£443,244.88 Community Regeneration Funding awarded to 16 Skye and Raasay projects

Isle of Skye and Raasay Area Committee met today (Monday 30 January 2023) and agreed to fund 16 projects from the Community Regeneration Fund totalling £450,942.47 (including £10,147 from Islands Emergency Fund which has restricted funding criteria) funds available to allocate of which £443,244.88 was awarded for the Skye and Raasay Area.

Community Regeneration Funding is an umbrella term for funding streams available for communities/organisations to access and support economic regeneration and sustainable development in Highland. This round of funding includes the Highland Coastal Communities Fund and the Place Based Investment Programme, both of which are Scottish Government Funding with devolved allocations, and decision making on which projects should receive funding sits with Elected Members.

Skye and Raasay Area Committee Chair, Cllr John Finlayson said: “The communities of Skye and Raasay are proactive in their involvement in shaping the Skye & Raasay vision for the future and as such the 16 funding applications received were varied, ambitious and innovative.

“The 16 projects approved today were done so according to RAG rating formula and the Committee had to make difficult decisions as the fund was oversubscribed. The projects awarded demonstrate: economic recovery; community resilience; mitigating impacts of the climate/ecological emergency and/or addressing the challenges of rural depopulation.

“On behalf of the Area Committee, we would like to thank all the applicants involved, many of which are community volunteers. We wish the projects awarded funding today the best of luck and look forward to progress reports coming to ward meetings in the future, and for those with award conditions, details of these will be provided by the Community Regeneration Fund team.”

Within Isle of Skye and Raasay, the following allocations are available for distribution:-

• Highland Coastal Communities Fund (capital/revenue) - £372,635.47

• Place Based Investment Programme (capital) - £68,160

• Islands Emergency Fund (capital - restricted use) - £10,147

Total funds available - £440,795.47 (plus £10,147 Islands Emergency Fund)

Projects awarded Community Regeneration Funding at the Isle of Skye and Raasay Committee on 30 January 2023 are as follows:

• Cuillin FM t/a Radio Skye - Cultural Journalist Pilot Programme Extension £14,081
• Broadford & Strath Community Company - Community Co-ordinator & Development £10,250
• Ionad Throndairnis - Guthan na Tire (Voices of the Land) £30,000
• Broadford & Strath Community Company - Skye Event Space £50,000
• Cuillin FM t/a Radio Skye - Radio Skye Accommodation Pods £15,000
• Skye Iconic Sites Partnership - Quiraing Loop Path Reinforcement £90,000
• SkyeDance - Building connection & community through dance £25,939
• Skye Connect - Skye Cycle Network – Development Stage 2 £16,500
• Uig Community Hall Association - Environmental and Accessibility Improvements £9,000
• Hebridean Diving Services - Coastal Defence at the South of Stein Jetty 35,058
• Glendale Community Hall Association - Hall Flood Defence Measure Upgrade & Hall Maintenance £10,146.22
• Sleat Community Trust - Overhauling Sleat Renewables Wood Fuel Supply £11,220
• Uig Community Trust - Uig Regeneration Projects £22,500
• Portree and Braes Community Trust - Home Farm Hub £64,138.66
• Portree and Braes Community Trust – Finance & Admin officer £18,412
• Portree and Braes Community Trust – Matheson Place Playpark £21,000

In total, Skye and Raasay Members awarded £443,244.88 of available Community Regeneration Funding, leaving a balance of £7,697.59 which will be rolled over to the next round of Community Regeneration Funding and added to the devolved allocations for Skye and Raasay. 

The full report, including the applications submitted for the Community Regeneration Funding can be found here