High-rise beauty spot wins prize for flats volunteers

Green fingered: Eileen May and John Fairgrieve tend to their award-winning garden at Lochend House

But a high-rise estate is now home to one of Scotland's most beautiful community gardens after receiving a top award.

Restalrig and Lochend houses, a pair of 1960s 12-storey flat blocks were given the silver gilt award from the Keep Beautiful Scotland campaign for turning a plot filled with waste and rubble into a flourishing garden.

The handful of volunteers who turned the image of the estate around with a grant of just a few thousand pounds have been praised by judges for their efforts.

John Fairgrieve, a retired Capability Scotland worker who has lived at Restalrig House for 43 years, said he and his team were delighted to receive recognition for their hard work.

The 70-year-old said: "After the building revamp in 2006 there was rubbish and materials strewn across what is now the garden.

"The council gave us a few thousand pounds to get started and we've worked on it to make it what it is since then.

"Some of the other contenders in the category have 25 workers whereas we only have five, so we're really proud of what we've done.

"We get donations to help to keep it going here and there, and people give us what they can, but we'll always welcome donations or help in the garden.

"We'd be delighted to step up to gold next year, that would be something."

Alongside John is Eileen May, a retired paediatric support nurse, who has put unwanted fittings from the flats to good use.

The 66-year-old said: "We've tried to recycle whatever we can, so we've used unwanted water tanks as plant pots, cutting off the top and painting them, to house plants.

"We've also used a glass shower curtain to cover some of the plants, for a greenhouse effect, so everything has a use in our garden.

"We're down in the garden every other day, doing bits of work and upkeep. We think that it brightens up the area."

Beautiful Scotland judges said that the gardens around Restalrig and Lochend House were a "joy to behold".

They said: "These gardens and adjacent areas have transformed the whole area, not just in terms of the visual experience you get but also knowing that it is potentially changing the cultural view of those who live within the area."

Other city winners alongside Restalrig's award for best flatted community garden were Hailesland Park in Wester Hailes, which won silver gilt for the permanent landscaping Award, and Prestonfield, which won bronze in the urban community category.

Edinburgh won the City Trophy at the national awards ceremony at Rothes Halls, Glenrothes,

Councillor Robert Aldridge, environmental leader at the City of Edinburgh Council, said: "I would like to say a big thank you to all the local community groups who have worked hard to successfully transform their local environments. These volunteers help ensure the city is a great place to live and visit, where locals and visitors alike are able to enjoy clean, sustainable and stunning surroundings."

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