Funding from offshore wind farm fuels ambitious water sports hub
The Royal Burgh of Crail is the first community to receive money from Neart na Gaoithe (NnG) Offshore Wind Farm’s community benefit fund.
The £10,800 grant from NnG will be directed through the Royal Burgh of Crail Community Council towards a comprehensive business plan to transform the Gas Works area adjacent to Crail Harbour into a multi-use water sports hub.
A robust business plan will be created later this year to also support the asset transfer of the Gas Works site from Fife Council to the community.
The community benefit funding from NnG offshore windfarm, jointly owned by EDF power solutions UK and ESB, is the first of many grants anticipated over the coming months and years after the project became operational last year.
Over its 25-year lifetime, the wind farm will provide an estimated £6.75 million in community benefit to East Lothian, Berwickshire and Fife coastal communities Twenty per cent of which is split across the Fife communities of Crail, Elie & Earlsferry, St. Monans & Abercrombie, Pittenweem and Kilrenny, Anstruther & Cellardyke in the first three years. Arrangements for distributing initial funding in the other four Fife communities will be finalised later in 2026. The Fund is administered by Foundation Scotland, who will work with the communities to maximise the funds available.
Piero Maggio, Asset Operations Director for NnG said:
“It has been fantastic to see the first grant being awarded for NnG following close and careful dialogue with various communities across the east of Scotland. The Crail harbour project could drive more visitors to the area, boost the economy and create jobs for local people in due course. It’s great to see the money being used for such an innovative project. Foundation Scotland has been working closely with communities on our behalf to manage the community benefit funding, maximising the impact it can make for local people through difference funding mechanisms. We look forward to hearing more positive stories coming through of how the money is being spent across Fife, East Lothian and East Berwickshire.”
The Crail project is a result of extensive community consultation to create a Local Place Plan. This identified nine strategic priorities for the area, including ‘maintaining and improving harbour facilities’ as a key priority for action. A 2022 survey by Crail Community Partnership also found 88 per cent of respondents considered harbour improvements important, given its prominence in community life and the local environment.
The ambitious project could eventually benefit approximately 1,000 people annually through improved recreational opportunities, with wider positive impacts for Crail's 1,640 residents and the broader visitor economy. The business plan will ensure the long-term commercial viability and sustainability of the water sports hub, providing lasting benefits for the community.
Gerry O’Neill, Chairman of Crail Community Council said:
“We are delighted to receive this funding from the NnG Offshore Wind Farm Community Benefit Fund and apply it to what is an important initiative within the community. The area adjacent to the harbour is an ideal site for the development of a water sports centre. It is essential that we complete a structural survey and establish the feasibility and financial sustainability of such a development before we embark on an asset transfer and build. This funding will allow us to complete both these steps to inform the future development of the project.”
Malcolm Jack, Community Funds Manager at Foundation Scotland, said:
"We are delighted to see the NnG Fund being so purposefully directed by the Crail community towards this innovative project. This funding represents an exciting example of how offshore wind community benefit funding can support genuinely community-driven plans along Scotland's coast. The Crail harbour transformation project is the kind of meaningful, community-led initiative that the NnG fund was designed to support. It builds directly on extensive community consultation and the potential benefits of this work for Crail residents and visitors are huge."
For more details visit the Fund Information Page.