Aird Community Trust (ACT)

Author: SH

  • Your views needed on Community Centre development

    Kirkhill District Amenities Association (KDAA) needs to hear your views on how Kirkhill Community Centre could be developed to better meet the needs of our growing community.

    Recent consulation has indicated that the community centre would benefit from improvements to the current facilities and the possible provision of a small hall/meeting room. To take these ideas forward the KDAA have set up the Kirkhill Community Centre Development Project sub group as a working group of the main committee. The group will find out what you want and need from your community facilities, explore options for meeting these needs and identify ways to make it happen.

    The first step is to find out more about what you want and need from your community facilities, determine support for developing the facilities and identify your priorities for development.

    Please take a few minutes to complete the survey so that any development may better fit your needs. All information will be treated confidentially and your contact details will only be used by the development project group to keep in contact with you about the development of the hall.

    Kirkhill Community Centre Development Project Survey

    Please forward this information on and encourage others to take part in the survey.

    The KDAA has recently taken two big steps to improve the community facilities by constructing the multi use games area and adding electricity generating solar panels to the roof. With your help we can do much more.

  • Kirkhill Community Centre goes solar!

    Kirkhill Community Centre has just had an array of solar photo voltaic (PV) panels fitted to the roof. They will generate electricity from the sun which will help keep the costs of running the hall down and help protect the environment.

    The solar PV panels create electricity from daylight. Our 21 panels are rated as a 3.96 kilowatt peak (KWp) array. This means the maximum amount of electricity they are likely to produce is 3.96 kilowatts per hour. A typical kettle needs 2 kilowatts to boil.

    The Kirkhill District Amenities Association (KDAA) will earn money for every kWh of electricity that the solar panels generate through the Feed in Tariff scheme. We also earn money from selling any extra electricity we don’t use to the grid. We will receive 41.3p per kWh for all electricity generated and 3p per kWh for electricity we export to the grid. We also save money on our electricity bills because we generate our own free electricity and therefore buy less from the grid.

    We estimate that our solar PV panels will produce 3207 kilowatt hours and save around 1.4 tonnes of CO2 a year. A tonne of CO2 would fill a double decker bus! We will also save around £1700 in energy costs per year.

    We were fortunate to be able to secure funding for 83% of the costs of installation of the panels from the Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES). Our contribution of about £3000  should be paid back from income in around two years. We are very grateful to Community Energy Scotland for all their help and assistance with the project.

    The panels were fitted by Solar Electricity Systems.

  • Invitation to tender for Climate Challenge Fund Project

    The Kirkhill and Bunchrew Community Trust has been successful in applying for funding to deliver a project aimed at supporting a domestic energy efficiency and low carbon programme over the next year. Outline of CCF project – April 2011

    If you are interested in submitting a tender to deliver this project please contact Trust Chair, George Hogg, on 01463 831674 or chair@kirkhillandbunchrew.org.uk for further details. Tenders submitted should outline your experience/knowledge as relevant to the project and set out what you will do to deliver the project for the sum of £3,175 available. Tenders to be submitted by midnight on Tuesday 19th April.

  • Kirkhill’s Got Talent

    More popular than a wedding in St Andrews, the local talent fest is nearly here again. Find out more under the local information button.

  • Kirkhill Community Park

    Now that the new equipment for babies and toddlers has been installed in the park, we just wanted to thank everybody who has been involved in the project, particularly Lindsey Stout who also did lots of local fundraising. And we couldn’t have done it without the People’s Postcode who donated £10,000 to the project. People’s Postcode Trust Advisor Clare Oliver said “People’s Postcode Trust were thrilled to award £10,000 to Kirkhill Community Park. The project is one which will hugely benefit the surrounding community, and we are delighted to be part of it.” The rest of the money came from Aird and Loch Ness Ward Discretionary Fund and a donation from Kirkhill’s Got Talent. The Highland Council also supported us in the construction phase.

    For more information about the People’s Postcode Trust please see www.postcodelottery.com