Latest news with #DianeCooper
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
More SC homeowners can get state aid to protect roofs from hurricane damage
Aerial view in worker hands installing bitumen roof shingles with air hammer and nail. (File photo by Getty Images) COLUMBIA — The state is pumping millions into a program that allows coastal South Carolinians to strengthen their roofs against hurricanes and other high wind events. The SC Safe Home grant program aims to protect homes against natural disasters, in turn lowering their insurance costs. The state Department of Insurance normally awards about $3.5 million annually to homeowners, spokesperson Diane Cooper told the SC Daily Gazette. But the Legislature provided a big boost in the budget that takes effect July 1: An additional $5.5 million will more than double the grants to $8.9 million in the upcoming fiscal year. The boost comes as federal forecasters predict above-normal activity this hurricane season, which started June 1 and extends through Nov. 30. 'One of the major complaints I hear from my constituents is the rise in insurance premiums for wind and hail, or hurricane floods,' Sen. Tom Davis told the Gazette. 'I'm always looking for ways that we can try to control the site and insurance premiums.' The Beaufort Republican is one of the program's original backers, pushing for its creation during his tenure as Gov. Mark Sanford's chief of staff. Since its 2007 inception, the Safe Homes program has doled out more than 8,000 state-funded grants worth a total of $40.7 million to homeowners looking to reinforce their homes. Homeowners can get SC grants to strengthen roofs, windows against hurricane damage This fiscal year, 598 grants worth up to $7,500 were awarded. The vast majority of homeowners use the money to retrofit their roof. Homeowners can also get up to $3,000 to install hurricane shutters. In all, they report saving 24% on their insurance premiums, according to the state Department of Insurance's 2024 annual report. With the Legislature providing more money for the program, more houses can be retrofitted. Of the additional $5.5 million, only $2.5 million is recurring, meaning it will continue in future budgets indefinitely. That's enough for roughly 250 grants annually. The $3 million in one-time aid will boost the total additional grants to an estimated 650 in 2025-26, Cooper said. The actual number of grants may be higher, depending on whether the agency needs to hire people — and if so, how many — to handle the additional workload, she said. Regardless of the exact number of grants, it should be enough to prove the program lowers costs, Davis said. He hopes legislators then turn the full $5.5 million into a recurring item in the budget. 'If our assumptions are correct and that retrofitting leads to a decrease in people's premiums, that one-time money could be made recurring,' said Davis, chairman of the Senate Finance subcommittee for natural resources and economic development. According to the National Institute of Building Sciences, the nation saves $6 in future 'disaster costs' for every $1 spent on mitigation. The program, started in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, awards grants based on the homeowner's income. Following Katrina and other hurricanes that hit the Gulf in Texas, insurers started refusing to cover hurricane-related wind and hail damage along the coast. The 2007 Coastal Property Insurance Reform Act was legislators' response. Since 2012, the number of companies writing property insurance policies has increased by more than 100, according to the Department of Insurance's annual report. In addition to the roof retrofits, the state also provides income tax credits to homeowners who fortify their property, worth a combined $2,500. Since the grants don't cover the entire retrofitting costs, the tax credits further help make the projects affordable, Davis said. The head of the insurance agency credits Davis for the budget boost. He's 'been a tireless advocate for strengthening coastal resilience and protecting South Carolina families,' Michael Wise, the agency's director, said in a news release. 'His leadership was critical in making this additional funding a reality, and we are grateful for his commitment to mitigation and public safety.'
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Old laundry facelift could be complete in two years
A £15m transformation of an old laundry at a former psychiatric hospital in southern Scotland could be completed in two years. Investors are being sought to support the creation of a visitor learning centre on the Crichton Estate in Dumfries. The project would see the old Merrick laundry converted into a facility celebrating the pioneering mental health work carried out on the site. It would also document the history of the Scottish Women's Institute (SWI) which is a partner with the Crichton Trust in the project. The winning design for the centre was selected in 2023 with plans drawn up by Glasgow-based O'DonnellBrown Architects seeing off nearly 70 other entries. The project has since been expanded to include the SWI. The Crichton Estate dates back to the Victorian age when an "Institution for Lunatics" was founded on the site. Health services continued to be provided until the 1980s when the NHS declared it surplus to requirements. Many of its buildings have already been converted to educational or business purposes and now the old laundry is also in line for an overhaul. SWI chief executive Diane Cooper said her organisation - previously known as the Scottish Women's Rural Institute (SWRI) - had a rich history it hoped could be honoured in Dumfries. "The SWI has a huge heritage and its stories have never been told," she said. "We have an abundance of documents from its inception in 1917 and it's really important to safeguard these, to protect them. "But, actually, it's really good to use them to inspire the future generation. "So, the visitor learning centre will provide us with an opportunity to have multiple collections of the past - but obviously to educate the future as well." More stories from South Scotland Listen to news from Dumfries and Galloway on BBC Sounds She said they had looked at other locations but found the plans of the Crichton Trust were a really good fit with what they were looking for. In addition, she said she hoped it could be achieved relatively quickly. "I think you've got to have some sort of time scale to work to," she said. "It all depends on funding and if we can secure funding, with a drive and a focus, it can happen. I'm sticking with 2027." Her opposite number with the Crichton Trust, Gwilym Gibbons, said he hoped they could create something pretty special with a "deep retrofit" of the building. "It's a building that's very different to the other buildings on the estate," he said. "Our sandstone buildings are listed buildings but it is a building that has a place in many people's hearts - people who worked in there. "People will be able to connect with the history they might have had with the laundry in the past, but we'll create something that's really special." He said the building could be of "international architectural merit". Mr Gibbons said he would not commit to an opening date but added they were at a "critical moment" and he hoped that by 2027 or 2028 the building could be transformed. Among the most interested followers of the project will be Morag Blair from Stirling. Her great-grandmother, suffragette Catherine Blair, founded the SWRI more than a century ago. She said she saw "synergies" between the Crichton Trust and that organisation. "Catherine Blair started the SWI as a place for rural women to get together and get away from their 14 children and their running damp walls, and have some time together, for social connections and to do art," she said. "That was really good for their well-being as well. "She was really about empowering women and used art as well for that purpose as well as for their own happiness and colour in their lives." She said there were a lot of connections with work to improve mental health that her great-granny would have been pleased to see. Ms Blair said she thought she would be "very happy" but also "totally surprised" that the organisation she had set up was still on the go with lots of people trying to take it forward, while also celebrating its past. Winning design for laundry's £15m revamp revealed
BBC News
10-03-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Old Dumfries laundry facelift could be complete in two years
A £15m transformation of an old laundry at a former psychiatric hospital in southern Scotland could be completed in two are being sought to support the creation of a visitor learning centre on the Crichton Estate in project would see the old Merrick laundry converted into a facility celebrating the pioneering mental health work carried out on the would also document the history of the Scottish Women's Institute (SWI) which is a partner with the Crichton Trust in the project. The winning design for the centre was selected in 2023 with plans drawn up by Glasgow-based O'DonnellBrown Architects seeing off nearly 70 other project has since been expanded to include the Crichton Estate dates back to the Victorian age when an "Institution for Lunatics" was founded on the services continued to be provided until the 1980s when the NHS declared it surplus to of its buildings have already been converted to educational or business purposes and now the old laundry is also in line for an overhaul. SWI chief executive Diane Cooper said her organisation - previously known as the Scottish Women's Rural Institute (SWRI) - had a rich history it hoped could be honoured in Dumfries."The SWI has a huge heritage and its stories have never been told," she said."We have an abundance of documents from its inception in 1917 and it's really important to safeguard these, to protect them."But, actually, it's really good to use them to inspire the future generation."So, the visitor learning centre will provide us with an opportunity to have multiple collections of the past - but obviously to educate the future as well." She said they had looked at other locations but found the plans of the Crichton Trust were a really good fit with what they were looking addition, she said she hoped it could be achieved relatively quickly."I think you've got to have some sort of time scale to work to," she said."It all depends on funding and if we can secure funding, with a drive and a focus, it can happen. I'm sticking with 2027." Her opposite number with the Crichton Trust, Gwilym Gibbons, said he hoped they could create something pretty special with a "deep retrofit" of the building."It's a building that's very different to the other buildings on the estate," he said."Our sandstone buildings are listed buildings but it is a building that has a place in many people's hearts - people who worked in there."People will be able to connect with the history they might have had with the laundry in the past, but we'll create something that's really special."He said the building could be of "international architectural merit".Mr Gibbons said he would not commit to an opening date but added they were at a "critical moment" and he hoped that by 2027 or 2028 the building could be transformed. Among the most interested followers of the project will be Morag Blair from great-grandmother, suffragette Catherine Blair, founded the SWRI more than a century said she saw "synergies" between the Crichton Trust and that organisation."Catherine Blair started the SWI as a place for rural women to get together and get away from their 14 children and their running damp walls, and have some time together, for social connections and to do art," she said."That was really good for their well-being as well."She was really about empowering women and used art as well for that purpose as well as for their own happiness and colour in their lives."She said there were a lot of connections with work to improve mental health that her great-granny would have been pleased to Blair said she thought she would be "very happy" but also "totally surprised" that the organisation she had set up was still on the go with lots of people trying to take it forward, while also celebrating its past.
