Evan Barron Road Garden Case Study

This case study highlights both the value of investing in new areas and the important role Community Councils can play as effective delivery partners, particularly in places where limited community‑owned assets can otherwise restrict community-led action.

Background
Hilton Milton and Castle Heather Community Council are an Inverness Community Council. They meet every 2 months, and their meetings are open to the public, where anyone can raise agenda items for discussion. Recently, the Community Council has placed stronger emphasis on community engagement, making efforts to connect with residents beyond formal meetings. Members have attended local events at Hilton Community Centre and visited nearby schools to speak with young people and families about the issues that matter most to them. Through these engagement activities, the Community Council identified that residents place a high value on their local parks and green spaces. In response, they have organised a number of practical community activities to help care for and improve these spaces. This includes regular litter picks and small-scale gardening sessions aimed at keeping neighbourhood areas tidy and welcoming. The Community Council also supports residents to do small improvement projects in green spaces near their homes, encouraging local stewardship and pride in the neighbourhood. Building on this momentum, the Community Council now hopes to work with residents and partners to transform underused or brownfield areas across Hilton, Milton and Castle Heather into public green spaces and play areas.

What we did
In September 2025, initial contact was established with the Chair of the Hilton, Milton and Castle Heather (HMCH)Community Council during a community event at the Highlands and Islands Climate Festival. Early discussions highlighted several opportunities for the Hub to support the Community Council with developing their environmental project ideas.

A follow up meeting was held, where we discussed multiple possible project opportunities, community engagement techniques, and funding opportunities.

At this time (September 2025), the Hub’s Climate Action Fund was not open, so we flagged it as a potential future funding opportunity – giving the Community Council time to develop a project and seek guidance from the Hub prior to applying.

When the funding opened, HMCH Community Council applied on 07/01/2026 and were awarded £1,000 of funding on 26/01/2026. This was provided as match funding, complementing their application to the Community Regeneration Fund for £2,354.69, which was also successful.

What we learned
This project demonstrated how Community Councils can successfully lead small‑scale, community‑driven environmental projects when supported with accessible funding and guidance. This is particularly useful for areas where there are few-to-no community owned assets, where the Community Council may be the only vehicle for community involvement in decision‑making around the use of local assets.

Reflections
From Sarah W, HMCH Community Council Chair:

[The Climate Action Fund] has been a massive support for the project, in fact it has helped us to make a start early before the other funding comes in.

The park at Evan Barron Road is an empty area of concrete paving that we are working to transform. As part of a wider project to evaluate the parks in Hilton, we have funding for planters, benches and bins. But we were missing a plan, a design. The climate hub funding has enabled us to bring a local gardener on board to plan out the planting , what plants should we put in the planter, and what shrubs could we plant.

The climate hub have been a massive support. The application process is very easy and the team are on hand to help if there are questions. The other benefit is that a decision gets made quickly. Thanks to the climate hub, we already have a draft plan for the garden space that we will be taking to the neighbours in the next few weeks the hear their thoughts.

Next steps
To date, HMCH Community Council have:

• Acquired responsibility for the Evan Barrow Rd space from the Highland Council

• Worked with a designer to pull together a garden plan for the Evan Barrow Road space, identifying how to plan out the planting, what plants should be put in the planters, and what shrubs would be best for the area.

Their next steps are:

• Conduct further community engagement to ensure the garden plan meets their needs, wants and expectations.

• Deliver the physical aspects of project development: installing the planters, bench and bin, and then add the plants and shrubs.

The Hub’s local CDO will monitor ongoing project development and delivery by maintaining a line of communication and occasional site visits. The Hub will also receive the mandatory funding reporting from HMCH Community Council.

Once this project is complete, it will serve as a portfolio project for HMCH Community Council to support future applications for urban greening and playpark projects, as they aim to improve access to greenspace and playparks across the whole community council area.

Resources/Further information
Hilton, Milton and Castle Heather Community Council Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/hmchcc/