Extra funding for Galloway and Southern Ayrshire UNESCO Biosphere set to be approved
dailyrecord.co.ukExtra funding for the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire UNESCO Biosphere is set to be approved next week. Members of the council’s finance, procurement and transformation committee will be asked to give the organisation an additional £10,000 in each of the next five years.
That comes on top of the £20,000 already approved by the economy and resources committee. Biosphere status was granted by UNESCO 10 years ago with a decision on a periodic review due in the summer.
The submitted document includes plans to extend the boundary to cover Stranraer and the Rhins of Galloway. A report for Tuesday’s meeting reveals the biosphere team estimate their operating costs for 202/23 to be around £570,000 – the majority for 11 full-time equivalent posts – rising to £629,000 by 2027/28.
With South of Scotland Enterprise likely to reduce its contribution, the biosphere’s strategic plan for the next decade has “identified the need to secure sources of future funding to reduce reliance on the public sector partners”.
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