WINCHBURGH Developments Limited has confirmed landscape works are underway on the Auldcathie District Park, with Perth-based Allison Enterprises awarded the contract for the landscaping on Phase One of the project, which is due to open late summer this year.
The work on Phase One also includes installation of an outdoor play park, the contract for which has been awarded to Broxburn-based Russell Play.
The combined value of the two contracts is worth nearly £1 million.
Phase One of the new park expands over 40 acres and will include the planting of over 15,000 woodland trees and shrubs. A further 400 trees grown by the community throughout lockdown will also be planted to create an area of community woodland.
The first phase will feature over two kilometres of paths and fitness trails, a community garden, enclosed dog park and over eleven acres of grassed playing areas with walkways linking to the Union Canal.
Over 500 members of the Winchburgh community, along with 350 primary school pupils, were involved in a consultation for the park in 2018 led by Penny Lochhead from PMR Leisure.
When complete in 2022, the park will expand over 85 acres, with part of the site reclaimed from the Auldcathie landfill. Reclamation and capping works have taken place over the last two years to prepare the site.
The final park will see a further 15,000 trees planted and will include open spaces such as a bike park, additional paths and fitness trails. On completion, a café with public toilets will be built in the centre of the park.
Billy Allison, Allison Enterprises, said, “We are absolutely delighted to be involved in providing the landscaping and fencing packages for this project. The opportunity has been afforded to our business to leave a positive legacy and we hope that the community and its families enjoy the greenspace being created for generations to come.”
Ian Logan, associate, Optimised Environments (OPEN), is responsible for the design of Auldcathie District Park. He said, “Working on the design of the park has been a very unique and rewarding experience for myself and the design team at OPEN which has involved complex and large-scale remediation works, extensive community consultation, play park design and landscape design for the 85-acre space. The whole team looking forward to see the park open so that the Winchburgh community and visitors can experience the park, especially the children’s play area which will hopefully prove to be a hit with the children and an asset for Winchburgh.”
John Hamilton, CEO, Winchburgh Developments Limited, added, “Auldcathie District Park is one of the ‘jewels in the crown’ of our masterplan for Winchburgh and it’s fantastic to see landscaping work beginning and the first trees going in. We’re entering a particularly exciting phase of the masterplan now, with work on many projects continuing at pace including the canal marina which is due to be completed in spring, the new schools’ campus and five housebuilders currently on site building new homes. We recognise the importance of quality outdoor spaces for both physical and mental wellbeing of the community here, which is why we have invested significantly in this project.”
