That the Parliament welcomes the announcement of £298,241 funding from the Coastal Communities Fund for The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) charity to realise its Kinneil Coastal Rangers Project; recognises that TCV, working in partnership with Falkirk Community Trust and Falkirk Council Employment and Training Unit, will embark upon this programme with the aims of providing training and work experience to local unemployed people in the Bo’ness area and regenerating Kinneil Estate to increase tourism and economic investment in the area through the implementation of the Kinneil Masterplan; understands that the masterplan for the Kinneil Estate has been produced by the Falkirk Community Trust and provides a framework to conserve, enhance and develop the estate to benefit the local community; acknowledges that the project will involve a two-year training and work experience programme based in the Kinneil Estate, in which eight unemployed people from the local area will be recruited, with the support of Falkirk Council’s Employment Training Unit, and trained for an initial six months in SQA-accredited employment skills through practical outdoor work, and will then spend 18 months employed by TCV as trainee rangers through modern apprenticeships; recognises the importance of conservation to Scotland's natural heritage and historical sites, for the benefit of local communities and supporting events and tourism in the area; commends the efforts of TCV and its partners, Falkirk Community Trust and Falkirk Council Employment and Training Unit, to improve the employment prospects of those recruited to the programme, and looks forward to seeing the benefits of the Kinneil Coastal Rangers Project in the local community.
Supported by:
Tom Arthur, Bruce Crawford, Graeme Dey, Jenny Gilruth, Clare Haughey, Bill Kidd, Richard Lyle, Fulton MacGregor, Ben Macpherson, Gillian Martin, Joan McAlpine, Ivan McKee, Stuart McMillan, Ash Regan, Stewart Stevenson, David Torrance