Tag: granton walled garden

Granton Improvement Society – the walled garden

6 years ago the GIS project began to save the Walled Garden and keep it as a community resource.

The Walled Garden was discovered derelict by AiA Art in Architecture and with the help of CLU Community Land Use devised the original Granton sur Mer proposal which included its restoration.

Granton Improvement Society is now the custodian of the project with the continued mission to save the Walled Garden and keep it as a community resource. We found it derelict and have involved the community in this desire to save the Garden throughout the 6 years.

Our vision is for green space, parkland, places for children to run, not just blocks and blocks of housing with no other amenities. We know it will be a success. Who would have thought that in the industrial zone of Falkirk, for instance, there would now be a great park, The Helix, with accompanying Kelpies with tens of thousands of locals and people from far and wide flocking to take their leisure there and to be inspired by art and landscaped open spaces?

Granton Improvement Society has been pursuing a project to develop a garden festival in the Walled Garden, artisans’ village and heated swimming pool for both sport and leisure on the adjacent land. At the original public meetings of the project one of the clear intentions was to save the Walled Garden with no possibility of housing on the site and this remains true today.

The Granton Improvement Society is moving steadily to buying the site from EDI.

This wonderful community owned project will create badly needed community income and jobs for our community.

We have asked for others to give us a clear run at creating the project. We have the plans, the funding, expertise and backing and have been working extremely hard, lobbying, arguing and generally spreading the word as community activists and supporters of the project to be in a position to buy the land and begin the project in the very near future which would take the Walled Garden into community ownership for the first time in its history.

Members of the GIS are as committed and dedicated as anyone to the idea of community gardens on every available and suitable space and have been involved from the beginning in identifying and creating these gardens in our community and winning support from politicians to back and support the expansion of community gardens with proper funding. We are asking everyone especially those who have signed the petition to take a further step and join the Granton Improvement Society.

The Project is a Community Trust with a membership and Trustees. Please join us info@grantonimprovementsociety.org and grantonimprovementsociety.wordpress,org

Barbara Robertson, secretary, on behalf of the Trustees-Granton Improvement Society

Saving Granton’s secret garden

Walled garden

A group of North Edinburgh activists have got together to save one of the area’s hidden gems. Granton’s walled garden has lain neglected for years, but gardner Kirsty Sutherland and her friends are determined to save the site from redevelopment and return the garden to it’s former glory.

The ‘secret’ walled garden on Granton’s waterfront is very overgrown but it’s still there, somehow still alive surrounded by derelict industrial land.

“A few of us got together last autumn and started researching this garden’s amazing social history. I was inspired by the Never Give Up book created by local activists”, Kirsty explained.

Granton Castle’s garden has been around for over 450 years and survived many changes in the surrounding land – and wars!  The castle may have gone, but from 1914 the walled garden was lovingly tended by three generations of one family. However it is now under threat – developers plan to build 17 luxury townhouses on the site.

Kirsty said: “We want to save this rare garden from development, and safeguard its incredible social history dating back to Mary Queen of Scot’s time.

“There is no need for this walled garden to be developed for housing as it is surrounded by vast areas of vacant post-industrial land, much more suitable.”

The Granton Castle Garden Group is appealing to local people to help preserve the site for future generations to enjoy, and they have created an on-line petition.

The group explain: ‘The petition is aimed at raising local awareness of a quite well hidden garden, which many people have never heard of living locally far less elsewhere in Edinburgh. It has a remarkable social history including almost 100 years of being a working market garden owned and run by three generations of one family.

‘Local community gardeners and folk interested in the story put together a list of ideas for the garden too which I am sure could work in harmony with the aims of Granton Improvement Society.

‘Time is what we requested of the development company, to allow local people to hear about the garden and plans to build in it, and add their opinions and ideas.

‘Some really positive ideas have been generated already and discussed by keen gardeners living in Granton and Pilton. They focus on local food production, and environmental education and activities: ideas are bulleted below:

◾Heritage Orchard restoration and expansion.
◾Retail nursery for production of plants with a purpose; fruit, herbs, vegetables, nectar plants and native wildflower species.
◾Base for a local ‘edible garden design’ social enterprise.
◾Medicinal and culinary herbs production for use in a community café and workshops.
◾Permaculture garden design area showcasing planting to combat environmental changes and save water. Forest garden approach.
◾Victorian Glasshouse restoration for use to supply local community gardens and cafes with both winter crops and vegetable plants in spring
◾Beekeeping and honey products.
◾Small scale free range chickens for egg production.
◾Community education workshops centred on gardening, crafts, herbal medicine, environmental education and seasonal food.
◾History/visitor centre combined with the community café showcasing the gardens long and sometimes dramatic history, dating back as far as Mary Queen of Scots time.
◾Oral and visual History of recent horticulture from Victorian era to present day.

Kirsty added: “Please help us stop demolition planning permission before it’s too late. Help raise awareness of this ‘secret garden’, and save two acres of historic greenbelt for future generations!”

If you think this garden is worth keeping, go to:

www.ipetitions.com/petition/save-grantons-forgotten-walled-garden

to sign and ‘share’ the e-petition.

If you have any ideas or questions, email: grantoncastlegardengroup@gmail.com

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