ELEVEN community projects in Helensburgh and the surrounding area have been allocated funding of more than £23,000 following a decision by councillors.
Members of Argyll and Bute Council’s Helensburgh and Lomond area committee voted to accept the recommendations of a council officer on which causes should be awarded up to £2,500.
The causes being supported include a creative arts project for people with mental health difficulties, establishing the Grey Matters Active Ageing Centre, and the delivery of summer sessions at Helensburgh Art Hub.
Health and wellbeing is also at the heart of other successful applications by organisations including Welcome In and Rhu and Shandon Community Council.
The decision was made at the committee’s meeting on Thursday, March 19, with six of the seven councillors present voting in favour of the recommendation.
An amendment by Councillor George Freeman, which varied some amounts in order to give awards to two other applicants, failed to find a seconder.
Seven applicants will receive the maximum possible allocation of £2,500, two of those being Grey Matters and Helensburgh Art Hub. Jean’s Bothy will also receive the funding for its creative arts courses.
The same amount will go to Gareloch Riding for the Disabled Association, Helensburgh and Lomond Carers SCIO, Loch Long Jetty Association and Project 81 Community Enterprise.
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Garelochhead Station Trust has been awarded its requested amount of £2,460, while Welcome In also gets the £1,800 it applied for.
Also receiving 100 per cent of their requested amount are Rhu and Shandon Community Council with £850. The only organisation receiving a grant, but not the full amount applied for, is Arrochar and Tarbet Community Development Trust, which gets £1,068 having requested £2,300.
They requested the money for landscaping work to take place at the Arrochar War Memorial, aligned with 75th anniversary celebrations of VE Day.
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It is not yet clear how much the current coronavirus outbreak will affect any events which the applicants had in mind when requesting grants.
Addressing the meeting via Skype, council community planning manager Rona Gold said: “We will be sending out contracts and the proposal is that within the covering letter, we acknowledge the current situation.
“We will make it clear to organisations to whom we are offering a grant that it is for a 12-month period. If there is a challenge to delivering in those 12 months, they should contact their community development officer.
“This is in line with what other funding providers are saying. They are monitoring the situation and keeping in touch with groups.”
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