Two projects which have helped to transform the environment of Falkirk have been awarded at this year's Green Apple Environment Awards.

The Green Apple Award is a national campaign to find Scotland's greenest companies, councils and communities, and this year, the Falkirk Greenspace Initiative and the Helix project, took the top accolades. Falkirk Council was also given the Overall Winner award in recognition of the success of the two projects.

The Gold award went to The Falkirk Greenspace Initiative, a partnership of Falkirk Council and the charity Central Scotland Forest Trust (CSFT), and was created with the aim of transforming the image and environment of the area to help improve the local quality of life and attract inward investment. Throughout its 20-year timescale, more than 1.3 million trees have been planted around the area, more then 260km of paths have been created or upgraded, while derelict sites have been restored.


Coming second, was the Helix, a £41m project which has seen under-used land between Falkirk and Grangemouth transformed into a thriving urban greenspace covering 350 hectares. The initiative also includes the iconic Kelpies structures.

Commenting on the awards, Councillor Adrian Mahoney, Spokesperson for Culture, Leisure and Tourism, said: "This is a fantastic achievement for Falkirk Council, and its partners, who have delivered two visionary projects. Both the Greenspace Initiative and the Helix have played a significant part in the transformation of the local environment while also linking and connecting our many communities."

Simon Rennie, Chief Executive of Central Scotland Forest Trust, added: "The Falkirk Greenspace Initiative and the Helix are both innovative projects which have transformed the local environment, creating valuable resources for local communities and dramatically improving perceptions of the area, attracting tourism and inward investment. We're very proud that the initiatives have received these prestigious accolades."

(JP/IT)