Scottish Canals, in partnership with principal contractor Mackenzie Construction Ltd, has begun a programme of works on the Forth and Clyde Canal.

The programme is the largest undertaken on the canal in decades. To give back to the local community during the works programme, Scottish Canals is opening a community fund to support local groups, organisations and communities in the Falkirk District area, the Falkirk Flight Community Fund.

Applicants can apply for a small grant of up to £1,000 to support their activity, or obtain an allocation of workdays from the Mackenzie Construction team, who will deliver work in kind (with previous examples including, but not limited to, landscaping for schools and hospitals, and community clean-ups).

The fund is wholly managed by Mackenzie Construction, with the deadline for applications at 12pm on Friday 20 June 2025.

From Scottish Canals:

“It has been 25 years since the historic Millennium Link Project re-opened and revitalised Scotland’s Lowland canals. The oak lock gates installed at that time are approaching the end of their operational lifetimes and need to be replaced.

“Scottish Canals is investing more than £3.5 million in replacing 10 lock gates and conducting other essential maintenance work along the Falkirk Flight of the Canal throughout 2025 and early 2026. This work is needed to ensure the Canal can remain open, safe and navigable for another 25 years and beyond.

Comprising a fifth of Scotland’s water, Scottish Canals’ network of canals and reservoirs play a variety of roles in the life of local communities. They are vital blue-green corridors running through our towns and cities, providing a rich urban ecosystem, opportunities for culture and tourism, as well as space for people to pursue active travel and leisure.”

Fund Eligibility

The fund application criteria for awarding funds or workdays is as follows:

Applicants should be not-for-profit groups, community groups or local organisations.
Proposed projects must be within Falkirk District, with preference given to those that have relevance to the canal network, and/or are located in the areas nearest to this year’s programme of works from locks 3 – 16 (namely Falkirk West, particularly Camelon and Tamfourhill).
Projects should contribute to the local community in one (or several) of the following ways (weighting will be given to projects which show the strongest relevance to one or more of these criteria):
- bringing people together to build strong relationships in and across communities
- improving the places and spaces that matter to communities by making them safer, healthier, sustainable, and more accessible
- helping more people to reach their potential by supporting them at the earliest possible stage
- supporting people, communities and organisations facing more demands and challenges because of the cost of living crisis

How to Apply and Further Information

To apply, please download and complete the application form as a Word document (linked for your convenience) and return before the deadline by email: falkirkflight@mackenzieconstruction.com

Alternatively, for further information, or to request the application form in another format (or discuss any other communication support needs), please contact Mackenzie Construction by email: falkirkflight@mackenzieconstruction.com