WightSAR, the Island’s volunteer search and rescue organisation, are benefiting to the tune of £20,000 thanks to the latest round of community resilience funding by Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN).
The SSEN Resilient Communities Fund is awarding nearly £200,000 to the groups across its network area in central southern England, with individual awards of up to £20,000 for projects that will help protect the welfare of those most vulnerable, enhance community facilities or improve communication during an emergency weather event.
Decisions for funding awards are made by a panel of representatives from the Environment Agency, British Red Cross and National Energy Action. The awards are selected to represent the specific needs of individual communities.
WightSAR will be using the £20,000 to purchase a specialist 4×4 vehicle. The 4×4 will have a primary purpose of transportation of search team members and equipment to remote areas, but will also be used for casualty extraction when necessary. In times of adverse weather conditions, WightSAR face difficulties in not having a 4×4 should the team need to be deployed to a search – this is the time when the volunteers are most likely to be called, so having a 4×4 available will ensure a 24/7 capability, whatever the weather.
In addition to their day-to-day role, WightSAR are part of the Isle of Wight Emergency Resilience Forum with a momendrum of understanding that allows the team to be deployed by the Isle of Wight Council when there is a concern for human welfare, whatever the situation. Part of this role is to assist the NHS staff and patients in adverse weather and conducting welfare checks on those who live in isolated rural areas.
WightSAR also cover emergency helicopter landing sites across the Island for the Ministry of Defence and the Isle of Wight Ambulance Service. This means that volunteers can be deployed at very short notice to prepare a site ready for aircraft landing. The 4×4 vehicle will have the necessary equipment on board to set up a cordon and prepare the site.
Lisa Doogan, Director of Customer Relationship Management for SSEN said:
“Since the inception of the fund four years ago, I’ve been thrilled to see the diverse nature of the applications that we receive and the determination of the recipients of the awards to improve the lives of those who live and work in their communities.
“At SSEN, we work all year round to ensure we’re prepared for the high winds, snow, flooding and lightning that our weather can bring and one of our key aims is to help our customers and communities prepare for these possibilities and strengthen their resilience too.
“By making these funding awards to communities, SSEN is empowering them to equip themselves and prepare for adverse weather events; reflecting our own message that we are always prepared and there to help our customers.”
Dean Terrett, Chairman of Isle of Wight Search and Rescue has said:
“We are delighted to receive this generous grant from SSEN, which will allow us to purchase a 4×4 vehicle that will be of great benefit to the Island’s community and will further improve the capabilities of our search team.
“The addition of this vehicle will allow us to be more efficient enabling us to access rural locations with our search assets and ultimately this will mean saving more lives.”
Set up in 2014 as a 2-year pilot scheme, SSEN has pledged to extend the fund to 2023 using a proportion of the income it receives from the industry regulator Ofgem in relation to its stakeholder engagement performance. Based on 2015/16 figures, this would allow funding in the region of £2mILLION to be distributed to community-led groups and charities in central southern England over the 6-year period.
SSEN’s Resilient Communities Fund will re-open for applications in the spring of 2019. To find out more about the fund, please visit the website: www.ssen.co.uk/Resiliencefund/.
