Community projects in Inverness area to benefit from repurposed COVID and PBIF funding

Various community projects will benefit from vital funding after Members of the City of Area Committee agreed to repurpose money from its COVID-19 fund and Place Based Investment Fund.

Leader of Inverness and Area Cllr Ian Brown said: “As we continue to recover from the pandemic, the impacts of COVID-19 continue to be felt across our communities. The importance of outdoor activities for health and wellbeing are vital and these allocations agreed today will provide opportunities to develop active recreation for young people.”

At a meeting of The Highland Council on 7 January 2021, Councillors previously agreed that Wards with unspent COVID-19 funds could decide to spend this on projects that would assist children and adults post-COVID. 

Councillors agreed to repurpose COVID-19 funds to the following projects:

• In Ward 13 – Inverness West - Muirtown Growing Project at Muirtown Primary School was awarded £6,285 to replace a polytunnel which is at end of life with a new more sustainable polytunnel which will allow the school to re-establish a culture of ‘growing our own’ in the school and nursery. This will improving outdoor activities for the school and community and aligns with the aims of the Council’s Community Food Growing Strategy agreed last year.
• In Ward 17 – Culloden & Ardersier, £21,000 was awarded to support the purchase of 3 items of play park equipment at Croy Playpark on Ardcroy Road. Croy has been identified as a priority for improved access to outdoor play and the project will provide a play park with natural, sustainable, inclusive and high play value equipment with an expected minimum 15 years life span.

Also approved today was the decision to allocate Place Based Investment Funds from an identified project underspend.

£46,800 was reallocated in Ward 12 – Aird & Loch Ness and awarded to support the re-instatement, for 12 months, of the Inverness to Kiltarlity / Kiltarlity to Inverness early morning and evening public bus services.

The remaining unspent Place Based Investment Funds of £6,625, were allocated for play parks across the ward.

Cllr Brown commented: “This Committee previously agreed Ward 12’s Place Based Investment Fund allocations on 21 August 2021.

“With an identified PBIF underspend across a previously approved commitment we are pleased to be able to maintain this allocation to these important community projects by reallocating that underspend.”

Full details of all funding proposals considered by Committee can be found on Highland Council’s website at https://www.highland.gov.uk/meetings/meeting/4742/city_of_inverness_area_committee (see items 6 and 7).