Previous Aberdeenshire Projects

In total, Aberdeenshire has secured some £1.5m in ESF grants for 21 projects during the 2000-2006 programme period. Funds have been spent on projects that offer training for, literacy, management training, childcare provision, aiding older unemployed people and those with disabilities.

A further £3.5m has been secured in ERDF grants for 21 projects. These projects have covered areas such as business, learning and training courses, tourism products, capacity building and aided redevelopment projects.

Finally, £1.5m has been secured as part of the 10 INTERREG projects Aberdeenshire has been involved in.

Below is information about some of these projects.

European Regional Development Fund
European Social Fund
INTERREG

European Regional Development Fund

Banff Marina

The development of a pontoon marina in Banff harbour took place as part of a regeneration and tourism development strategy. The existing harbour was deepened to allow use at all levels of the tide. This, coupled with the pontoons has made Banff a logical stopping point for vessels travelling along the north coast of Aberdeenshire.

The marina was officially opened in April 2007. All berths have now been assigned a year ahead of schedule showing the popularity of this new facility.

For further information please see
The Banff Marina website

 

Macduff Marine Aquarium

Macduff Marine Aquarium was already a popular attraction when it applied for ERDF funding. Its status as the top paying attraction in the area prompted an ERDF application to create new displays and new tanks in order to increase visitor numbers and repeat visits.

The ERDF funded improvements opened to the public at the end of 2002.

For further information please see
The Macduff Marine Aquarium website

 

Community Economic Development Projects

There are a number of community economic development (CED) projects running in Aberdeenshire. CED projects have worked to develop robust rural partnerships, which in turn support smaller groups and partnerships. Rural partnerships have helped communities to develop assets that have sustained and created employment and brought funding into rural areas.

CED activities have led to relatively small interventions leading to significant capacity building in rural areas. These results often take years to establish making securing funding from traditional sources difficult. Once partnership activities have been established they are able to continue without further intervention.

For further information about CED in Aberdeenshire and the partnerships please see:
Aberdeenshire Council CED webpage

 

European Social Fund

 

Wood RecyclAbility

Wood RecyclAbility is one of a number of social enterprises in Aberdeenshire that has been funded through the ESF. It is a social enterprise which recycles waste wood whilst giving adults with learning difficulties the opportunity to develop skills in wood working.

Wood RecyclAbility is based in Pitmedden from which its products may be purchased.

 

Ellon Community Works

Ellon Community Works is an out-reach project from Aberdeenshire Council’s Ellon Resource Centre providing work experience for Adults with Learning Disabilities and is made up of two different projects – ‘Ellon Can-do’ and ‘Benchmark’.

Ellon Can-do Community Recycling has been established at Castle Road Industrial Estate for almost seven years collecting and sorting aluminium cans and plastic bottles from the local community, in conjunction with waste services.

Benchmark was established in the same estate in August 2004, currently giving a number of project workers the chance to gain woodworking skills by producing and selling high quality garden furniture and sheds.

Project workers from Ellon Can-Do collected, washed, trimmed and assembled the bottles in a frame of recycled wood made by Benchmark project workers. Plant containers have also been made from old plastic barrels cut and covered with coloured bottles

 

INTERREG

 

SustAccess

As part of the SustAccess Project, the council has set up two IT Hot Stops in the north east. These provide local business and community groups with free access to meeting areas equipped with the latest information and communications technology (ICT).

This includes PCs for hot-desk working, video-conferencing equipment and free wi-fi internet access. Users also have access to printers and a fax machine.

The aim of the project is to provide locations suitable for remote working and meetings without travel. This contributes the Council's work on promoting travel awareness, reducing congestion and emissions, while at the same time supporting the local business community by improving facilities in rural areas.

The first IT Hot Stop is in the Burnside Business Centre in Peterhead, and a second has been opened in the Huntly Learning Centre, run in conjunction with Banff and Buchan College.

A recent success using the video-conferencing facility allowed a resident of Aberdeenshire to be successfully interviewed for a job in the USA without travelling to the USA.

For further information please see
The SustAccess website

Other INTERREG project links

INTERREG IIIC

The CONCEPT website
The SusSET website

INTERREG IIIB North Sea Region

• Interreg IIIB North Sea Region 2000 - 2006 Project Book

The ReVitHar website
The Nortrail website
The Northern Maritime Corridor website