More than £100,000 could be spent brightening up Buchan’s villages if councillors agree to fund a grant scheme.
Each year local committees are allocated a community budget to pay for projects in their areas and the figure for 2016 has been significantly increased under the council’s new administration.
A total of £16,000 is expected to be spent on the Brighter Buchan Villages scheme, which offers grants of up to £1,000 to each of the region’s settlements to smarten up public spaces.
A further £86,000 could be ring-fenced for larger “capital” projects and community groups would be encouraged to bring forward their own proposals.
Finally, an allowance of £400 will be set aside as prize money for the annual Buchan In Bloom contest which celebrates floral displays in Peterhead and the outlying villages.
In a report to the Buchan area committee, Aberdeenshire Council’s communities director Ritchie Johnson says: “It is hoped that this fund will assist community groups in finding a sustainable way forward in the light of the current economic climate.
“There may also be an opportunity for some schemes to lever additional support through other funding streams and agencies.”
The larger area initiative budgets which local committees have been handed this year are part of the SNP-led Partnership administration’s regeneration strategy.
Any project bidding for a slice of the grant funding will be asked how it will boost the economic or social regeneration of the Buchan area.
The deadline for the first round of funding applications is May 17 and councillors will make a final decision the following month.
Any money not allocated will then be open for further applications in the autumn.
Members of the Buchan area committee are expected to agree the funding package when they meet in Peterhead on Tuesday.