriot and for individual members of the community who wish to fund a project or idea that would benefit the wider community.
Microgrants
Heriot Community Council has a small pot of money available to fund microgrants up to £250 for any project that benefits the wider community in Heriot. The aim of microgrants is to provide small amounts of money to get new projects started or to allow existing groups to try new things or buy equipment. The Community Council is responsible for deciding how to award these funds.
Download application form for Heriot Microgrant as pdf document
Download application form for Heriot Microgrant as Word document
Download guidelines for Heriot Microgrant
Microgrant Allocations
The following are allocations of the microgrant by the Community Council for the past few years.
2019 microgrants
- Badminton Club - £250
- Heriot Country Kids - £250 - insurance for playgroup
- Mini Book Bank - £250 - reading book loans for Heriot children, located in the outdoor room at Heriot Primary School on Friday lunch time
- Eco shop - £250 - started by the Heriot Primary School pupils and selling environmentally friendly products
- Baby and Toddler group
2018 microgrants
- Oct 2018 - Heriot Book Bank - £250 - Library equipment
- Aug 2018 (and 2016)- Sports committee - £250 - Sports day
- Aug 2018 - A7 Action Group - £250 - A7 safety measures
- Jul 2018 - Landscaping group - £250 - local landscaping
2017 microgrants
- Nov 2017 (and 2016)- Fireworks night - £250
- Jun 2017 - Rotavator attachment - £780 - attached to snow blower
2016 microgrants
- May 2016 - Junior Drama group - £250 - entertainment
- Mar 2016 - Tree planting equipment - (trees donated by railway)
Community Benefit Funds
Community benefit funds are available from large local projects, usually windfarms, for larger applications of more than £250, usually up to approximately £25k (contact the appropriate fund secretary to discuss applications for larger amounts). Grants are normally only awarded to constituted groups, or groups that will become constituted early in the course of the project.
DLX Trust (Dun Law Extension)
The DLX Trust administers a fund with an annual income of approximately £57k from the Dun Law Windfarm extension. The fund is open to applications from groups in Heriot, Oxton, Humbie and Fala. The Trust comprises ten trustees, two each from Heriot, Fala and Humbie, and four from Oxton. The Heriot trustees on the DLX Trust panel are Gavin Whittaker and Kate Finlayson.
More details and application form are available on the DLX website.
Heriot Community Fund
Local eyesores to be replaced in Heriot, 22 July 2020
A grant of £3,640.84 from the Greencoat Carcant (Heriot) Community Fund will enable the Community Council to install two new public benches and refurbish the phone box housing the village defibrillator.
Carcant Wind Farm and Toddleburn Wind Farm
Heriot Community Fund comprises community benefit monies provided by the operators of two wind farms located near Heriot in the Scottish Borders; Greencoat Wind UK, the owner of Carcant Wind Farm, and SSE, the owner of Toddleburn Wind Farm. The Fund supports community projects that benefit those living in the Heriot Community Council area.
An annual amount totalling £38,200, rising in line with inflation, will be available for community projects benefitting Heriot over the operating life of the two wind farms, which is expected to be 25 years. This comprises £29,000 from Toddleburn Wind Farm (starting in 2010) and £9,200 from Carcant Wind Farm (starting in 2008).
A Community Panel, comprising two people appointed by Heriot Community Council and four other people who live in the Heriot area, decide how grants are awarded from Heriot Community Fund.
The panel is elected from the community every three years (or simply appointed if there are insufficient nominations). The current panel comprises Colin Hood (Chairman), Gavin Whittaker, Frank Connelly, Felix Otton, Elsbeth Robinson, and David Bowes-Lyon. An annual report for Heriot Community Fund, together with an idea of the funds, is available from the panel.
Groups and organisations working to benefit people in the Heriot area can to apply to the Fund. Your group must have a constitution (a governing document or set of rules) and be set up on a not-for-profit basis, but does not need to be a registered charity. Grants of £250 and above are available (for small grants (less than £250), please apply for a microgrant as described elsewhere on this page).
Full details about Heriot Community Fund priorities, criteria and application forms are available here: https://www.foundationscotland.org.uk/programmes/heriot/
More information about the Toddleburn Heriot fund can be found on the SSE webpage here: https://www.sserenewables.com/communities/community-fund-locations/great-britain/toddleburn/
Other Borders and Scottish funding open to Heriot
The following are just a few examples of funds that have made numerous awards to communities in the Scottish Borders.
Scottish Borders Localities Bid Fund (£500,000)
This fund is organised by the Scottish Borders Council. The second round of bidding is delayed to 2019.
More information on the Scottish Borders website here.
Fallago Environment Fund
The aim of the Fund is 'to enhance the quality of life for local communities and visitors to the Borders through investment in the protection, enhancement and appreciation of the natural, built and cultural heritage of the Scottish Borders environment'.
More about the Fallago Environment Fund.
The Robertson Trust
Open to registered charities and Community Interest Companies in Scotland.
More about the The Robertson Trust.
Scottish Land Fund
For voluntary or community organisations with grants of between £10,000 to £1,000,000 available for them to achieve more sustainable economic, environmental and/or social development through ownership of land and buildings, to have a stronger role in and control over their own development and to own well managed, financially sustainable land and buildings.
More about Scottish Land Fund.
Big Lottery Awards for All Scotland
For voluntary or community organisations, requiring funding of between £300 and £10,000.
More about Big Lottery Awards for All Scotland.
Big Lottery Awards over £10,000
There are a number of schemes available, with various criteria depending upon which one is applied for.
More about Big Lottery Awards over £10,000.