11 March 2022

Trio of environmental projects nets £88,000 in Coastal Communities funding

Three community projects have been awarded £88,000 in funding from Aberdeenshire Council’s 2021/22 Coastal Communities Fund.

Members of the Kincardine & Mearns Area Committee recently approved the grants and praised the dedication of those behind the various projects.

The funding programme distributes revenues generated by Crown Estate Scotland from which Aberdeenshire Council receives an annual allocation. 

Projects must have a tangible link to the coast and/or sea and the site of the project or community must be within one mile of Aberdeenshire’s coastline.

The three successful K&M projects in this round of funding were:

Bervie Braes Path, Stonehaven - £22,925.75A proposal was put forward by Stonehaven Town Partnership and local councillors to see the Bervie Braes path leading from Castle Street up and onto the Bervie Braes Road restored with the addition of a handrail to provide additional stability for users. 
This path is popular with both locals and visitors to Stonehaven as it provides a shorter route from the harbour area up to the War Memorial and Dunnottar Castle. The upgrade of the path also builds on the work to replace the wooden boardwalk and installation of additional signage linking the coastal path from Cowie village along the seafront and up to Dunnottar Castle.   The Roads Service within Aberdeenshire Council will lead on the project and has awarded the contract to a local civil engineering firm. Work is due to commence this month and be completed by April.

Mearns Coastal Heritage Trail - £40,000
For several years, the Mearns Coastal Heritage Trail has been focusing on restoring and maintaining the coastal path between Johnshaven and St Cyrus. It sought funding to support the next section requiring urgent attention by adding a row of rocks in front of the Seagreens cottages to protect the path from further storm damage. This will require 720 tonnes of rock armour being purchased and positioned by local contractors and will include areas further around Seagreens Bay towards the Lime Kilns path which was restored in 2019. The work will be carried out during the summer.

Catterline Braes Action Group - £25,000
The Catterline Braes Action Group was established in March 2015 with the objective of preserving the integrity of the Braes and to raise funds to facilitate this. A number of projects have been completed to-date, from implementing drainage solutions and planting trees to stabilising the slopes by using ground anchors and geogrid mesh. The group sought funding to engage the services of a consultant to undertake a feasibility study to perform modelling assessments to estimate the potential future beach erosion and quantify the impact on the village of Catterline and recommend options which could be considered to address the issue. 

Kincardine and Mearns area manager Bruce Stewart said: “Once again it is heartening to see communities coming together to progress what are often quite complex projects to safeguard and improve specific areas of our coastline for the benefit of residents and visitors to the area.

“The Coastal Communities Fund is a tremendous process which can provide significant financial support to these environmental initiatives and I would encourage other groups to prepare project plans in readiness for the next round of funding.”

Any queries relating to the Coastal Communities Fund or future application rounds should be emailed to diane.henderson@aberdeenshire.gov.uk