MORE THAN 2,000 people have added their names to a petition protesting the removal of playpark equipment in Angus.
Angus Council’s plans to remove equipment from half of the playparks in the county as part of a cost saving exercise have been met with strong resistance.
Yesterday a group of mums braved the cold to hand in a petition against the plans to council offices in Forfar, signed with the names of 2,273 people, and their message was simple there is only one thing that kids want for Christmas in Angus playparks.
However, the group were left disappointed when no elected official met them to receive the petition.
One of the group’s organisers, Arlene Law, told The Courier: “I’m just disappointed, but it has been like this all the way along it’s just more of the same however, I am pleased about the amount of signatures and how the campaign has gone.”
Fellow campaigner Morvyn Roebuck said: “We’ve had a petition, a Facebook group and public protest, so what more do you have to do?”
The public consultation followed a report submitted to the neighbourhood services committee in October, which recommended: “The removal of 50 play areas from a total provision of 100 which exist at present, reducing the number of items of equipment from 654 to 482, a net loss of 172 items.”
The plans would save the council an estimated £31,500 per year, although there would be a one-off expenditure requirement for the reinstatement of the 50 sites which are to be removed, estimated at £140,000.
However, this would be met by the Revenue Play Equipment budget, which the report indicates would not diminish the projected savings.
Yesterday, a spokeswoman for the council confirmed the petition organised by the Protect Our Parks and Save Our Swings group would be taken into account.
mdalziel@dcthomson.co.uk