Locals in the Scottish Borders village of Oxton welcomed a new, state of the art community resilience vehicle last week - right on time to tackle blizzard conditions caused by the 'weather bomb' that overwhelmed other parts of Scotland.
Oxton Community Council successfully applied to SSE’s Toddleburn wind farm community fund for a grant of £11,500 towards the specialist vehicle and related equipment as part of the village’s wider 'community resilience’ plan.
The John Deere 1026R sub-compact tractor, which boasts a snow blade and gritter, allowed volunteers to clear snow around the local primary school and grit the main village paths during Thursday’s snow storm, significantly improving safety for people in the local community.
With most homes in the area at least 700 feet above sea level, Oxton experiences some of the harshest winter weather conditions in the Borders. This can cause severe disruption for local people, particularly school children and the elderly, and creates a major safety risk during periods of heavy snowfall. A team of 13 volunteers has been set up to use the tractor with training given from a qualified instructor who lives in the village. The path and snow clearing carried out by the Oxton resilience team will support the work of Scottish Borders Council in minimising the disruption caused by snow and ice at this time of year.
Paul Docherty from Oxton Community Council said: “The equipment was in action within a few days of delivery and the volunteers have been very busy clearing the snow and gritting the pavements – in fact they cleared and gritted around the school three times last week to allow it to open on time. Having this equipment means that we are better able to ‘look after ourselves’ when bad weather hits and we’ll be able to help residents get in and out of the village safely. Big thanks to SSE and the DLX trust for the grants which really were in the nick of time!”.
Ciara Wilson, Community Funds Manager at SSE said: “As an energy company, SSE is keenly aware of the importance of community resilience during storm situations. It’s great to see a small community like Oxton rise to the challenge and take action to prevent the kind of safety issues that can result from heavy snow fall. This kind of resourceful initiative means the community is better prepared to effectively deal with severe weather at a local level. We are delighted the Toddleburn wind farm fund could help make this happen.”
As a responsible developer, SSE provides local and regional community funds for each new onshore wind farm it builds. The Toddleburn community fund has an annual value of approximately £77,000 for community and charitable projects in Stow, Heriot and Oxton and Channelkirk. Over the 25 year lifespan of the wind farm, at least £2 million will be invested in the benefit area. Decisions on how the money is allocated are taken by an independent panel of local people.
Picture - Ciara Wilson, SSE, is joined by Ian Lauder from Thomas Sherriff, suppliers of the equipment, members of Oxton Community Council and children from Channelkirk Primary School.