The Helix – the £43 million park between Falkirk and Grangemouth - has been honoured with two UK awards for environmental best practice.

Site owners Falkirk Council and building firm Balfour Beatty picked up the gongs at the UK Green Apple Awards, announced at the House of Commons in London this morning (Monday November 10 2014).

The Council won gold in the local authorities’ community category for its support for the project, which was undertaken in association with Scottish Canals, with funding from the Big Lottery Fund and the Scottish Government.

Balfour Beatty won silver in the building and construction regeneration category for its work on the massive project – dominated by the world’s largest equine sculptures, the Kelpies.

It is the latest in a long line of awards for the Helix, which has attracted more than 600,000 visitors since its launch. It has previously been honoured at the Scottish Green Apple Awards. It has also won a Saltire Society Civil Engineering Award and was named Best Environment Project at the National Lottery Awards 2014.

Councillor Adrian Mahoney, Falkirk Council’s spokesman for culture, leisure and tourism, said: “We’re delighted to get recognition for the Helix project at the UK Green Apple Awards. Getting awards like this recognise the hard work of everyone behind The Helix and their drive to deliver a great project that brings communities together.

“Of course the real winners are the public and the visitors who have a fantastic new park to enjoy, dominated by the stunning Kelpies – the world’s largest equine sculptures. The park was fully revealed in the spring and has had a fantastic first six months. A new visitor centre will arrive in 2015, giving people even more to enjoy in the years ahead.”

Planning for the Helix started more than a decade ago. It was borne out of an idea to create a local greenspace that connected and engaged communities. The project has already delivered:

• The Kelpies, two 30 metre high stainless steel monuments that form the vanguard of The Helix and the Forth and Clyde Canal;
• A kilometre of new canal with towpaths, creating a safe new connection to Grangemouth;
• 27 kilometres of shared access, high quality pathways connecting 16 communities;
• A new lagoon in Helix Park;
• A new splash play area and Adventure Play Zone;
• A new Plaza Café;
• Sustainable LED lighting for at least 14 kilometres of these new pathways;
• Over 120 trained Nordic Walkers & over 30 trained walk leaders;
• Multiple community projects, including a new beekeeping society (Helix Beekeepers), Meet The Species events, The Abbotshaugh Sentinel project;
• A canal tunnel under the M9 motorway;
• The development of a 16-mile cycle route connecting The Helix, The Kelpies, The Falkirk Wheel and Callendar House.

The site is open throughout the year and managed by Falkirk Community Trust, with tours of offer allowing visitors to go inside the massive Kelpies. Find out more at www.thehelix.co.uk.

The Green Apple Awards began in 1994 and have become established as the country’s major recognition for environmental endeavour amongst companies, councils and communities.

The awards are organised by The Green Organisation, an independent, non-political, non-activist, non-profit environmental group, dedicated to recognising, rewarding and promoting environmental best practice around the world.

Organisers say there were more than 500 nominations for this year’s awards. The Awards are supported by the Environment Agency, the Chartered Institution for Wastes Management and other independent bodies. Find out more at www.thegreenorganisation.info/.