Garmouth garden to be opened to community following revamp

The community of Garmouth will gather together on Saturday to celebrate the opening of a newly revamped sensory garden which has been upgraded by local residents and contractors working on SSEN’s Caithness-Moray project.

The garden, which is situated in the heart of Garmouth, had been empty for a number of years until a local gardening group decided to utilise the grounds to build a sensory garden which was fully inclusive for all.

Following a successful funding grant from the local co-op in Fochabers, various teams working on SSEN’s Caithness-Moray project offered their skills to help progress the garden.

David Morris of NKT, the cabling contractor for the Caithness-Moray project, explains more:

“I’ve been staying in the Garmouth Hotel throughout the construction works at Blackhillock Substation near Keith and had heard about the aspirations for the garden.

“After discussing the plans for the garden with my managers Graham Stuart and Andy Gunn, they encouraged everyone to get involved and we quickly ended up with teams of volunteers from the project working hard to deliver a dramatically improved garden which can now be used by the whole community.

“We are marking the occasion by hosting an opening ceremony on Saturday 5th May at 3pm which will include a treasure hunt around the village and face painting for the kids.”

David Fraser, SSEN Project Manager, said:

“As a responsible developer, we try to work actively with local communities to show care for the environment where we are working to leave a lasting legacy.

“By working with local residents, NKT, Beattie Contracts, Graham Construction and David Grant Plant Hire, we have been able to help turn an unused patch of ground into a pleasant and inclusive hub for the community.”

A traditional red telephone box now acts as a key feature in the garden and will become an information point for the village.

In addition to the opening ceremony, a fund raising pub quiz will be hosted in the Garmouth Hotel at 8pm with teams of up to 6 people invited to partake at a price of £10 per team. The funds raised will contribute towards a fund-raising effort to install two public access defibrillators in Kingston and Garmouth.

The Caithness-Moray project represents the largest investment in the north of Scotland’s electricity network to date since the hydro development era of the 1950s and is the largest capital investment project ever undertaken by SSEN.

If you’d like to find out more about the Caithness-Moray project, please click here.