An Aberdeenshire town will get £183,000 for a major expansion and makeover of its community centre.
Residents in Laurencekirk will benefit from money being dished out via the UK Government’s Community Ownership Fund.
Officials say the six-figure award will help locals transform the community centre into a much larger hub.
Once the redevelopment is complete, the centre will be better placed to host events such as lunches for the elderly and clubs for children during school holidays.
The UK Government will spend just under £1 million in the latest rounds of awards from the community fund.
The scheme works similarly to the levelling up programme, first initiated by Boris Johnson when he came to power in 2019.
Government officials say the community fund is more focused on restoring old institutions such as local museums, pubs and clubs.
The Laurencekirk expansion is one of four projects which have been given funding in the latest round of awards.
George Carr, a local Conservative councillor in the area, told us: “We welcome any funds from the UK Government for Laurencekirk.
“It’s a bit of Aberdeenshire that tends to get left behind.”
Tory MSP Liz Smith hailed the announcement, saying: “It’s great to see another four worthy Scottish projects awarded funding.
“This funding is helping communities right across Scotland create new spaces for life, work, enterprise and education – making a real difference to the lives of local people.”
However, the Scottish Government said the money should have been allocated to Holyrood first, where it could then be spent.
A spokesperson said: “This would enable strategic decisions to be made and the impact of the funding to be increased as we would be able to work with local government and communities and use existing mechanisms, networks and relationships built and developed over many years.”
Conversation