The Isle of Arran Pipe Band is at the heart of the island’s traditions, carrying its music and spirit into every local gathering, parade, and celebration. 

Replacements for pipe chanters, reeds, sticks, and drum skins (£1000) ensure that the music the band produces is clear, tuneful, and powerful enough to fill the open air of island events. These items wear out quickly through constant use, and keeping them in good condition is not a luxury but a necessity. With the right equipment, the band can deliver stirring performances that honour both tradition and community pride.

Benefits for Members

• Being part of the band gives members a sense of belonging, discipline, and pride.

• It allows people of all ages to develop musical skills, teamwork, and confidence.

• For younger players, it provides mentoring from experienced musicians and a positive outlet for their energy and creativity.

• For adults, it offers a meaningful way to contribute to island life while deepening friendships and community ties.

Benefits for the Community

• The band is a source of cultural identity, keeping alive Scotland’s iconic pipe and drum traditions for future generations.

• Their performances bring people together at fairs, memorials, parades, and celebrations, turning events into moments of shared pride.

• The sound of the pipes and drums is woven into the island’s atmosphere, marking its history and seasons with music that unites residents and visitors alike.

• By nurturing local talent, the band strengthens intergenerational bonds and creates experiences that children, families, and elders all enjoy.

Supporting the hall hire and essential instrument upkeep is not just about covering costs—it is about safeguarding a living tradition and ensuring that the Isle of Arran Pipe Band continues to enrich island life with its music, spirit, and sense of togetherness.

Heather Lodge is a not-for-profit holistic therapy centre which provides a wide range of indoor and outdoor therapies, often free of charge as a result of collaboration with local charity and statutory partners. In addition to three buildings which offer working space for therapists, we maintain and run an attractive garden, featuring work spaces, patios, raised growing beds, fruit trees, flower beds, a greenhouse, a fire pit and a woodland area. The garden has recently been enhanced for disability access with the benefit of external funding. Research shows that providing outdoor well-being activities can offer multiple health benefits, particularly reducing anxiety and depression. Heather Lodge CIC has received funding from the Scottish Government’s Mental Health and Well-being Fund during the last three years. Activities in the garden include fitness training, Qi Gong, mindfulness, Shinrin Yoku, therapeutic gardening,  a women’s drumming circle, and spiritual and social gatherings. Participants describe the value of the social contact which these activities give them. Increasingly the garden is in use by clients and members of the community for personal enjoyment and relaxation. We also encourage volunteering. For the last few years we have relied on a second-hand garden table, bench and chairs which were kindly donated by well-wishers but which have now reached the end of their useful life. We want to replace these with benches, a picnic table, and some suitable garden chairs, of pressure-treated wood with a ten-year guarantee. We intend to commission and/or purchase these from local craftspeople or businesses. Anticipated costs are as follows:  Picnic Table £375; 3-seat Bench £265; x2 Chairs £360; TOTAL £1000.

Meadowbank Studio CIC will develop and deliver a series of six informal social art sessions in six different communities around Arran in the Spring of 2026 - a pilot project, with a view to expanding it into a series of similar and regular events throughout the rest of the year if additional funding can be raised from other sources.

The sessions will be delivered by island-based tutors and will be designed for over-25s who are likely to come to the events with a wide range of artistic abilities. Absolute beginners will be welcome - the key word of Arran Art 4 Us will be FUN!

Participants might try out drawing portraits of each other, painting landscapes from their photos, or even weaving patterns and pictures with wool and fabric.

Our tutors have years of experience of delivering creative activities, including Arran's 'Art in Mind' and 'Paint & Pint' - both of which encourage people to just have a go, regardless of their ability and skill level. Arran Art 4 Us will do exactly the same - it will be art for everyone and with no experience necessary!

With much of Arran's existing artistic learning provision currently based in and around Brodick (e.g. Arran Visual Arts workshops, Paint & Pint, Art in Mind) this pilot project will deliberately target the less populated smaller communities around the island, to widen access to creative opportunities. Locations for Arran Art 4 Us sessions will be Whiting Bay, Kildonan, Shiskine, Pirnmill, Lochranza and Corrie.

Each 2 hour session will be delivered for a small charge of £2 to Arran residents, with capacity for up to 15 participants per event. All materials will be provided (as well as a plentiful supply of tea and biscuits!)

Public liability insurance will be provided by Meadowbank Studio CIC. The organisation will also carry out risk assessments for each site and event. Tutors will hold appropriate accreditation for working with adults. 

Who will benefit

The project will offer opportunities for potentially 70-90 Arran residents to socialise and be creative in safe and relaxed local environments - where they can have fun without feeling intimidated by any lack of previous experience or ability. Anybody over 25 will be welcome to give it a try, even it it's mainly an excuse for a bit of socialising while they have a laugh creating something.

Arran Art 4 Us will help to make practical art more accessible to low income and isolated people who might find barriers in cost, transport or perception of 'not being an artist', and will complement the other artistic activities available on the island.

Being charged out at just £2 per person, sessions will be accessible to the majority of residents, regardless of their financial situation. We will hire local community venues which will encourage participants to walk to the sessions, and every attempt will also be made to time them to fit around bus schedules where possible. 

We believe Arran Art 4 Us has the potential to develop into an all-year-round provision, and make a real lasting contribution to reduce social isolation, grow individuals' personal confidence and wellbeing, and foster greater community interaction on the island.

Costs we are applying for

We are applying for a £939 grant towards the overall cost of £1143 to deliver the project - the remaining income will be from the £2 contributions from participants. The Meadowbank Studio team will also contribute around 30 hours of volunteer time to help organise and run the six sessions.

The main costs for delivering six sessions will be venue hire, materials, tutors' time, promotion, travel, catering. A breakdown is included in one of the attached documents for reference. 

Bowling Buddies = £149.00  This can be viewed on their website

Bowls Target Mat = £89.99  This can be view on their website

Adult Mats x 6 = £120  Photo

Jacks x 4 = £80  Photo

Gatherers X 4 = £244  Photo

Sleepers x 6 = £312  Can be viewed on the Cladach Garden Centre website

TOTAL = £994.99

The specialist Print maker would spend time servicing our printer and preparing and delivering two or three teaching sessions. Arran Visual Arts pay all tutors the Scottish Artist Union Rate of pay which is £44.90 per hour.   10 hours would therefore be £449.

We have a lot of art materials in both venues. But the starage space is a shared space, so improving the shelving would allow beetr use of all materials we have.We would either use ready made storage units or a local joiner to fit shelves in a cupboard. Ready made units are approximately £200 each and we would need 2. 

“We are awaiting a quotation from a joiner for fitted shelving, but we expect it to be in the region of £250.

The total costs will be £999”

Our project is to provide a welcoming space for local children and families to enjoy throughout the year but particulary during the bleaker winter months when isolation is a problem in rural areas. The current pool table has been damaged by the old pool cues. The wall surrounding the dart board does not have any protection and has many small dart sized holes in it. We hope to recloth our pool table, purchase new pool cues and other necessary items for playing pool and keeping the area tidy. Purchase a Bluetooth speaker to enjoy their own music in each hall, new darts for our dart baord and all the necessary items required for this. For our larger hall, the equipment to enjoy pickle ball and badminton. The halls are used by various groups for different activities, it would be nice to tidy up the spaces for all that use them, while our pool table and dart board can remain out looking neat and tidy while our knitting group or coffee morning team are using the space they are not sitting with damaged walls and pool cues lying out, we are limited for space to keep the place tidy for all. 

 AMAZON - Pool cues 4ft x 3 £34.10, 6 x 57' Pool cues + Spare tips £64.25, Pool Chalk 12 cubes £7.98, Extendable pool cue rest £10.66, Pool cue wall holder £24.89, Pool table cloth £28.89, Pool table cover £17.99

Amazon - Cork Dart Board Surround/wall protector £88.95, Darts sets x 4 £14.99, Dart Board Counter £25.95, Darts Oche mat £39.99

Amazon - Bluetooth Speaker with Karaoke for larger hall  £137.19  Bluetooth wireless speaker for smaller hall £39.99

Decathlon - Pickle Ball set and net £259.99

Decathlon - Badminton set £74.99

Decathlon - Voli Racket sets £55.96

TOTAL COST £926.76

This project will purchase tools, seeds, compost and fruit trees to support food production across Arran communitiess. By investing in quality, durable equipment and quality organic and heirloom seed varieties, we'll continue to support more residents to grow their own food, reduce grocery costs and improve access to fresh, healthy produce.

Specific Costs We're Applying For:

• Compost: £200 (we make a our own compost and supplement this with high quality bought compost from Dalefoot composts. the amount bought has reduced year on year)
• Seeds for 2026 season: £200 (From high quality suppliers, Seeds of Scotland, Tamar Organics, Scotia Seeds, Vital Seeds, Real Seeds Company)
• Fruit trees and soft fruit plants: £400 (From RV Roger in Yorkshire and Drumfearn Trees in Skye)
• General garden tools and ongoing maintenance: £200 (bought locally or from online suppliers)
• Total: £1,000

Who Will Benefit: All people who use the community gardens, from regular volunteers who grow food throughout the season, to people who enjoy the produce or occasional visitors to the gardens. Tools and supplies will be stored at each community garden for use by their volunteer groups. Fruit trees provide long-term benefit, producing food for future years whilst improving local biodiversity. Why This Deserves Funding: This project addresses multiple Locality PB themes:

Cost of Living: Growing your own food significantly reduces grocery bills - particularly important on an island where food costs are higher due to transport. 

Health & Wellbeing: Home-grown food provides better nutrition and the physical activity of gardening improves fitness and mental health. Gardening also connects people with nature and provides stress relief, and provides opportunity to connect with other people.

Building Community Spirit: The gardens create connections between islanders  and sharing knowledge and experience about growing creates stronger community bonds.

Green Projects: Local food production reduces food miles and plastic packaging waste. Diverse seed varieties support biodiversity and climate resilience.

The project helps to build sustainable systems and build knowledge throughout the community. This creates lasting impact beyond the initial funding.

We would spend the award on the provision of the lunch at the venue. We expect 100 guests and anticipate cost of £25.00 per head.

We are a constituted body, that has been providing outings and lunches for over 50 years, promoting community spirt , positive mental health and well being.

Creating opportunities for young children (aged 4-8 years) on Arran to discover tennis is a key goal of Brodick Tennis Club. With funding from the Lawn Tennis Association’s (LTA) Parks Tennis Fund, we’ve resurfaced our three courts and are nearing completion of this project. While waiting for the courts to be ready, many of our primary school teachers have completed a CPD tennis module delivered by Tennis Scotland so as to be able to actively promote tennis activities within their schools.  We now also have a new group of LTA qualified Assistant Coaches who are eager to share their skills and enthusiasm with local children. Children as young as four can participate in tennis activities. To launch children’s tennis sessions on the island, we now seek funding for the essential equipment needed to introduce tennis to this age group.

The club is seeking funding to purchase age-appropriate tennis equipment that helps young children develop the key hand-eye coordination and movement skills tennis requires, all while having lots of fun. Research from the LTA shows that early enjoyment and success are critical to long-term participation. By providing properly sized and learning stage appropriate racquets, nets, and balls, as well as fun training tools like hoops, cones, and bean bags, we aim to create a positive, confidence-building environment for young players.

We are seeking funding for the following core equipment:

Red stage balls suitable for children aged 5-8 years (n=72) £86, foam balls for children aged 4+ (n=48) £104, pop up nets x 3 £300, 19” tennis rackets x 10 £159.90, 21” tennis rackets x 10 £159.90, mini cones (set of 4) x 3 £45, set of 6 hoops (50cm diameter) x 4 £84, set of 24 bean bags x 2 £60 

Total requested = £998.80

Having the appropriate equipment for our youngest learners will also help the club to be inclusive, removing barriers of expensive and multi-stage equipment costs to families on the island, and enabling every child aged 4-8 years who would like to explore the game of tennis to get the chance to do so. Tennis is a challenging sport for our children to learn, but provides multiple potential benefits of physical activity, complex coordination and motor skills, confidence-building, and the mental and social skills offered by tennis being both an individual and team sport. We hope to use our island’s new playing spaces and trained coaches to help create a community of enthusiastic young tennis learners, contributing both to their physical and mental wellbeing.

This project focuses on improving well-being though physical and mental exercise in a friendly and supportive environment. While we have a few games already, we are seeking to expand our library of age and mobility appropriate activities that promote physical movement and help our members maintain dexterity, movement and thinking skills. This also encourages team working and can be very competitive! We are supported in this by engaging  2 local practicioners for chair based yoga and relaxation/ sound bath therapies.  Our members have greatly enjoyed these and found great benefits in them. 

The associated costs of this are:

Arm chair yoga instructor: 1 session each quarter @ £60; total £240

Relaxation/ sound bath therapist: 1 session; total £60

Subscription to 'Golden Carers' respurce pack for activities, games etc; £50

Games and activities:

New Age Boccia set £175

Boccia targets to go with set: £104

High score wedge activity game: £145

Tabel Boccia and target board: £125

Portabel Cornhole game: £35

Traditional dominoes sets (2): £20

Trinimoes set: £24

total: £978