28th April 2006

PRESS RELEASE

The organisation aiming to redevelop Cupar's Douglas Bader Garden has revealed plans to canvas public opinion about a bid to transform the garden into a world class tourist attraction and community facility.

After a year of extensive planning, the Douglas Bader Community Garden group will carry out the largest public consultation ever done by a community group in the UK next month (May) by sending out colour information brochures (view brochure) and reply postcards to the entire KY15 postcode area.

The information packs, which contain two different proposed designs for the revamped garden, will be delivered to a total of almost 10,000 residential and business addresses in and around the Cupar area.

Following a competitive tendering process involving many of Europe 's leading garden design companies, the Bader group selected wheelchair-accessible designs from Glasgow-based TGP Landscape Architects and Environmental Consultants Ironside Farrar Ltd from Edinburgh , to put to public consultation.

Both design concepts include extensive water features and involve sustainable principles, while the size of the both new gardens would be dramatically enlarged to more than the size of a full-size football pitch. Budget costs for the designs range from an estimated half a million pounds to one and a quarter million pounds, excluding the cost of a proposed community building within Duffus Park.

Following the consultation process, group members will employ a garden design firm to work on a final garden masterplan which will be unveiled later this year. The garden project would by funded via British public grant providers, and work could begin in early 2007.

The group, which was set up following proposals to close the original Bader garden due to vandalism, has attracted major support from a number of major organisations including Fife Council, Elmwood College , RAF, Kingdom Housing, and Fife Constabulary.

Douglas Bader Community Garden spokesman Andrew Gold said the public consultation process was intended as an opportunity for local people to air their views about the proposals.

Mr Gold, from Cupar, said: "Judging by the amazing support we have had from the public so far, there is little doubt people in North-East Fife are enormously proud of our link via the garden with Douglas Bader, the WWII flight hero and campaigner for the disabled.

"By sending out 10,000 brochures and postcards, we are asking people for their comments about the two garden designs and their feelings about what the group is trying to achieve. Everybody's view will be taken on board and help us to reach a final decision about what type of garden design the public really wants.

"It is crucial that people respond, so we can approach major fund providers with confidence and prove to them just how much the people of Fife want this new facility."

More extensive, larger-scale drawings of both proposals will be available for public viewing during the month of May at a number of local venues. Group members will be available to discuss the plans at the Corn Exchange, Cupar, on Tuesday, May 6 th between 6-8.30 pm, while further public displays will be located at the town's County Buildings (Monday May 15 th to Friday May 19 th) ; Cupar, Falkland, Freuchie, Ladybank and Newburgh Libraries (May 22 and 26), and at Cupar Health Centre (May 29 th to June 2 nd) .

The group aims to set up a volunteer gardener scheme and therapeutic garden courses at the new facility, and to attract ten of thousands of new visitors to Cupar each year.

Mr Gold continued: "This project is great news for hard-pressed businesses, while local groups will be able to make use of our custom-build community and teaching rooms within the proposed garden building.

"A café, atrium area, and greenhouse facility are also planned, and I honestly think people will be hugely impressed by the possibility of can be achieved by the community if enough people show support for our plans."

Contact: Andrew Gold: 01334 650881 or 0781 5167958 (mobile)

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