Aberdeenshire Council has announced funding of more than £1.38 million to support nine projects with a focus on improving local facilities and services and create more vibrant places across the region.

The funding comes from the third-year allocation of the Scottish Government Place Based Investment Programme (PBIP) which is designed to support coherent investment decisions that respond to local community priorities for their places.

Central to the delivery of the Programme is ensuring that investment decisions are shaped by the evidenced needs of local communities, regenerate and revitalise towns and villages, help tackle inequality and disadvantage and accelerate Scotland towards 'net zero' emissions goals. Projects are also expected to offer sustainable and impactful benefits to the places in which they are delivered.

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Investment in previous years has seen important projects completed or underway across the area including the redevelopment of an old department store in Huntly into a multi-purpose community and enterprise space, a new skate and wheeled sports park in Fraserburgh, improvements to facilities at the Alford Valley Community Railway, the restoration and stabilisation of the Macduff Cross and improvements to public spaces in towns such as Aboyne, Ballater, Banff, Ellon and Fraserburgh.

The successful Aberdeenshire projects for 2023/24 include substantial accessibility improvements to The Haughs in Turriff and Denman Park in Westhill, the first phases of bringing both the Strichen and Kintore Town Houses back into community use, structural upgrades to the Gordon Rural Action premises in Huntly and a new cycle pump track at Victoria Park in Peterhead.

Chair of Aberdeenshire Council's Infrastructure Services Committee, Councillor John Crawley, said: "For a third year running, we are seeing how creative and innovative communities across Aberdeenshire can be in shaping the future of their places. It is wonderful to see that investment from the Place Based Investment Programme will be put to good use once again this year to help create more inviting, accessible and resilient places across the region."

Vice-chair Councillor Isobel Davidson added: "We know how much people value the places in which they live, so to see projects coming forward that will mean that they can enjoy them even more is heartening. People make places tick, so this funding will help to make exciting improvements and additions to communities for years to come."