Great news! It’s been a long wait but now we’ve heard at last that KCLA has been granted the right to register an interest in buying all of the plots of land around

This means that Kinghorn people will have first refusal on any of the plots whenever an owner chooses to sell. The Scottish Executive has endorsed the community’s aspirations and has given us all a chance to have a say in the future management of the area that means so much to everyone.

The next step is to arrange for a two-stage feasibility study to be carried out. We have already been awarded a grant towards this from Fife Council and we are presently submitting applications to other funding bodies. We are drawing up a shortlist of consultants who will submit tenders for the work. In the submissions to the Scottish Executive we outlined some possible uses of the land areas and properties. A feasibility study will look in detail at these ideas and more and will present a guide to what is practicable, considering that each plot, whenever it might become available, must stand on its own merit.

Groundswell’s Grant Award Scheme which gives money to homeless people engaged in self-help solutions has just re-launched. The Grant Scheme has existed for 8 years and has given away over £160,000 to 330 groups, but after a recent research project has made some changes:

• The grant has increased to £700.
• There is a new application form and guidelines.
• You can now type directly into the application form.
• The grant section of the Groundswell website now contains information on other funders and a funding advice section.

To make an application visit the Apply for a Grant Page.

Source  http://www.groundswell.org.uk/

Hockerton Housing Project has scooped an award in the National Energy
Efficiency Awards run by UK CEED in partnership with EDF Energy. The
event was also sponsored by defra and The Independent.

Nick White & Trudi Macagnino on behalf of HHP collected the top prize
in the residential construction and renovation category this week (6
December) at the Science Museum in London.