Braeport Renewable Energy Project

The Braeport Centre has been at the heart of Dunblane for over 130 years, starting life as the Dunblane Public School, whose three classrooms held up to 90 pupils. The school was closed in the 1960s, when a large modern school was built on the other western side of town, Dunblane Primary School. In 1993, the building became a community centre run by Stirling Council. Then, in 2017 the building was taken into community ownership and run by the Dunblane Development Trust. This old school building is in need of some enhancements to allow it to continue to serve the needs of our local community. The plans we poured our efforts into pre covid, have had to be scaled back for now, whilst we cope with the disruptions to our income and the funding landscape, caused by the pandemic. We might have to wait a while longer for a wonderful social area, sparkling kitchen, new toilets and office space, but in the meantime, we’re focusing on projects which are achievable and will have a long-term benefit to the building and community. Introducing the Braeport Renewable Energy Project What we can do now, is upgrade the heating system in the building, by replacing the old, inefficient boiler with an air source heat pump and solar panels. Some electricity is needed to run the heat pumps, so we are looking to install solar panels on the rear side of the building, protecting the roadside views. Benefits Reasons for installing a renewable energy generation system: • Reduce the total cost of running the Braeport Centre • Much more energy efficient than a boiler system • Modern, low carbon heating system • Make our contribution to Scotland’s net zero targets Raising funds The total cost of the project is estimated at £110,000. This includes the air source heat pumps, the solar panels and work needed on the building and roof to allow for installation. We have received funding from Local Energy Scotland towards the cost of the air source heat pumps and the solar panels. We are also applying for other funds to contribute to the cost. We are asking the community to help us achieve our target by donating via our Kindlink page. Our target amount is £7,500. This will ensure the project can be successfully completed.