AN UNUSED plot of land in Neilston has been transformed into a vibrant community park.

The site in the village’s McCulloch Way is the result of an 18-week youth employability project involving a 15-strong team of 16 to 24-year-olds, some of whom live in Barrhead.

Members of the Creative Pathways programme designed and built the park from scratch after Barrhead Housing Association alerted them to the disused space.

As it was funded by the Our Bright Future movement amongst others, the park was created with the surrounding environment at the forefront of the young workers’ minds.

An official opening ceremony was held on November 4 to let residents see the finished park for themselves.

Linda Burke, Creative Pathways lead tutor, labelled the project as a success and said: “The community were really happy with the way it all turned out.

“The community wanted something where the kids could play.

“With it being an Our Bright Future project, it had to have biodiversity elements.

“It was all about planting plants that attract insects and wildlife, as well as creating places to grow vegetation and fruit. We also wanted to create a place everybody could enjoy.”

The McCulloch Way Community Park also features a hand-printing wall, a designated hopscotch area, benches and climbing tyres.

Creative Pathways programmes are led by Impact Arts, an organisation which specialises in giving youths out of education, training or employment the opportunity to learn new skills and understand what it takes to excel in a working environment.

Both residents and the Creative Pathways team members have benefitted from the land rejuvenation project in Neilston as some youngsters have now managed to find work or move into further education.

Linda highlighted the reasons why young people choose to get involved with the initiative.

She said: “After 18 weeks we try to get them into employment. We’ve already had a couple who have moved on into jobs and on to college.

“Every week they’re applying for jobs and training and we’re getting them to go and put their CVs out.

“We helped them with their CVs and job searching and they did SQA units in enterprise.

“They get a bit of pastoral care – we’re always here even after they leave if they need any help.”

For further details about Impact Arts, call 01294 273051 or e-mail lburke@impactarts.co.uk.