Community mucks in together to turn Shieldhill eyesore into beauty spot

Scott Taylor was one of the people who was sick and tired of looking at the village’s distinctly unattractive area just off Cross Brae Road, near Cruickshank Drive.

He said: “I’ve lived here for 34 years and that land was supposed to have houses built on it and then a play park – but those plans never happened. It was supposed to be factored as well and that never happened.

"The community council managed to get Falkirk Council to cut it back a few times but it started to become like a jungle. It was a real eyesore.”

So last April, Scott and other residents – including Shieldhill and California Community Council’s Maria Montinaro – started working on a way they could change it for the better.

Scott said: “There was no path there, so people just had to walk through it, dragging mud and grass into their homes. Maria contacted Falkirk Council to see if they could put a path in.

"It looked as though it was going to happen, so we thought, if they’re good enough to do that then we certainly have to get the surrounding land up to scratch.”

And, thanks to donations of cash, flowers, time and hard work, that’s just what they did, not only making the area look better, but lifting the spirits of the community and allowing residents to making new friends they may not have even talked to before getting involved in the project.

Scott said: "My neighbour has a gardening company and he did us a good deal and we had a lot of residents who gave us a lot of plants and local business like Asda and Tesco donated things – even drinks and snacks for volunteers doing a clean-up day.”

The majority of the work has been completed, but there’s no way the residents will let it go back to the way it was.

"It’s looking good now,” said Scott. “There’s actually not much to do on it now – it’s just a matter of maintaining it now and keeping it looking this way.”