Work is starting on a new Forfar community garden after Angus Council struck a £1 deal with the charity behind the successful venture.
Since 2015, Forfar Open Garden has become a thriving community asset, welcoming around 2,500 visitors a year.
It supports those with autism and dementia, as well as being a haven for folk who simply love gardening.
The lease on the charity’s current site ends in June.
The first decision taken by Angus Council’s new housing committee has cleared the way for the group to take over old lock-ups at Lochside which have been a “thorn in the flesh” of the authority for years.
Lochside site a target for fire-raisers
Councillors unanimously backed a 15-year lease of the ground at the peppercorn rent of £1 per annum.
The garage site has become a vandalism hotspot, with three deliberate fires there in recent months.
Forfar Open Garden (FOG) chairwoman Maureen Wedderburn said the group had secured £163,000 in grants to transform the site.
“We’ve had offers of help from across the community,” she told councillors.
FOG currently has two staff, an apprentice and a host of volunteers.
Its ambition is to increase the number of visitors to 4,000 a year.
The charity has a squad of willing hands ready to tackle the major task of clearing the Lochside site.
The move will also allow Forfar Horticultural Society to keep its home on the site.
The site has 20 brick lock-ups and 13 garage sites. However, they have proved unpopular and have lain empty for more than six years on average.
The combined income from the lock-ups and garages last year was less than £2,500.
The cost of refurbishment has been estimated at £150,000.
FOG will demolish some of the lock-ups and re-use others.
Forfar Open Garden wins unanimous support
Forfar councillor Lynne Devine led unanimous support from the new committee for the project.
“I am really excited about the new garden,” she said.
“I love the old garden. The work that has been done there and the inclusivity is remarkable over the past 10 years.
“I’m so glad they’re going to use a piece of ground that’s been a thorn in the flesh of councillors and the housing department for years.
“There have been so many complaints about the area, which has been left to rack and ruin.
“This is going to be so positive for Forfar.”
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