Volunteers behind The People’s Project provided another milestone this week in the quest to return Castledykes Park in Dumfries back to its former glory.
Local schools had called for a shelter to be provided and Wednesday saw the official opening of an impressive new redwood structure.
It has seats both inside and out to accommodate fairly large groups of people and is served by a pathway which allows wheelchair access.
Anne Simpson, who has been instrumental in the rejuvenation of Castledykes, said: “The shelter is a fantastic addition to this wonderful old park and it feels as though it already ‘belongs’ here.
“We are very grateful to Croma Vigilant who have sponsored a CCTV system and will be keeping an eye on the shelter from their control room in Dumfries and David Hardie of Hardie Engineering who installed the pathway up to and around the shelter in double quick time.
“We would also like to thank everyone who has made this project possible.”
Paul Williamson of Croma Vigilant said: “It was necessary to take some extra security measures to protect the shelter from falling foul of vandalism or any other antisocial behaviour.
“We are delighted to be able to give something back to the community that ensures we can all enjoy this beautiful, new facility.”
Pupils from Brownhall and St Michael’s Primary School were at the launch, along with council staff who work collaboratively at Castledykes with the People’s Project.
The next project, funded by Tesco, is to install five posts with magnifying glasses to allow small objects such as leaves and insects to be examined in close detail.
“Many towns in Scotland would love to have three beautiful parks side by side. Dumfries is very lucky.”
