Communities near Dounreay socio economic support
Information on the socio economic work being carried out by Dounreay and the funding available.
Documents
Details
The closure of Dounreay has the potential to result in major social and economic challenges for the area. Dounreay mitigates the impact of these challenges by working in partnership and directly with the community to develop and support initiatives which build on the economic stability the decommissioning programme provides.
In delivering the Dounreay decommissioning programme:
The largest socio economic impact provided by Dounreay comes from the nominal £200 million a year the NDA allocates to decommission the site. A significant part of this is spent in the local economy through salaries and the purchase of goods and services.
Dounreay employs around 1,300 staff and an additional 700 workers at the site employed through the supply chain.
A significant amount of the expenditure on goods and services is with companies within Caithness and north Sutherland. Around one third of Dounreay supply chain spend is with Small and Medium size Enterprises (SMEs) providing them an opportunity for sustainable growth in existing and emerging sectors.
Resources
The NDA is required under The Energy Act 2004 to consider the socio economic impacts of decommissioning on local communities. Dounreay works with the NDA in this regard to support the delivery of socio economic activities through partnerships and direct funding opportunities.
Partnerships
Dounreay and the NDA are both members of Focus North, an informal partnership created to deliver initiatives in the north mainland of Scotland with a focus on economic growth.
For further information see the Focus North website.
The aim is to align the NDA and Dounreay’s socio economic activities with Focus North, to maximise the combined partner resources and ensure a consistent approach to capturing opportunities in the Dounreay area.
NDA and Dounreay direct funding
In addition to direct NDA socio economic funding, Dounreay has an annual budget for socio economic grant funding of £500,000 a proportion of which is allocated through the Dounreay Communities Fund for awards up to £5,000.
Details of the NDA funding for socio economic projects along with grant funding guidance, can be found on the NDA website.
Application form for NDA or Dounreay socio economic funding.
If you wish to discuss a potential application before submitting please email socio.economic@dounreay.com