A total of £213,000 has been secured to support rural development projects for the benefit of communities in the Forth Valley and Loch Lomond area.

The Community Led Local Development Fund is open to applications for up to £10,000 for each project, with funding provided by the Scottish Government’s Rural Communities Team and delivery supported by Forth Valley and Lomond Local Action Group.

The scheme will finance community led projects in rural areas across Clackmannanshire, and the Forth Valley, that deliver small scale projects or enable larger project to go ahead in a way which meets local sustainable development goals.

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Previous projects that have benefitted include the Japanese Garden near Dollar for the entrance gate, pathworks, Tea House and some environmental works, and also grants for Clackmannanshire based food and drink businesses to adapt their businesses post Covid.

Council Leader Ellen Forson said: "The community-led approach to this funding aims to empower local groups to address local needs, based on the knowledge and lived experience they have of their own communities."

Chair of Local Action Group, Douglas Johnston, said: "The Local Action Group has evolved from the previous LEADER Group and is a partnership made up of volunteers and organisations with an interest in seeing projects happen the rural area.

"These new funds allow us to build on the legacy of projects previously supported with a focus now on the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the five themes which were identified through our consultation workshops.

"We have been blown away by the interest and types of projects now being developed in the rural area and hope that our funding can help take some of them closer to completion."

The deadline for applications is Friday 30 September.