Prince Charles opens rebuilt hydroelectric plant in Braemar
The Prince of Wales has visited Braemar to bring a Victorian hydroelectric plant back to life
The Prince of Wales has visited Braemar to bring a Victorian hydroelectric plant back to life.
The scheme on the Corriemulzie burn was once used to generate power for the Mar Lodge, which belonged to Queen Victoria's granddaughter Louise, Princess Royal and Royal Duchess of Fife.
For the last six years, residents of the Aberdeenshire town have been working on having it rebuilt.
The development, which has been funded by around 200 investors from the town, will use water from the river to generate low-carbon electricity for the national grid and any profits made will be reinvested in the area.
Prince Charles visited the plant to meet the people who have made the development possible.
Project manager Michael Bestwick and director of Braemar Community Hydro Alistair Hubbard welcomed the prince as he arrived on site.
He then pressed a button, allowing water to flow into the turbine to signal that the initiative was well and truly complete.
The Duke of Rothesay then moved to Braemar Village Hall where he met around 40 people who had invested in the scheme.
Mr Hubbard said: It's a relief, I'm very pleased and it's great to see all the hard work done in the community come to fruition.
Having the Duke of Rothesay here to recognise the work is the icing on the cake for me.''
James Buchan, a development officer at Local Energy Scotland, identified the potential of the project from an early stage.
He said: I work at the Scottish Government's Community and Renewable Energy Scheme, we give funds at the early stage of a development and help it get planning permission.
The plant will generate 100kw and generate an income scheme for the area.
It will provide a huge amount of local benefit.
We're moving towards a system of decentralisation of energy in Scotland where more is generated locally.''
The scheme is expected to generate between #5,000 and #10,000 every year for projects in Braemar.
Doreen Wood is among those who will get the chance to decide where the money goes.
She said: I'm on the committee of Braemar Community Limited, people will apply to the hydro scheme for funds and I will get the chance to distribute them.
We're hoping to develop the play park and set up a nature trail.
Money will also go to the third age group and to lunch clubs in Braemar.
Each time the new profit comes in, anyone in the area will be able to apply.
There are a lot of community groups in Braemar, being a small place can mean it's hard to get funds so the money from the hydro will be a huge benefit.''
As His Royal Highness prepared to depart from Braemar, a group of tourists had gathered on the street hoping to catch a glimpse of him.
Two of them were married couple Tom and Karen Dumble, who had travelled from their home in Essex for a holiday in the north-east.
Mr Dumble had no idea Charles would be in the area, and he described it as one of life's moments''.
He said: It's an absolute moment of chance.
We were passing through the area and all of a sudden we saw people gathering and found out Prince Charles was here.
He's a hero of my wife's because of the work he's done in Romania, this is one of life's moments.''