Hollywood star Gerard Butler adds to Comrie’s Bumblebee buzz

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/news/local/perth-kinross/hollywood-star-gerard-butler-adds-to-comrie-s-bumblebee-buzz-1.113598

Hollywood star Gerard Butler adds to Comrie’s Bumblebee buzz

A group of Perthshire villagers fighting to secure a piece of land for community use have received Hollywood backing.


Actor Gerard Butler has close ties to Comrie — his mum Margaret lives in the village — and has made regular visits in recent years.

So it’s perhaps not surprising that amid his many roles in action films and romantic comedies he finds the time to keep track of events back home in Scotland.

Comrie’s Bumblebee Square has been maintained as a community garden for some time but the supermarket giant Co-op has now submitted a plan to put a store on the site.

It aims to create a small garden area, a convenience-style Co-op store and seven flats, but locals would prefer the space to remain a community hub.

The Friends of the Square now hope to raise £100,000 to buy the Drummond Street site and save it for the public.

A number of pledges have already been received and Butler has been in touch with the campaigners to offer his backing.

Mum Margaret told The Courier: “He’s all for the community taking the square on. We moved here 18 years ago and Gerard loves Comrie, its people and the surrounding area.

“He certainly backs the community’s efforts.”

Deli owner Iain Hansen has been given responsibility for collating the pledges of financial support for the effort.

While he was unable to confirm whether the star has gone even further and made a financial donation to the cause, he said the fundraising appeared very positive to date.

“There has been a lot of interest in Comrie as a result of this campaign and we have already received a number of pledges,” he said.

“This is a fantastic community and it would be really nice if everyone could play their part in securing the square for Comrie.”

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/416195/Gerard-Butler-tells-Co-op-to-buzz-off-in-battle-of-Bumblebee-Square


Gerard Butler tells Co-op to buzz off in battle of Bumblebee Square

HE helped recreate the ancient battle between a small force of Spartans and the massed ranks of the Persians in the blockbuster movie 300.

Gerard Butler has homes in New York and California

But now actor Gerard Butler has joined a different kind of conflict, the struggle of a village community to save one of its green spaces – from the Co-op.

Paisley-born Butler, 43, is backing the battle being waged by residents of Comrie, Perthshire.

The Co-op wants to build a store and seven flats with a small garden area.

The villagers want the space, which is called Bumblebee Square, left as it is.

Butler’s mother, Margaret, has lived in Comrie for 18 years.

The actor, who has homes in New York and California, has taken a keen interest in the controversy over the shop plan.

A campaigning group called The Friends of the Square has been formed.

And they are trying to raise £100,000 to buy Bumblebee Square and keep it as a space for the whole community.

Several cash pledges have already been received and Butler has been in touch to offer his support for their campaign against the store project.

Margaret, who raised him alone from the age of 18 months after her marriage broke down, said: “He’s all for the community taking the square on.

“We moved here 18 years ago and Gerard loves Comrie, its people and the surrounding area.

He’s all for the community taking the square on

Gerard Butler's mum Margaret
“He certainly backs the community’s efforts.”

Friends of the Square treasurer and trustee Ted Henderson said yesterday: “We had heard rumours about Mr Butler getting involved but hadn’t heard anything directly.

“We got in touch with his mum and she said that he was really interested to help.

“He is supporting the campaign, though I can’t reveal who any of the donors are.

“It is great to have someone like him behind us.

“The development proposal shows us that Bumblebee Square’s days are numbered.

“It’s time to act now or miss out on the chance to secure something really positive for our village that will benefit generations to come.”

A Co-operative Food spokesman said yesterday: “As a community retailer, the opinions of local people are important to us. A small convenience store, which would create around 15 jobs, is just one element of the developer’s proposals, and we believe it would be an asset for the village.”

Butler, whose most recent film was the action thriller Olympus Has Fallen with Morgan Freeman, is currently dating the 24-year-old Romanian model Madalina Ghenea.