Helsmdale Trust Gains Seedcorn Funding From Big Lottery

13th September 2012

Helmsdale & District Development Trust have been awarded £4200 by the Big Lottery.

This group wish to purchase premises in Helmsdale in Sutherland and convert them into business units. The units would be offered to the community for new start up businesses, for local business who wish to expand and also to support renewable energy developers. The grant will pay for architects fees, market research costs, a feasibility study and community consultation.

Innovative groups with big ideas for their communities are set to share in over £140,000 of Lottery funding today. Across Scotland 16 different projects have received the green light to begin developing their projects thanks to funding from the Big Lottery Fund's Investing in Ideas scheme.

Investing in Ideas awards grants of between £500 and £10,000 to test and develop ideas that could eventually become fully fledged projects. The scheme can pay for a wide variety of activities including market research, public consultations and feasibility studies.

Providing community transport for the rural area of Buchan in Aberdeenshire is the focus of a £9,559 award to the social enterprise Buchan Dial-a-Community Bus. The group will investigate the options for purchasing a local garage in order to improve the efficiency of the transport service they currently provide to over one thousand older, disabled and vulnerable people, as well as over 200 community groups. Owning their own garage would enable the group to refuel and service their own vehicles while improving the long term sustainability of their transport service and offering training and volunteering opportunities. The grant will pay for a community consultation, options appraisal and business plan.

Outside The Box Development Limited based in Glasgow will explore the idea of setting up support services for new mums, thanks to an award of £8,640. The group will target and help women with mental health issues to set up and access support groups in places where they are currently not available. Their idea is to turn this into a peer led scheme with the women themselves deciding on what support would be beneficial to them whilst also gaining new skills and confidence.

Plans to turn a garden in Gogarburn, Edinburgh into a place of peace and tranquillity for people with Alzheimer's and dementia today receive a welcome cash boost of £5,000. Friends of Suntrap will use the award to develop a business plan which will flesh out their idea of creating a community educational resource and visitor attraction which also provides learning and volunteering opportunities for people with learning difficulties. The group will use the award to develop a business plan.

Announcing the awards, Big Lottery Fund Scotland Chair, Maureen McGinn, said: "We know from past experience that projects have a greater chance of succeeding when they have been fully thought through. Investing in Ideas gives Scottish based groups the time and space to establish if their project idea is feasible while in many cases consulting with local people and beneficiaries on their proposals. It's this type of seedcorn funding which we hope will make all the difference is ensuring the longevity of these innovative proposed community projects."

Investing in Ideas awards grants of between £500 and £10,000 and can pay for a wide variety of activities including market research, public consultations and feasibility studies. A range of organisations can apply, including voluntary and community sector groups, social enterprises, charities, local authorities and health bodies. For more information on the programme and how to apply visit: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/investinginideas.