A disused bowling green could be transformed into a fruit-growing community garden and a five-figure transformation for the play park could both be on the cards at Lochee Park.
Details of the £33,000 Fruit Bowls scheme and the £94,500 play park improvement will be considered by the Neighbourhood Services committee next week (November 19).
The seed for the bowling green project was planted when the council was asked by the James Hutton Institute at Invergowrie to consider community growing projects.
Links have now been made with an existing growing group based in Lochee, a citizen science growing group from the West End and Ancrum Road Primary School, as well as individual local residents.
The site of the project will be one of two bowling greens at Lochee Park. It has not been played on for several seasons.
Fruit trees, soft fruit bushes, a raspberry maze and raised beds for growing vegetables will completely restructure the green.
A pond and wildflower meadow will be added, while the pavilion has the potential to be used as a community space.
Kevin Cordell convener of the council’s neighbourhood services committee said: “There was extensive consultation about this over the summer, and the response was overwhelmingly positive.
“It’s a fantastic idea, making good use of this space at Lochee Park and I’m looking forward to this community project bearing fruit for many years to come.”
The committee will also hear of plans to further improve the playground at Lochee Park.
If given the go-ahead, £94,500 will be spent upgrading the play area as part of an ongoing programme of work across the city.
Cllr Cordell added: “Play is a key part of every child’s development, enjoyment and social life and these works highlight our commitment to supporting and enhancing play opportunities in Dundee.”
Dundee City Council
Dundee draws skilled workers from a 60-minute catchment population of 640,000 and has a local population of over 140,000. The availability of a large pool of highly skilled labour is a key feature in the Dundee economy. Flexibility in the labour force is currently more prevalent in Dundee than in Scotland as a whole. All forms of labour market flexibility - part-time, temporary employment, self-employment and shift work - are widely operational within the city. Labour force stability in the city is excellent, enabling companies to plan with confidence. Labour turnover levels are less than 5% and absenteeism averages 2%.
