LEADER funding continues to benefit rural Inverness
The Rural Inverness LEADER Group has approved another significant amount of community development funding for the area. Destination Loch Ness Ltd and The Highlanders’ Museum at Fort George have together been awarded just over £110,000 for two major projects.
LEADER is a European grants programme specifically designed to promote economic and community development in rural areas. Rural communities throughout the Highlands can apply for a share of just under £10 million which has been made available for local development projects to the end of 2013. The Highland Council, on behalf of the Highland Community Planning Partnership, is the lead partner for the programme.
Destination Loch Ness Ltd successfully applied for £80,000 towards the construction and marketing of a new “South Loch Ness Trail” between Loch Tarff and Torbreck, on the edge of Inverness. The trail will be approximately 30 miles in length but only involves the construction of new trail over 3-4 miles, the rest being simply the connecting up of existing trails. The trail will have its own distinct South Loch Ness identity but at the same time reflect in way marking and interpretation, design elements from the Great Glen Way (GGW) style guide. This link with the GGW is important if, as it is hoped, in the long term the trail eventually links up with GGW on the north side of Loch Ness and thus creates one 360 degree trail around the loch.
Executive Director Graeme Ambrose said: “We are delighted to receive this funding. This is an investment that will lead to the creation of a long term asset for the communities on the south side of Loch Ness that can be utilised for many different purposes. The trail will also offer new opportunities to market the area, attract visitors with the associated additional spend, and hopefully lead to the development of new businesses and community facilities along the route. For Destination Loch Ness this is a project which fits with our strategic objective to improve the visitor experience of Loch Ness. The support of Leader has been very important in getting this project ‘off the ground’.
Together with funding from The Highland Council, Scottish Natural Heritage, Destination Loch Ness Ltd and the South Loch Ness Tourist Group, the project is intended to commence in March and be completed by February 2011
Meanwhile the Highlanders’ Museum at Fort George has been awarded £30,567 towards planning and design works as part of a major £2 million re-development of the facility. This stage of the project will cost approximately £100,000 and will see the production of detailed plans for future capital works, the development of new exhibition content and new interactive displays. The project will also include significant development of the museum’s education provision and improvements to the museum’s website.
Major General Seymour Monro, Museum Development and Appeal Chairman said “This is tremendous news and greatly helps us towards our target of £100,000 which will allow us to get the exciting new designs drawn up. This grant, along with others we have received from the public sector and donations from private individuals, has got us off to a fantastic start and we are extremely grateful to the Rural Inverness LEADER Group for approving our application. Their commitment to our project is very important as it demonstrates the wide ranging support that the Highlanders Museum benefits from. We found the LEADER Programme easy to access and the help given to us by the highly professional team of Funding Development Officers made the application process very simple.
This funding will help create the very best Military Museum in Scotland and will be of benefit not only to Fort George and Inverness, but the whole of the Highlands and Islands.”
William Gilfillan, Interim Chair of the Rural Inverness LEADER Local Action Group said: “We continue to be impressed with the quality and range of applications coming forward and were pleased to support these two projects. LEADER funding is having a significant impact on the communities of Rural Inverness and I would urge other community groups in this area to make the most of this funding opportunity.”
Full information about the LEADER programme and details on how to apply for funding can be found at www.highlandleader.com. The minimum grant award is £1,000 and maximum grants are at the discretion of local LEADER groups.