Westhill & Elrick Community Council is delighted to announce that it’s funding application to extend and improve the path network and rest areas in Denman Park / Arnhall Moss has been approved by Scottish Government Place Based Investment Programme and Aberdeenshire Council.

£239,967 has been awarded to employ contractors to create two new parkland routes between the pedestrian crossing on Old Skene Road and Straik Road. There will also be three new bridges, one of which will replace the middle pond bridge, raising it at the same time so that it can be crossed by anyone on wheels. The other two bridges will straddle the burn to allow park users on the one hand, to walk round the pond and in the other case, complete a 1.4km circuit of the park without having to leave the park. New seating, signage and information boards will be included.

The award will also fund the purchase of two tri-shaws and help establish a Cycling Without Age Chapter in Westhill. Cycling Without Age Scotland is a charity set up “to enhance and enrich lives by giving elderly and disabled people access to the beautiful outdoors through our pioneering trishaw rides, access which is denied to so many people simply because of age or limited mobility”. The tri-shaws will be piloted by yet to be recruited volunteers. Once the Chapter is established, we will soon see piloted tri-shaws moving around the town centre and onto the extended path network in the park in due course.

The community should benefit from much improved access, surfaces and connectivity, but also a greater choice of routes and rest areas once in the park. Spending time in green spaces is known to enhance physical and mental wellbeing.

Here is an image from Google Earth showing the existing path network in grey, with red and purple indicating surface improvements, and new routes in orange and yellow, together with the positioning of new water crossings.

Weeds steal nutrients and water from the soil around newly planted saplings. Over 6,000 saplings were planted at Carnie Woods a few months ago, and some are facing strong competition, particularly from couch grass, a shallow rooted, but notoriously tough weed to eradicate.

The Community Council organised three short weeding sessions over the last week with support from a number of volunteers, but we can always do with more. Two more sessions are planned in the next few days, one on this coming Saturday, 27^th at 2.15, and the other on Wednesday, 31st at 10am. The sessions will run for around an hour and a half, or as long as you like, starting from Carnie Crescent car park entrance [beside the fenced football pitch].

If you would like to join us, please bring a tyned hoe – something like this one,   although a long handled version would save a lot of bending/kneeling. Please also bring gloves, water and a sense of humour. Thank you

If you would like to donate clothes to the Asylum Seekers to be arriving soon at the Hampton by Hilton hotel in Westhill, details of the project being run by Trinity Church are at link below

Below is link to agenda for WECC meeting on Thursday 18th May at 7pm at the Holiday Inn and by Zoom.

If you would like to attend the meeting please email weccsecretx@gmail.com