Green award for city

A PROJECT which aims to transform vacant and derelict land in the Capital has scooped a major green accolade.

Optimised Environments (Open) won the Strategic Landscape Planning award for its pilot greenspace study – carried out in partnership with the Edinburgh and Lothians Greenspace Trust (ELGT).

The award came after ELGT’s successful cash application to the Central Scotland Green Network (CSGN) development fund.

Open director Pol MacDonald said: “We are delighted to receive this award for a truly ground-breaking study which has revealed an outstanding opportunity to help regenerate redundant and vacant spaces in Edinburgh.

“These spaces have a huge potential to enhance the city and to enhance the communities which live within and around the sites. We hope a good number of the proposals come forward to fruition.”

CSGN Partnership Board chairman Keith Geddes said: “The Open study in partnership with the Edinburgh and Lothians Greenspace Trust represents a huge step forward in this field.”