A story of regeneration
The Helix was borne from an idea in 2003 to build an ecopark as part of the Falkirk Greenscape Initiative, transforming 350 hectares of land between Falkirk and Grangemouth. Today, The Helix connects 16 local communities through our extensive path networks stretching over 27km.
In the summer of 2005 Big Lottery launched its Living Landmarks fund - established to help communities improve their local environment. The partners behind My Future's in Falkirk submitted a bid on behalf of The Helix.
Falkirk Council, Central Scotland Forest Trust and British Waterways Scotland (now Scottish Canals), with support from the project's conceptual designers, prepared a detailed masterplan for a unique outdoor greenspace.
The first Helix bid was submitted to the Big Lottery Fund in early 2006. In August 2006, Big Lottery awarded The Helix a development grant to prepare a Stage 2 submission. This enabled The Helix to bid for a grant of between £10 million and £25 million. The Helix was awarded the maximum £25 million grant from Big Lottery in November 2007 - one of only three UK projects selected to receive cash from the Lottery's Living Landmarks programme.
On 14th September 2013, Helix Day celebrated the opening of Helix Park, the zone at the heart of The Helix. Nearly 20,000 attended the event, which saw community art projects meet popular artists to create a series of colourful spectacles across the park.
At this time the 30m high Kelpies were being constructed along with the Queen Elizabeth II extension to the existing Forth and Clyde canal which opened on 21st April 2014 and is known as the Kelpies Hub.
