Wind farms have contributed more than £1 million to West Lothian since they were first established in the county in 2007.
West Lothian Council’s Partnership and Resources Policy Development and Scrutiny Panel heard that West Lothian Development Trust (WLDT) set up to handle wind farm contributions has made more than £765,000 in grants to 41 local organisations since then.
Five wind farms in West Lothian have provided community benefit payments to WLDT - Black Law, Pateshill, Harburnhead, Tormywheel and Pearie Law.
WLDT received £404,503.90 from five operational wind farms in 2017/18. A total of 14 organisations were awarded grants by the trust in this period and the total value of these grants was £159,668.
Among the projects funded by WLDT in 2017/18 include the Larder. It delivers training to disadvantaged young people experiencing barriers to employment.
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The Larder applied to the WLDT for £17,500 to fund an additional training officer/chef to run their Hospitality Skills Training Programme outreached in the West Calder/Polbeth area.
Harburn Village Hall Association, which was established in 1970, applied to the trust for £3922 to create a small picnic and BBQ area in the woodland to the front of the hall.
Loganlea Miners Welfare Charitable Society has been at the heart of Addiewell since the 1930s, with the addition of the Pitstop community facility in the early 1990s. The Pitstop provides a number of valuable services for the benefit of the village.
Residents can access credit union facilities on a weekly basis, and they can take advantage of the advice and support available to job seekers through Access2employment.
The Pitstop was awarded £22,500 from the WLDT.
