A COMMUNITY garden in South Lanarkshire has opened its doors after almost a year of groundwork and development.
Local MP Dr Lisa Cameron cut the ribbon to open the ‘Garden of Hope’ at The Hope Hub’s event last month, which featured guest appearances from a host of community members and local councillors.
The Hope Hub, in Kirkmuirhill, was able to create the valuable community garden space after being awarded a £12,500 grant from Banks Renewables’ Kype Muir Wind Farm community fund
This is a community-led benefit fund which brings positive economic, social and environmental change to the local area.
The project also received funding from the Renewable Energy Fund (REF) grant from South Lanarkshire Council and Hamilton-based Banks Renewables.
The garden – which features a polytunnel, raised beds, vegetable patches and is awaiting the delivery of 10 fruit trees – will be open for leisurely visits as well as hosting gardening clubs and expert workshops.
Willie Moyes, a volunteer with The Hope Hub, said: “To have opened this incredible facility is a culmination of a lot of hard work from volunteers and partners alike and it is a proud moment for us to have officially launched the garden.
“The garden really is for anyone and everyone so to bring this facility to life is extremely rewarding and we are hoping it will add an abundance of value to the surrounding area.”
The Hope Hub was founded in 2014 when the Hope Church (Blackwood and Kirkmuirhill) was established.
In 2016 it acquired its current premises, the former Blackwood Care Home.
Its dedicated volunteers have transformed the building and grounds into a multi-use community hub facility which features the brand new ‘Garden of Hope’.
Dr Lisa Cameron MP, who officially launched the garden, said: “I was delighted to officially open the Hope Hub Garden which will offer wellbeing support to our local community alongside sustainability for the future.
“I want to thank the Hope Church and Banks Renewables for their vision and hard work on delivering this invaluable project benefitting constituents.”
The ‘Garden of Hope’ has big ambitions, with plans to use the space to offer training and support to those struggling with addiction as well as offer coffee mornings and afternoon tea for the elderly.
Banks Renewables established the Kype Muir Community Fund in 2019 when the wind farm first started producing green electricity and since then, Banks has contributed over £130,000 annually to the fund.
A community-led panel makes recommendations on applications for grants to be awarded to support local groups and projects within 10 kilometres of the wind farm.
Robin Winstanley, sustainability and external affairs manager at Banks Renewables said: “For Banks Renewables, it was important to support such a unique and worthy project which will bring so much to the local community.
“This is yet another brilliant example of a valuable initiative coming to life through the Kype Muir Community Fund and we’re over the moon to see the garden officially open for people in the area.”
The fund is part of Banks Renewables’ Connect2Renewables initiative, in which the firm commits to maximising the economic, social and infrastructure benefits of all its wind farms in South Lanarkshire.
Kype Muir and Kype Muir extension are set to deliver community benefits equating to more than £700,000 made available to surrounding communities each year.
The 41 turbines of Kype Muir and Kype Muir extension will have a combined generation capacity of over 150MW of electricity per annum.
This is enough to meet the electricity needs of over 100,000 homes, or a city larger than Aberdeen.
