Upper Nithsdale Community Trust release their first awards - 4th January 2019

In July 2018, Community Windpower Ltd (CWL) made their first Sanquhar Community Wind Farm donation to the Upper Nithsdale Community Trust (UNCT), of £43,000. Community Windpower, are delighted to announce the first awards through the Upper Nithsdale Trust have been released. Several local groups, societies and individuals have been awarded funding from this first round of applications, these include:

Kirkconnel Miners Memorial Hall - £3500, Kirkconnel Parish Heritage Society - £5300, Crawick and Nithsdale Wheelers Cycle Club - £1000, Nith United FC - £1000 and Friend of Clarks Little Ark - £2000.

Community Windpower Director, Rob Fryer says; “We are delighted that the Trust is now up and running and it is great to see that the wind farm via the Trust providing significant funding to local folk quickly. Since the construction, the wind farm has provided real economic benefits to the local area and now during operation these have been extended via the Community benefit package delivered to our host communities through the Trust. Over the lifetime of the wind farm more than £3.75m will be donated to the Trust, providing a material and positive impact to the host communities; we are delighted to be instrumental in the investment into these communities and look forward to potentially adding further substantial investment if future phases of the wind farm are approved.”

Sanquhar Community Wind Farm became operational in March 2018 and will provide £150,000 a year to the host communities of Sanquhar and Kirkconnel and Kelloholm, through the UNCT.

Alan Hiddlestone Secretary of the UNCT commented “The Upper Nithsdale Community Trust is now open for business and we are delighted that the first successful applications have now been notified and their funding issued. Community Windpower, with their Sanquhar wind farm are the first developer to provide the significant funding to the Trust; without them we would be unable to deliver the necessary level of assistance the people in Kirkconnel and Sanquhar require. We are delighted that the uptake for the fund has been so great, with many worthwhile applications made and awards granted. This will be the first of many over the years to come and we can already see the positive impacts this funding has made to our communities.”

Community Windpower are excited to see what projects come forward in 2019, with more local groups applying for the vital funding they require to keep pushing forward with new opportunities.

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