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Lack of consultation takes shine off Forfar playpark upgrade

Nowhere to play: Raia Florence, 2, Seth Law, 4, Kimberley Butler, 5, Joey Wilson, 5, and Shaun Grant, 3.
Nowhere to play: Raia Florence, 2, Seth Law, 4, Kimberley Butler, 5, Joey Wilson, 5, and Shaun Grant, 3.

The shine has been taken off a £90,000 Angus park investment after angry parents said they had been left in the dark over the upgrade.

Just months after campaigners bombarded the local authority with protests over plans to remove outdated equipment from half of the country’s playparks, Angus Council has announced the major spend at Lochside in Forfar, next to the town’s leisure centre.

But the first campaigning mums knew of the revamp was when they turned up to enjoy the popular venue and found it fenced off and in the process of being ripped up.

The council has said the five-figure spend was already programmed into their budget and was not part of the controversial consultation.

But the mums say they feel the way the project has been sprung without warning flies in the face of a plea for communities to get on board with Angus Council to support playpark provision and come up with innovative ideas for the future.

Last October saw plans emerge for the money-saving removal of obsolete equipment from the smaller parks in a move panned by critics.

A consultation exercise generated more than 1,000 responses and a 2,272 signature petition supporting retention of the local facilities, leading to councillors taking the decision to shelve the removal plans for the time being.

Forfar mums were among the most vociferous campaigners and one of their number, Arlene Law, said they were shocked to find the popular Lochside playpark being dug up.

“We don’t want to seem ungrateful that they are going to spend £90,000 on it, but nobody heard anything about this until it happened,” she said.

“When we left the big council meeting in January the councillors and officials followed us out of the room and said we would be involved in the plans for the future.

“We really felt by the end of the campaign that we had reached them (the council) and we’re in no way ungrateful that money is going to be spent on playparks but there’s a principle here and it seems shocking that there has been no communication on this at all.

“Out of the blue we’re told that the park is closing and this is the equipment that you are getting.”

Arlene added that “£90,000 is a lot of money, but when it comes to playpark equipment it does not buy a lot and it seems we are getting the same equipment. In no way was the other stuff ready for the scrapheap so to just replace it with the same style of equipment is just madness.

A council spokesperson said: “The improvements to the outdated play area at Lochside were not part of last year’s consultation about the provision of play areas across the county, as the £90,000 refurbishment and replacement works had already been agreed.

“It had been hoped the work would have been completed during the last financial year but is only now being done. The improvements include a new planet jungle unit for four to 12-year-olds and an ultra-zone for six-year-olds plus.

“Two new springers, a dolphin and a camel, are being installed, along with a cone climber, a see-saw and a crocodile shaped bench for younger children.

“Redpore rubber safety surfacing is being laid across the entire play area and a new wheelchair seat is being installed.

“Some refurbishment of existing equipment is being done and the two-bay swing, picnic tables and timber play unit are being moved to new locations on the site.

“A few pieces of play equipment from Lochside will be used elsewhere in Forfar, with others being used for spare parts.”

Picture by Photos on Location