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Chapel Well Garden Enhancements

Investment project code: 61

The Chapel Well Garden offers a welcoming, if under-valued, green space in Bathgate. It is council owned and used by local people, particularly dog walkers. With a little TLC and investment it can be improved from an access & safety perspective, and become more attractive, fun, informative and useful to all. With WLC and Bathgate in Bloom help we have already introduced an additional flower bed to make the area more colourful and attractive. We propose further enhancements through this project.

The garden has much to offer from a historical perspective as it hosts the original Chapel Well that provided some of the water for Bathgate, and the historic Provost’s Lamp Post, which was initially moved from house to house to mark this dignitary role. The lamp post’s resting place is now at the garden's edge. These special historical features feel under-promoted and under-valued.

We believe that the garden should be improved for local community benefit. We are keen to improve access in winter months, better share it’s interesting history, and offer more outdoor educational and reflective space. By introducing sensory planting we hope that the garden can be enjoyed by all, giving opportunity to be close to nature.

As well as improving the garden itself, we will provide more historical information which can link with local walking tours. We will consult with the Bennie Museum and local historians to learn and share as much as we can about the chapel well and the lamp post.  This information will be on site and online, and hopefully encourage people to visit the museum to learn more.

Our ideas will be developed in consultation with WLC, Bathgate in Bloom, the local community, primary schools and clubs.

From council discussions we know that WLC have budget to support grass cutting in the garden, but cannot afford to do much more. We are clear and accept that our plans cannot increase maintenance costs in the short or long term.

Our aim is to make this local green space more accessible and safe all year round, to better share it's fascinating history, and through additional flexible seating and sensory planting, to make it more attractive, fun and useful for all.

We would like to introduce:

Safety improvements

• Establishing a low height rockery/fence at the boundary to Marjoribanks Street, to allow safe play for young children, reducing risk of them running onto the busy road. This would be designed sufficiently low to avoid acting as a place for anti-social behaviour and would still allow free access to the garden area for mobility users. 
• Introduction of one or two soakaways at the top and middle of the central path to allow rain water to run off into the garden itself. Presently the water runs straight down the central path, which freezes over in winter, creating a treacherous ice walk.

Space to reflect and learn

• We aim to consult, design and install a curved seating area at the rear of the garden. This could be used as a quiet space for contemplation and reflection. If designed correctly it could also be used as an outdoor learning area for visiting schools or clubs. There are a couple of benches along the central path in the garden, but these overlook the busy road, and don’t create a quiet space to reflect or learn.

Inclusion of schools and clubs

• The long edges of the garden are empty other than a few weeds, and offer an opportunity to engage local children in the creation of bug hotels. Through encouraging them to build and revisit these, we will introduce the importance of safe spaces for nature and the difference this can make to biodiversity in our natural world.
• There are a number of mature trees in the garden which have empty spaces around them. They would be a perfect space to hold painted pebbles made by local children. Our aim is that this pebble art work will relate to what can be learned about the garden - its history, it’s plants, the need for green space. In this way we will encourage themed pebbles which reinforce learning, both to the creator and future visitors.

Tidy up the historic Chapel Well

• Clean up inside the well, exterior area to well, and existing information signs.
• Plant up the small triangular additional area in front of well.

Enhanced shrub and flower beds

• Add new bedding plants, garden enhancement and particulary sensory garden/educational elements that can be enjoyed by all.

Additional historical information through digital QR codes and geocaching

• Creation of a new section within the Bathgate Hills website dedicated to the Chapel Well Garden. We will ask for help from the Bennie Museum Trustees & local Bathgate historians to learn more of it's history..
• Installation of up to 2 wooden (or other) posts to include QR codes and Geocaching linked back to above, providing history on Chapel Well and Provost Lamppost. The links will take people to videos and podcasts, to help bring the stories to life in a fun interesting way for all ages and abilities.
• Add links to the Bennie Museum, local history and gardening groups to help people learn more, and find out how they can get involved in community activities.

Encourage Art in Nature through Sculpture

• Appoint a local artist to produce an artwork sculpture to form a centrepiece to the recently created enhanced bedding and sensory garden. This should ideally involve the local schools / colleges and the local community.

Location: Chapel Well Garden, Marjoribank Street, Bathgate, EH48 1AL

Proposed on behalf of: Bathgate Hills Venture - Rosslyn Barr, Vanessa Cordner, Ruby Beattie, Kenneth McKenzie, Debbie Worden, Dylan Hampshire, Adrian Scott, Emma Dymock, Grace Hilditch, Charlotte Barr, Loida Garcia

• Education
• Outside Space
• Nature
• Wellbeing
• Community