Pentland View Court 'Pocket Park' will create a tiny urban greenspace - connecting the community of Currie at its centre with trees, play opportunities, wildlife habitats and climate education.
Pentland View Court is a parade of shops/food outlets/pharmacy located on the main Lanark Road adjacent to the Pentlands Medical Centre in Currie, a suburban area in southwest Edinburgh. This 'Pocket Park' will propose several new features to improve the local 'concrete desert' environment:
Mature productive Scottish native fruit trees with educational signage: to improve air quality, absorb carbon dioxide, inform the local community, offer wildlife habitats, shade and free local healthy fruit;
Bird and bat boxes erected within the trees to further offer wildlife habitat;
Shaded benches engraved with climate protection messages to encourage environmental awareness, social interaction within nature, combat loneliness and protect against climate change related adverse weather such as heatwaves;
A 'lion's head selfie' child's play panel to create an intergenerational space, and inspire future generations of planet protectors!
How will the local community be involved?
A full public consultation is costed within the budget, to ensure all local voices are heard, and the design will be drawn by a local architect. Local primary schools have agreed to adopt the trees and harvest the fruit to share within the community, to avoid wastage and mess. The local high school children will be invited to contribute to the tree choice and signage, to encourage their buy-in to the project and limit vandalism. A local blacksmith will be creating the benches.
Who will benefit from this project?
Those that will hopefully benefit include:
Users of the shops and GP surgery, especially older and younger people;
Local high school children, who use the area during lunch and after school;
Local workers, especially keyworkers from the GP surgery;
Local wildlife, especially bats and birds, will enjoy a green oasis;
Local community members will gain a focal point for Currie, that offers direct education about climate change and the environment, but also provides indirect education through enjoyment of a greenspace.
Please vote for our 'Pocket Park'!
Thank you
Location: Pentland View Court, Currie
Proposed on behalf of: Pentlands Eco Network (https://www.facebook.com/pentlandseconetwork/) is a grassroots community environmental organisation.
Brilliant idea and very much needed for this area. It is used by the whole community as it is located right next to a busy doctors surgery, shops and park but the area is currently just all concrete and rather depressing. I feel this would positively impact so many people, including giving the elderly somewhere to sit and chat which would benefit their mental health. There are currently a group of elderly men who have a daily catch up sitting on the wall outside the doctors so benches in a more attractive area would be a massive improvement for them, and thousands others who use this area.
It would be just amazing to make the space next to the Pentland Medical Centre and Coop shop in Currie greener and more attractive. This space is used a lot by the whole Currie and Balerno community. Young people from Currie High School use this space daily during their lunch break. People of all ages who visit the Medical centre use this space on a regular basis. If you have a small child you are likely to visit this area daily, to buy milk or bread (some daily essentials). Older people visit this space a lot too, going to the shop, pharmacy or visiting the medical centre. If the space is attractive and welcoming, it has the potential to create a sense of kind, friendly, and supportive community. A few comfortable wooden benched would make it comfortable for older people to sit and have a rest, or just to have a conversation. Some flowers, trees, benches, as well as attractive recycling bins - would be just magical :)
Great idea to brighten up the space, however, I don't think there is enough seating with just 2 benches. I'm not sure the Lion is particularly beneficial as it will only appeal to a tiny percentage of the little humans that frequent there. I also don't believe that the trees need to be fruit trees. Any nice trees would be great, but I feel fruit trees are likely to be beneficial to a small group of locals who will actually Pick the fruit to take home, the rest will likely go to waste. Once there is rotten fruit on the ground there is likely to be a wasp problem, mice, squirrels etc...
So long overdue! Will make any visit to Pentland Court a pleasure. Lived in the area for 40 years and would just transform that depressing space! Great plan!
At long last there is a chance that something could be done with this area. It’s not the most attractive of settings and long overdue a facelift. Thanks for putting this proposal forward.
Brilliant idea and very much needed for this area. It is used by the whole community as it is located right next to a busy doctors surgery, shops and park but the area is currently just all concrete and rather depressing. I feel this would positively impact so many people, including giving the elderly somewhere to sit and chat which would benefit their mental health. There are currently a group of elderly men who have a daily catch up sitting on the wall outside the doctors so benches in a more attractive area would be a massive improvement for them, and thousands others who use this area.
It would be just amazing to make the space next to the Pentland Medical Centre and Coop shop in Currie greener and more attractive. This space is used a lot by the whole Currie and Balerno community. Young people from Currie High School use this space daily during their lunch break. People of all ages who visit the Medical centre use this space on a regular basis. If you have a small child you are likely to visit this area daily, to buy milk or bread (some daily essentials). Older people visit this space a lot too, going to the shop, pharmacy or visiting the medical centre. If the space is attractive and welcoming, it has the potential to create a sense of kind, friendly, and supportive community. A few comfortable wooden benched would make it comfortable for older people to sit and have a rest, or just to have a conversation. Some flowers, trees, benches, as well as attractive recycling bins - would be just magical :)
Great idea to brighten up the space, however, I don't think there is enough seating with just 2 benches. I'm not sure the Lion is particularly beneficial as it will only appeal to a tiny percentage of the little humans that frequent there. I also don't believe that the trees need to be fruit trees. Any nice trees would be great, but I feel fruit trees are likely to be beneficial to a small group of locals who will actually Pick the fruit to take home, the rest will likely go to waste. Once there is rotten fruit on the ground there is likely to be a wasp problem, mice, squirrels etc...
Great to see this space being made a better environment for all
So long overdue! Will make any visit to Pentland Court a pleasure. Lived in the area for 40 years and would just transform that depressing space! Great plan!
Great idea. I fully support this proposal.
At long last there is a chance that something could be done with this area. It’s not the most attractive of settings and long overdue a facelift. Thanks for putting this proposal forward.
It would be brilliant to improve this busy community space.
The area would benefit from these plans to make it a more attractive area to frequent whether shopping, using the surgery or the pharmacy