In 2014 the Blackhill Windfarm Community Fund approved funding for £2000.00 towards the cost of providing a long term sustainable air ambulance capability in Scotland. Since they started the SCAA have been called to Duns 3 times.
Below is a report of there progress todate.
Update
Background
Employment
Outcomes
Allsorts Childcare Centre Ltd would like to thank the Blackhill Windfarm Community Fund for their very generous donation of £7,500. It has helped the centre considerably allowing us to update and renew resources for the children who use the centre. It has helped the centre get back on its feet and provide fun and educational play experiences for the children. To date we have spent the money on numerous items including new TV and DVD’s, dressing up costumes, wooden musical instruments, play kitchen and baking equipment, footballs and rugby balls. We are awaiting a secure storage shed and when we have this we will be buying new bikes and helmets. We are still going strong hoping to continue growing as the years go on. So from all the children, staff and parents we thank you again.
Berwickshire Recreation Education Sports Trust is a registered charity
Scottish Charity Number SCO26564
Duns Swimming Pool is a small, community pool in Duns, a rural town in Berwickshire. It has a 25m pool, sauna and dryside facilities. It was refurbished in 2010 and has since benefited from the support of the Blackhill Windfarm Community Fund.
BREST, the trust which runs the pool is a charity which operates on a shoestring budget. Swimming pools are very expensive to run in both energy and maintenance and without the help of organisations such as Blackhill Windfarm Community Fund it would be almost impossible to maintain the high standard of the facilities in Duns.
In the last few years the fund has assisted BREST to purchase teaching equipment for First Aid at Work, Lifeguard Training and Swimming Lessons, air conditioning for the Guy Roberts room, acoustic panels for the same room, changing room cubicle curtains, changing room fan and other smaller items. In particular the air conditioning and acoustic panels have made a huge improvement to the environment in the Guy Roberts Room. This is now used by even more groups which benefits the community and
generates additional income for BREST to use in the provision of more activities.
The other items are also much appreciated as BREST has very restricted funds available for additional equipment and improvments but without which the service offered to the community would suffer.
Duns Tennis Club
The courts were resurfaced in July 2014 and painted September 2014 at a total cost of £35,000.
This now brings them up to a first class playing standard to the benefit of all members adults and juniors alike, also for our local community to use.
Thanks again for the Blackhill contribution to this project.
DUNS CHRISTMAS LIGHTS
Report to Blackhill Windfarm Community Fund
Following receipt of the very generous donation of £10,000 from Blackhill Windfarm Community Fund we spent quite a bit of time looking at the lights on offer. The money arrived just in time for us to instruct the Council and order lights for Christmas 2013.
We elected to renovate the cross-street features at the Post Office (Nativity Scene) and the Banks in the entrance to the Square. We also traded-in four features at North Street (outside Plough Inn), South Street (outside Duns News Plus), Murray Street (outside Fortes) and Black Bull Street (outside Black Bull Inn) for new features. We also bought spare bulbs and additional motifs which were fixed to the Toll House (JD Clark and Allan and Duns Dental Practice).
The replacement lights are all LEDs and use a fraction of the electricity that we used previously.
We were able to instruct Scottish Borders Council to proceed with the installation of the new power supplies to replace the original supplies that they had cut off (vandalised). We were obliged to pay 50% of the cost of this. The terminals installed by the Council are very sensitive, however, and trip at the least little thing. Consequently our team are regularly seen up ladders at all hours resetting MCBs. We are talking to the Council about this.
Finally we instructed our honorary electrician, Bob Markby, to build and install 6 No junction boxes for the display which allowed us to plug in the features and the garlands.
In the year 1 Oct 2013 to 30 Sep 2014 we paid the following:
Blachere (lights) £ 6,130.73
Delivery Charges £ 140.00
Bob Markby £ 586.48
Scottish Borders Council £ 4,176.65
TOTAL EXPENDITURE £11,033.86
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Our income included donations from private individuals and donations through the Cracker in the Square and this allowed us to run a switch-on evening, purchase additional lights and pay for the collection and delivery of the features. We still have a small reserve for next years spares.
Without the generous donation from the Blackhill Windfarm Community Fund we would not have been able to erect the cross street features, string garlands around the Square and run the very popular switching on of the lights by the Wynsome Mayde. The display would have been restricted to the lights on the tree and Duns town centre would have been the poorer for it.
On behalf of the Erection Section and all who have enjoyed the display of Christmas Lights in Duns we would like to thank the Blackhill Windfarm Community Fund Trustees for their generous award.
J Andrew Lester
(Meant to be retired Chairman)