Boosting community and personal resilience in rural Aberdeenshire

Lumsden Community Association recently hosted an evening devoted to community and personal resilience.

The event at Lumsden Village Hall was well attended.

The well-attended meeting in the Village Hall saw a number of speakers take the floor, and following a series of informative presentations, a wide range of questions and topics were raised by a community keen to increase its readiness ahead of any potential winter storms.

While the focus of their presentations was very much on the future, both Shona Horn, SSEN Distribution’s Community Relationship Manager and Neil Cameron, Emergency Planning Officer at Aberdeenshire Council, referred to the unprecedented events that followed Storms Arwen, Malik and Corrie last winter as examples of why we all need to be as prepared as possible – both at a community level as well as in our personal lives.

Following Shona and Neil, and building on the theme of preparedness, Alastair Rhind from Lumsden Community Association explained more about the £19,500 funding that they’ve received from SSEN Distribution’s Resilient Communities Fund, outlining plans for how best to use the money, as well as offering residents the chance to share their thoughts.

Alastair said: "We were delighted that so many of our community came along to the Lumsden resilience information event, it’s great to see that there are so many people willing to get involved. We’re so grateful to SSEN for their advice and support, and the funding will make a big difference in preparing us individually and collectively.”

Speaking after the event, Shona said: “There’s clearly a passion in Lumsden for everyone to be as prepared as possible in case we ever see a repeat of last winter’s storms – which is a great example of where our new Home Emergency Plan comes in to its own.

“The Home Emergency Plan is a simple but vital tool to help you get prepared for an emergency situation, such as a power cut. It means that all the important contact information and actions you need to take are kept together in one handy place, making life easier in an emergency situation, allowing you to respond safely and quickly.

“We were also able to share advice about our free Priority Services Register which offers help and support to our customers who need it most when the power is off.”