A RENFREWSHIRE hospice has been given a fresh new look thanks to a welcome windfall.

St Vincent’s Hospice in Howwood has been awarded a £15,000 grant funded by Smith Skip Limited of Beith through the Scottish Landfill Communities Fund (SLCF). 

The money has been used to pay for major upgrades to signage and the community garden.

The garden, a tranquil space for the public and visitors, was created through significant SLCF funding in 2015.

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This latest support meant the hospice could build on the garden project, giving a significant uplift to the hospice appearance, access and surrounding areas.

Katrina Vine, project lead for St Vincent’s, said: “Our community garden has been such a brilliant addition to our hospice, but we know that some of our signs and fencing were beginning to look a bit tired. 

“We were also aware that if you are coming here for the first time, it can be difficult to find your way around. 

“You could easily come and go without really realising that our Barn Tearoom was open to you.

“Now, thanks to this support our hospice has had a major facelift, not only giving it a fresh and modern look, but also making it easier to get to us.”

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Katrina said not only are there now new signs to direct people towards and around the hospice, but the Barn Tearoom and garden are benefitting from attractive and informative new signage to let more people know they can drop in.

The project also involved removing extensive areas of broken down fences, gates, overgrown trees and replacing it with 125 metres of new beech hedging with protective posts and wire fence.

In addition, a drystone feature and new entranceway has been built in the public car park.

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