Crown Estate Scotland has provided £300k in funding to be shared between nine community projects, including an Art Deco swimming pool in Aberdeenshire.
The Community Capacity Grants are part of Crown Estate Scotland’s Sustainable Communities Fund which has, since its launch in 2020, distributed more than £1.7m to a wide range of innovative projects across the country.
The grants seek to provide early-stage interventions supporting projects that may otherwise struggle to secure initial funding.
This year nine projects have received a combined £300k of funding.
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Friends of Tarlair Community Group received £43k for the final stage of restoration of a landmark historic coastal Art Deco lido and outdoor swimming pool.
The complex was opened in 1931, and made innovative use of seawater pumps to both fill and empty the pools.
Also occasionally used as a concert venue, it closed down in the mid-1990s and plans to reopen it, including as a lobster hatchery, never came to fruition.
Friends of Tarlair Community successfully applied to take ownership of the lido and pool in 2020.
Tiree Community Development Trust were given an award of £23k towards a feasibility study for redevelopment of local harbour and creation of a community storage facility.
Arrochar & Tarbert Community Development Trust got £48.5k for the installation of public toilets along the coast.
Scalpay Community Association in the Western Isles was given £38.5k for the redevelopment of a heritage centre in the coastal community, which will utilise renewable energy sources and provide improved tourist facilities.
Torridon District Community Association was given £20k to establish a campsite.
Coigach Community Development Company was granted £42.5k for architectural drawings, building warrants and other costs for 10 community-owned affordable homes.
Cumbrae Community Development Company (North Ayrshire Council) - £29.5k. To enable development of a business plan and procurement support for a community bid to operate Millport Marina.
Orkney's North Ronaldsay Trust was given £20k in support for the repurposing of a lighthouse engine room as a community facility, with plans for a café, gift shop, and visitor centre.
Resonate: Creating Communities got £31k to transform a former police station in the coastal town of Kirkcudbright to become a mental health support centre for autistic young people.
“Having this support at this stage of the project is absolutely vital to assist with initial costs, and will not only provide practical financial assistance, but will also help in our efforts to attract more funders to give us their backing.
“This Community Capacity Grant funding has given everyone involved in the project a huge boost, as well as the confidence to help us move forward. We are convinced that this will be an amazing project and one which will benefit many young people across the local community.”
Pat Wain, chair of Friends of Tarlair Pool, said: “This funding will help complete the final stage in a restoration project for one of Scotland’s most iconic coastal Art Deco outdoor swimming pools.
"Having finished work on the pavilion, terraces, and inner boating pool, this money from Crown Estate Scotland will help us to bring back to life the main swimming pool – the focus of the whole complex.
“Having opened in the 1930s and having been enjoyed by thousands of people until the 1990s, we cannot wait to welcome back members of the public who we are sure will be as impressed as we have been by this beautiful community resource.”
Penny Coles, head of partnerships with Crown Estate Scotland, said: “This latest round of funding awards – the fifth since the Sustainable Communities Fund was launched – features projects which all demonstrate an ambition to make a tangible and lasting improvement to local people and visitors alike.
“We at Crown Estate Scotland are excited to be supporting the delivery of such important and positive projects which will help bring about improvements to the lives and economies of communities across Scotland.”
