7 Mar 2025
The Glenkens and District Trust (GDT) held its Annual General Meeting on Tuesday, 4 March at Balmaclellan Smiddy, with strong attendance from Trustees, Representatives and Associate Members from across the wider Glenkens
Chair, Fiona Smith, presented an overview of the Trust's activities for the year ended 31 August 2024, highlighting the organisation's ongoing work in managing and distributing wind farm community benefit funds. The Chair’s report covered GDT's open grantmaking programmes, Education & Training Awards for area residents, support for anchor organisations as well as the research into education commissioned during the year.
Another key area covered was the building of relationships with developers within the area we well as the difference in roles between Community Councils and GDT, with Community Councils’ remit being planning and construction issues and GDT’s focus remaining on community benefit arrangements. It was agreed that this division enables GDT to progress these discussions whilst maintaining its neutral stance on the individual developments.
"GDT’s approach aims to demonstrate and reflect the capability and ambition of the wider community," said Fiona Smith. "This collaborative spirit builds credibility with developers and policy makers, ultimately amplifying our voice as a community, increasing our influence and ensuring these funds provide lasting benefits to the people of the wider Glenkens."
Fiona Smith also emphasised GDT’s strategic alignment with local Community Action Plans, reinforcing GDT's commitment to reflecting local priorities in its funding strategy.
It was also reported that GDT has participated in numerous consultations and events over the year, setting out its role and advocating for community members to remain at the heart of the decision making on utilisation of community benefit monies. Â Â
Foundation Scotland representative, Suzy Mercer, provided an update on the critical Scottish Government's Community Benefits Consultation, which concludes in April. This outlined GDT and the Community Action Plan Steering Group’s plan to submit a joint response, advocating for communities to be regarded as partners, with recommendations for early and ongoing engagement and a willingness from developers to adopt structures that have already been proven to work. Any arrangements also need to reflect the longevity of these funding streams and the need for paid support to maximise the outputs to be achieved by the community in the longer term.
Attendees expressed widespread support for this approach and noted that the best way to ensure continuing progress is to foster collaborative dialogue between everyone who has an interest on how renewable energy impacts the Glenkens.