Land in Greenock transformed into green space by residents

The gates of the brand-new Caddlehill Community Green Space will be thrown open for the first time today at a special launch event celebrating the efforts of the neighbours and residents who helped bring it back into use.

Since getting the keys to the plot last year, the team has worked around the clock to tidy up the area and make it a soothing spot for locals to enjoy nature.

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The new look green space already has a secret garden, a bug hotel and benches for visitors to sit and take everything in.

There are also plans to put in picnic tables and an outdoor library.

Morag Paul, chair of Caddlehill Community Green Space, told the Telegraph it had been amazing to watch the transformation take place.

She said: “It was conversations between people who live around here that started all this.

“We got together as a constituted community group, put in applications and got a lot of advice from the councils on how to go about it.

“It was people power really, this has all been a big team effort.

“This is all about community engagement, we’ve created something everyone can enjoy.

“It’s been amazing seeing people coming out of their houses since we opened the gates which was two weeks ago.

“One thing we haven’t done here that other community gardens have done is that we’re not currently looking to grow vegetables.

“That might come later but at the moment it’s a space where people can come and enjoy it.

“They can meet together or bring their morning paper and a coffee and have a seat.

“It’s going to be open during daylight hours and we have several people who’ll keep an eye on the gates.

“We want to say thank you to the council for trusting us with this space.

“I think this has been even more of a community effort than we ever hoped.”

The land had previously been home to social enterprise InWork and before that it had simply been an empty area of land which local children referred to as ‘the gardeners’.

A launch event is taking place at the garden from 10:30 today, with local councillor Elizabeth Robertson coming along to officially open the space.

There will be live music and refreshments, as well as an opportunity for those attending to look around the new community space.

Resident and group member Yvonne Lyon said the creation of the outdoor area was a testament to the hard work of all its volunteers and sponsors.

She said: “From the very beginning we’ve tried to engage with everyone, because it’s about everyone that lives here and in the surrounding area getting an input.

“It was very important to consult people and let them know what was going on.

“I think people have been worried at times about what it’s going to be but we’ve stuck to our approach of keeping it simple because we don’t have a lot of funding and we don’t want people to be anxious about it.

“We’d love to have events here in the future and we’d love to engage with Ardgowan Primary as well, they’ve expressed an interest.

“We really want people to be able to use the space and connect.

“We’re so excited to have so many people getting involved and sharing their ideas for the space.

“There were a lot of people that supported us, like BEP Signs, the Ripping Router and Clyde Tool Hire.

“We also have local sponsors from all over Inverclyde who have helped us who we owe a bit thanks to.”