The council’s Participatory Budgeting scheme enabled Blantyre residents to devise and vote on projects that would be meaningful to them.

One proposal centred on the garden at Blantyre Old Parish Church, where local elderly people use the area as a place of remembrance for loved ones who have passed away. It is especially helpful for those who are unable to visit the crematorium, and the large tree near the entrance of the church is used as an informal memorial where people can spread ashes.

The church’s Garden Group organises a team to maintain church grounds, and they have now been awarded £4000 through the Participatory Budgeting scheme to create a dedicated memorial garden of raised beds, covered seating areas and safe accessible space for everyone in the community and beyond, of all faiths and no faith, to visit.

The new memorial garden will be open 24 hours-a-day and will have disabled access, with the local community and businesses helping to maintain it.

The group’s Mary Gallacher said: “The money received will help us on the journey to our goal of providing a space for reflection, comfort and remembrance for those who lost loved ones.”

The council’s Community Engagement Team coordinates the Participatory Budgeting process in conjunction with local stakeholders, with the funding coming from the council and the National Lottery.

Council Leader and Chair of the Community Planning Partnership, Councillor Joe Fagan, said: “The work that this funding is enabling is a great example of how Participatory Budgeting works so well, because it directly helps to address what local people tell us they need.

“The church’s Garden Group already does a vital job in helping their local community and I am delighted that they are benefiting from the scheme to create an area that will be so meaningful and supportive to the people of Blantyre.”

Anyone wishing more information on the Participatory Budgeting scheme can find it online or can contact the Community Engagement Team by email or by calling 0303 123 1017.