'Shamed' village launches tidy-up
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A NEW group has been officially formed in Bonar Bridge to tackle the untidy state of the village.
Bonar Bridge Improvement Group – to be known as B-Big – had its first meeting last Thursday, when a committee was established.
The impetus for the group came from Lorraine Askew, manager of the village's Bradbury Centre, which provides daycare for elderly people.
Ms Askew said she was ashamed at the untidy and overgrown state of the village and embarrassed at what visitors must think.
She decided the problem had to be addressed by the community itself, and called on colleagues, friends and acquaintances to help out.
And garden forks and spades in hand, around 10 residents have turned out twice in the last fortnight to tackle two of the areas deemed to be worst affected.
First for a makeover was a patch of gravel in front of the vacant Bridge Hotel, which occupies a prime spot in the centre Bonar Bridge.
With the hotel being unoccupied, the weeds had been allowed to grow unchecked.
Next in line was a small, raised bed encased by a low stone wall and situated next to the bridge. The bed has now been weeded and rotovated and will be planted up later.
Ms Askew said: "It has all been tidied up and a lot of people have noticed and remarked to me how much better these two areas now look."
At the new group's first meeting, local greenkeeper Caroline Munro was appointed chairwoman.
B-Big is now planning a fundraising campaign to enable them to buy container plants. Creich and Kincardine Community Council has already donated £200.
Ms Askew said: "We're going to approach local businesses and community to see if we can get people to sponsor a tub or plant and water one.
"Hopefully by this time next year, the village will be back to what it once was and looking decent again."
