Up, up and away for Scottish aerospace discovery project awarded £300,000

A new aerospace discovery centre in Scotland is set to receive £300,000 in government funding following a successful bidding round.

The Kinross-based project is one of four in line to share a total of almost £1 million from the UK Government’s Community Ownership Fund.

It is hoped the new centre will inspire young people to pursue aerospace-related jobs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics once it is established.

The project will be based at the Aero Space Scientific Education Trust’s Station House in Kinross, which was officially opened by the Princess Royal in 1985.

Other successful bids saw £256,793 being granted to form a community net-zero hub in Glasgow, another £253,032 secured to bring a shop in Stirling into community ownership, and a further £183,000 awarded in Aberdeenshire to redevelop Laurencekirk Community Centre into a larger community hub.

The Community Ownership Fund helps people living in towns and cities across the UK create and restore treasured institutions like museums, pubs and sports clubs so that they can be run by the community, for the community.

The fund has now given £6.2 million to 28 projects in Scotland – part of 195 projects now being supported across the UK.

UK Government Minister for Scotland Malcolm Offord said: “It’s great news that a further four Scottish projects are sharing almost £1 million from the UK Government Community Ownership Fund.

“Through the fund we are now supporting 28 community groups across Scotland to breathe new life into the places where they live, work and play to the tune of almost £6.2 million.

“In total we are directly investing more than £2.4 billion in hundreds of projects across Scotland as we help grow our economy and level up the country.”

Jacob Young, Minister for Levelling Up, added: “Our priority is to support communities and deliver opportunities right across the country, which is why we’re investing £12.3m to secure the future of cherished community institutions.

“These places, from pubs to historic railway lines, are the golden thread which run through our social fabric, and keeping them going is vital for supporting communities.”

The Community Ownership Fund is currently open again for bids and will close on October 11.

Scottish Tory finance spokeswoman Liz Smith said: “It’s great to see another four worthy Scottish projects awarded funding from the UK Government Community Ownership Fund – on top of the 24 already benefiting from this fantastic UK Government investment.

“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.

“This latest boost is just a fraction of the total £2.4 billion the UK Government is directly investing in hundreds of projects across Scotland, and demonstrates the benefits we all gain from being part of a strong United Kingdom.”