Windfarm benefit fund to donate to MRI appeal

The Shetland Community Benefit Fund will donate £200,000 to the MRI scanner appeal.

The directors of the fund, set up to redirect money from the Viking Energy windfarm project to charitable causes, announced their intention to make the one-off donation to community councils on Monday.

Chairman Chris Bunyan said the MRI scanner was of “vital importance” to hundreds of Shetlanders, and added directors had agreed that the appeal would be a good use of their funds.

Viking and SSE have agreed to pay out an advanced core payment to the fund for the donation, despite core payments of around £2.2 million a year only being due to start after construction of the windfarm has been completed.

The donation from the benefit fund will take the MRI appeal to within £100,000 of its eventual target, following a donation of £500,000 from the Shetland Charitable Trust last month.