Gold-in-the-park for the re-birth of Castlebank

And the people of Forth and Dalserf have also been officially recognised for their efforts to give their villages an environmental facelift.

This was the triple victory our area enjoyed at last Thursday’s Beautiful Scotland Awards, the annual contest to find and reward the country’s best community self-improvement projects.

The Lanark in Bloom group is now celebrating its Gold Award for its long-running project to save Lanark’s Castlebank Park from decades of neglect and restore it to its former glory; more than a decade ago over 2000 Gazette readers signed our petition calling for such action and now it is steadily becoming a reality.

In partnership with Lanark in Bloom, Lanark Community Development Trust are working to

breathe new life into the park with the help of a dedicated team of volunteers. The derelict former sawmills and tennis court site has been developed into a Horticultural Training Centre and work is nearing completion of a new Community Hub building. Volunteers have dedicated thousands of hours to transform various areas of

the park for the pleasure and use of the local community, including the Wallace Rose Garden, Fairy Dell and Bog Garden.

There were also Silver Gilt Awards for the efforts of both the Flourishing Forth and Dalserf Garden Club in making their villages brighter and better places in which to live.

Pete Leonard, Operations Director, of Keep Scotland Beautiful, commented: “Now in its 52nd year, Beautiful Scotland continues to provide the opportunity to celebrate the achievements of Scotland’s volunteers, local authority staff and businesses and to recognise the tireless efforts of communities across the country who

work to clean up, green up and beautify Scotland’s villages, towns and cities.”