Communal outdoor spaces and facilities in and around Aberdeen are in the running for a makeover from the Stewart Milne Group as part of a campaign to mark the company’s 40th anniversary.
In September, Stewart Milne Group launched its RUBY (Regenerating Urban Back Yards) campaign to improve run-down community spaces in the north-east of Scotland, central Scotland and north-west of England.
Members of the public, special interest groups, charities and community councils were invited to nominate an outdoor space in need of improvement, resulting in dozens of applications from across the regions.
In the North-east three entries have now been shortlisted by the judges for support. They are a community park project in Bucksburn promoted by Bucksburn Community Council, the development of a children’s play area in Tillydrone promoted by the Parents for Play group and the development of a community garden at Loirston Annexe Community Centre in Cove.
Members of the public can now learn more about the projects and vote for the one they feel deserve support through Stewart Milne Group’s Facebook (facebook.com/StewartMilneGroup) and Twitter (@SMilneGroup and @SMilneHomes) social media channels.
Stewart Milne Group will allocate resources and support towards the winning project or provide the materials and/or people to carry out the improvements.
The North-east RUBY campaign winner will be announced on 18 December and the project will get underway as soon as possible subject to weather and availability of materials and labour.
John Low, managing director at Stewart Milne Homes North said: “As award-winning homebuilders, we know just how important community spaces are to the quality of life that people enjoy in their local areas. With the RUBY campaign we aim to help regenerate outdoor spaces and amenities that need a bit of attention and help to build stronger, better resourced communities across the regions that we work in.
“We received a fantastic response to RUBY with projects of different sizes and type nominated from across the region. We have shortlisted three entries which the judging panel felt offer the greatest potential benefit to their communities in Bucksburn, Tillydrone and Cove and we now want the North-east public to vote for the project they think deserves our support via our Facebook and Twitter accounts.
“We will announce the winning entry on 18 December and look forward to moving forward with that project in 2016,” said Mr Low.
The shortlisted projects for central Scotland and the north-west of England will be announced in early 2016.
Established in Aberdeen in 1975, Stewart Milne Group now operates across Scotland and the north-west of England via its three homes divisions. It is also a leading supplier of innovative timber systems solutions to the UK construction industry from its manufacturing facilities in Aberdeenshire and Oxfordshire.
The Stewart Milne Group is one of only 15 housebuilders in the UK to be awarded five star status by the industry this year. Its continued commitment to quality and customer care saw it awarded the top accolade by the Home Builders Federation (HBF) for the fourth year running. The independent industry award recognises the 90% customer satisfaction rating achieved across the Group’s housing divisions in north and central Scotland and north-west England.