Valley Renewables Group (VRG) is the Development Trust of the Carron Valley and District Area, a rural region nestled south west of Stirling in the central belt of Scotland. We are a community owned and managed organisation, a registered Charity and a member of the Development Trust Association of Scotland. We are proud to support residents of the Carron Valley and District Area.

VRG was created in 2008 to maximise the Community Benefit arising from wind farm developments in the region and ensure money received is spent wisely on behalf of the whole community, for now and for the future.

We are actively working to become a more sustainable, self-sufficient and connected community. VRG support this through the development of community projects, actively engaging in partnerships of benefit to the area, providing a range of grant opportunities for residents and long term financial management of community benefit funding for future generations. All our activities aim to further our vision and objectives.

Vision

‘For everyone in our community to experience an improving quality of rural living. For this to be delivered through community-wide and individual projects, supported by community benefit income, and distributed through a fair and transparent process’

Objectives

VRG has four Strategic Objectives directly related to the identified challenges and opportunities for our community. VRG activities adhere to these four Objectives:

  • Distribute VRG funds throughout the whole community with the aim of helping to support rural living, by using community benefit income to assist community-wide and individual projects.
  • Engage and communicate across the whole community, bringing people together by delivering more events and activities, potentially supported by paid organisers.
  • Deliver good governance to provide a long-term financial legacy for future generations in our community.
  • Support viable and sustainable larger projects that address the identified community challenges and opportunities, through a documented and informed decision making process, and as funds allow.

What Does VRG Do?

VRG is a Development Trust. We support the local community in a number of ways.

All of our work is informed by our three year Strategy, designed to deliver our Vision and Objectives and led by the needs, priorities and interest of the residents of the Carron Valley & District area.

Please note that VRG  neither supports nor opposes any new wind farms within the area, that is a matter for the Carron Valley & District Community Council and individual residents. Our remit is purely to ensure that if new wind farms are given approval, we maximise the benefit to our community.

You can find out more about VRG, along with details of our finances, current and previous Strategy documents in the links below.

Directors & Staff

VRG is managed by a team of dedicated volunteer Directors, all residents of the area. Our Directors volunteer their time to support their community through VRGs activities. Directors attend monthly Board meetings and sit on a range of subgroups tasked with action in specific areas including: Governance & Compliance; Grants; Investment; Project Development; Communications and Annual Open Day.

Directors

Margaret Porter
Chair / Trustee / Director

Rob Ferguson
Treasurer / Trustee / Director

Christine Logan
Trustee / Director

DUGALD MACALPINE
Trustee / Director

Jenny Holdsworth
Secretary/Trustee / Director

Peter Shand
Trustee / Director

DAVID PETCH
Trustee / Director

JOHN SPEAKE
Trustee / Director

BRIAN YOUNG
TRUSTEE / DIRECTOR

Staff

We also have a member of staff who supports VRG’s activities on a freelance basis:

Helen Bang Admin Assistant

Helen Bang
Administrator

Partners & Funders

We are grateful to the following partners and funders who support the work of VRG:

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