September 7, 2016
Urban rural split.
As a general rule of thumb, the more remote a community is, the greater the need for self-sufficiency. And so some of the more remote rural communities must have been wondering what all the fuss was when, during the last big cold spell of weather, some of the city councils were getting it in the neck from residents for not gritting pavements in residential areas right up to their front doors. The communities of Kirkconnel and Kellohom in Dumfries and Galloway are clearly made of sterner stuff.
Windfarm cash has helped buy a new community tractor for Upper Nithsdale.
The Kirkconnel and Kelloholm Development Trust was awarded £32,000 from the SSE Sustainable Development Fund towards the cost of the vehicle.
And four volunteers from the community have been trained to operate the machine which will be used to cut grass in summer and clear or grit roads in the winter months.
Councillor John Syme said: “Two of the issues we had was getting the grass cut up here and roads cleared in the winter.
“The development trust came up with the idea for a community tractor that people can use and it will be needed a lot up here.
“A lot of areas are difficult to get to especially in the winter for gritting the roads. We’re looking to use this tractor quite a bit to help clear up the roads and help with winter maintenance which is vital up here.
“The council has just finished putting four folk through the training and now we want to show the community that it’s up and running.
“I’d like to thank the volunteers who gave up their time to be trained on it, everyone who helped secure the funding and the council for facilitating the training for the drivers.”