£10,000 has been awarded to the Oban Mountain Rescue Team to fit out a new command vehicle in the latest round of successful community fund applications to the Carraig Gheal Wind Farm Community Benefit Fund Steering Group which is chaired and managed by members of the local community closest to the wind farm.
The Oban Mountain Rescue Team will use the funds to fit out a new command vehicle to house state-of-the-art equipment which will help save lives and improve safety for rescue team members.
GreenPower’s Eddie Narbert with Robert Kincaid and volunteersat the Oban Mountain Rescue Team, from L to R: Eddie Narbett, Gordon Binnie, Andy Ravenhill and Robert Kincaid
Robert Kincaid, Treasurer of Oban MRT said: “It is just fantastic to get a considerable contribution to the funding of our new vehicle. This will really help our charity with our move from an old unreliable control vehicle to a new one. We will gain significantly more technical capability to support our mountain rescue volunteers and other emergency services we work with in the local community to aid safety and assist those in need more effectively.”
The Steering Group also agreed that each of the five Community Councils surrounding Carraig Gheal Wind Farm would also receive a further £1,000 each into their micro grant pots for the 2025/2026 period.
Other projects receiving funds include:
Argyll Field Archers – over £5,000 towards a new 3D archery range
Kilchrenan Village Hall - nearly £7,000 for a new AV system
Dalavich Improvement Group - nearly £9,000 for replacement windows and cladding
Rob Forrest, CEO of GreenPower said: ‘Congratulations to those that have received funding for their projects which will all have a significant positive impact within the local community. The additional micro grant funding that has been made available will help smaller groups with projects, especially for the festive events that are supported by the fund. I would also like to express a heartfelt thank you to the local people that make these decisions on the Steering Group – they put in a power of work on behalf of the local community and we are very grateful for their efforts and goodwill.”
Bill Oliver of Argyll Field Archers said: “The support of the Carraig Gheal Wind Farm Community Benefit Fund has been crucial in enabling our club to develop the facilities to attract more local individuals and groups to experience the benefits of Field Archery in the Argyll forest.
With this grant we look forward to expanding our course and increasing the number of archers - both members and visitors. We aim to work in partnership with local service providers to host many more competitions and continue to develop our sport.”
The next funding round for the main grant scheme opens on 1st November which is for up to £10,000 (£20,000 for village halls) and is available to constituted groups only. Further information is available on the Carraig Gheal website
Further information and application forms can be obtained at: (https://carraigghealwindfarm.co.uk//community-2.html) or by contacting Jennie Cowley (jennie@greenpowerinternational.com)