UHI Inverness Sustainable Construction Centre project receives £352,000 funding from SSEN Transmission’s first ever community benefit fund
A project seeking to create a state-of-the-art training centre for sustainable construction at UHI Inverness was among the beneficiaries of an energy company’s new benefit fund.
Almost £1million of funds were awarded to 10 projects across the region from the SSEN Transmission’s Regional Community Benefit Fund’s first round.
The first £2m tranche of awards comes from an initial £10m fund which could eventually see over £100m of support for communities throughout the north of Scotland.
The creation of a state-of-the-art Sustainable Construction Centre at UHI Inverness received funds in its bid to delivering high-quality training to address critical skills shortages across the Highlands and support the region’s transition to net-zero.
Celebrating the award, Carrie Higgins, Tertiary Education Leader at UHI Inverness, said: “We’re delighted that SSEN Transmission’s Regional Community Benefit Fund has granted UHI Inverness £352,000 in funding to support our project to create a new Sustainable Construction Centre.
“The centre is a crucial part of our plans to enhance our curriculum and extend our campus estate, ensuring we can expand our offer at pace to address the sector’s regional skills needs.
“This centre, which is fitted with features that showcase green energy efficiencies, will support sustainable construction by providing training, innovation and research.”
Other projects awarded funding were Fèis Rois (£181,638), mobile cinema initiative Regional Screen Scotland (£350,000) and Growing2gether (£55,591) - which supports vulnerable and at-risk young people.
The Chair of Fèis Rois, Jennifer Marshall, said: “This is fantastic news for Fèis Rois, coming after a period of funding uncertainty, and will provide much needed support to ensure that the next generation of young musicians continue to benefit from our traditional music and arts events.
“The Board of Fèis Rois would like to thank SSEN for this investment in our work to create transformative opportunities for young people to engage with traditional music and the Gaelic language."
Simon Drysdale, Interim CEO of Regional Screen Scotland, added: “We are delighted to have been chosen for funding in the first round of awards made through the new SSEN Transmissions Regional Community Fund.
“Our award of £350k moves us closer to realising our ambition of building a new state-of-the-art Screen Machine mobile cinema for the Scottish Highlands & Islands and continuing to bring the magic of film to our 44 communities.
“News of the generous funding from SSEN Transmission came in the same week that we were awarded core funding for our service through Creative Scotland’s Multi Year Funding scheme. Together these funding announcements give us stability to continue to deliver the service and fundraise for a total of £1.7m that is needed to build a new Screen Machine that will serve communities into the 2040s.”
With over £50m-worth of applications, spread between 328 applicants, the independent chair of the fund and former Scottish Government minister, Peter Peacock, spoke about the thorough selection process and his delight at issuing the first funding awards.
He said: “Today is great news for the Scottish Highlands with funding being awarded to these fantastic projects.
“The projects we have been able to fund won through against stiff competition and are all designed to make a real difference to people, places, and cultural life in the north.
“The initiatives funded span the themes the fund is set up to support, by developing people’s skills for employability, keeping disadvantaged young people engaged and learning, enabling new approaches to reduce fuel poverty, enriching our cultural life, and expanding approaches to meeting rural housing needs.
“The panel were very impressed by the range of excellent proposals received and look forward to supporting many more projects in the future as the available funding grows.”
All projects that have received funding support SSEN Transmission’s aim to bring a positive benefit and a long-lasting legacy to the communities where the business operates, and are aligned with the fund’s core priorities: people, place and fuel poverty.
Between September and November, groups throughout SSEN Transmission’s network area*, which includes the Highlands, had the opportunity to apply for a share of the funding being released from the company’s opening £10m fund, from a minimum amount of £40,000 to a maximum of £500,000.
Speaking as the first awards for the fund were announced, SSEN Transmission’s director of customers and stakeholders, Christianna Logan, said: “At SSEN Transmission we’re delighted to be awarding the first £2m of funding to some incredible projects, after the overwhelming response to the launch of our fund demonstrated the appetite in the north of Scotland for realising the huge opportunity for communities that comes with the delivery of new electricity transmission infrastructure.
“We’re committed to generating real, sustainable value by investing in projects that enrich lives and strengthen communities – and today’s announcement is just the start.
“We anticipate that our ‘Pathway to 2030’ investment programme will generate upwards of £100m in community benefit funding for communities right across the north of Scotland – helping to create a legacy from our investment in electricity infrastructure that will resonate for generations to come.”
Based on initial indications from the UK Government, SSEN Transmission anticipates that over £100m in community benefit funding will be delivered in communities through its £20bn investment to upgrade the transmission network across the north of Scotland in support of Scotland and the UK’s energy security and clean power ambitions.
Further information about SSEN Transmission’s community benefit funding can be found here: www.ssen-transmission.co.uk/communitybenefit
