Forfar’s Pitstop youth project is racing ahead on all fronts.
Having recently opened a revamped upstairs area at their Academy Street premises, the group has now been given the green light to acquire a piece of adjacent ground which is to be used to further develop the initiatives sustainability and the skills of the young people who attend.
Angus neighbourhood services committee councillors unanimously approved the £2,500 sale of a piece of ground between the Pitstop and the Royal British Legion for a garden project in which the charity group will grow their own fruit and vegetables.
Produce will be used in a newly-opened juice bar at the premises and Pitstop committee member Forfar councillor Lynne Devine said the extra ground, a slice of around 150 square metres, was another positive step forward for the initiative.
“We have had our eye on this piece of ground for a wee while and are delighted the negotiations have now been finalised,” she said.
“Using the fruit and vegetables from the garden will help the sustainability of the project, but it will also offer training opportunities and hopefully create something new for young people to get involved in at the Pitstop.”
Angus communities strategic director Alan McKeown told the committee: “This area is not considered to have any development potential for housing and is therefore surplus to requirements.”
Once the garden is up and running, the produce will be used to fuel the Dr John Jamieson health juice bar which was named in honour of a town son with a direct link to the Academy Street premises.
Jamieson was a preacher in the very building which is now home to the Pitstop, and was also the creator of the first Scots dictionary.
The hope is to eventually open the juice bar up as a community cafe to let the wider community see the positive work being done at the Pitstop.
Meanwhile, the progress of a successful Pitstop media and history project has been recorded by the BBC’s television cameras.
News presenter Elizabeth Quigley visited to film the activities of the young people, volunteers and staff involved in a weaving project.
The Nine Trades of Dundee provided an initial grant of £1,000 for the history group to buy looms and visit Verdant Works in Dundee to whet their appetite for the ancient craft of weaving.
The start-up grant was authorised by Nine Trades deacon convenor and local baker Bill McLaren, who has had a long association with youth groups in Forfar.
The project has benefited from ongoing interest by three of the Nine Trades Mr McLaren of the Baker Trade, Ron Scrimgeour of the Weaver Craft and Martin Smith of the Glovers.