A new park in Uphall is set to transform football pitches and empty space into an attractive garden environment for its neighbours.
West Lothian Council has been awarded over £90,000 from a national nature fund to improve the environment towards developing a local park at Wyndford Avenue in Uphall.
The development marks a turning away from the 1960s concept of vast featureless grassy areas peppered with "No ball games" signs alongside designated sports pitches.
Investment in a ‘green recovery’ is now thought to be the most cost-effective way of making communities sustainable and more resilient, while driving economic development.
The money has been awarded from the Scottish Government's Nature Restoration Fund.
The council is also investing £100,000 in developer contributions toward the new park, along with a further £20,000 from Scotland Loves Local fund, taking the total cost to over £210,000.
Executive councillor for the Environment Tom Conn said: “We are delighted to work with the Nature Restoration Fund and Scotland Loves Local to deliver another fantastic new park in West Lothian.
“The former open space site off Wyndford Avenue will be revamped following extensive consultations with the local community. We’ve been working in partnership with Green Action Trust to develop the project and they will also project manage all the construction works.
“The new park will include landscaping with paths and seats, tree and bulb planting and small football goals. It will also have a new rain garden feature, designed to enhance biodiversity and delay the flow of water from the park into the drainage system when it rains heavily.
“I’m confident the new park will be a fantastic amenity for the local community when complete in Spring 2022, as well as encouraging biodiversity.”
The Nature Restoration Fund supports a range of urban, rural, marine and coastal focused projects to address the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change. It specifically encourages applicants with projects to increase the biodiversity and environmental value of land and sea, with a focus on habitats and species, and supporting green skills, training and jobs where possible.
Through this approach, successful projects will contribute to the green recovery as the country emerges from Covid-19 and work towards a nature rich future.
The new park is one of 54 successful projects across Scotland to share the additional £5million committed in this round of the Nature Restoration Fund. The projects will take practical steps to improve natural habitats, safeguard plant and animal species and improve biodiversity.
Biodiversity Minister, Lorna Slater, said: “Too much of Scotland’s natural environment is degraded after years of over-exploitation, but this Government is committed to restoring nature and our wildlife.
“The Nature Restoration Fund will play a big role in delivering these aspirations, and the projects we are funding today are just the beginning. The Fund kick-starts a new approach, supporting longer-term, larger, landscape-scale projects across Scotland - on land and at sea - that address the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change.”
NatureScot Chief Executive, Francesca Osowska, said: “COP26 in Glasgow has driven home the urgency of the situation we are all facing. But there is hope. By restoring nature, protecting and enhancing habitats and safeguarding marine life we can look forward to a nature-positive future.
“Scotland is taking action now to meet the huge challenges and pressures that nature is facing and its projects like these that will make the difference and set us on the road to recovery.
“Climate change needs nature-based solutions, not only to help us reach net zero by 2045 but to create a healthier, more resilient Scotland.”
