Lack of cash could sink plans for a £1 million showpiece Forfar playpark.
There were hopes the ‘destination’ attraction could be created with money from a £60m Scottish Government fund to renew every playpark in Scotland.
Angus Council has received almost £220k for play area improvements since 2021.
But a top official admits they don’t know where the cash for the Forfar super-park will come from.
Forfar project still to get off the ground
No site for the project has been identified.
One obvious choice would be land where Lochside leisure centre once stood.
It is now open ground after the Forfar Loch Country Park building was finally bulldozed in 2022.
The existing playpark there is popular with families.
Council infrastructure director Graeme Dailly told authority opposition leader Derek Wann he will be bringing forward playpark spending proposals for this year.
The communities committee report in mid-January will set out how the council intends to use its playpark grant allocation over the next three years.
But Mr Dailly added: “£100,000 previously announced in the budget was to contribute towards the development of a ‘destination’ playpark for Forfar.
“The development of such a play park would likely require over £1m to establish and the funding required to progress the project has not so far been identified.”
National playpark fund
It followed a 2021 pledge by the SNP to “renew every playpark in Scotland” with a £60 million fund.
The Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) has confirmed only £10 million has been allocated for the first two years.
It could take until 2033 for the pledge to be fulfilled at the current rate, and only 40% of parks will be upgraded.
North East Scottish Conservative MSP, Maurice Golden, said: “It was plainly wrong for the SNP to campaign on this in Angus, which has seen a trickle of investment, and particularly the community in Forfar, will be wondering what they’ve done to deserve this treatment.
“There are big question marks over where the money will come from, based on Cosla warnings about underfunding this year.
“The impartial Scottish Parliament commentary confirms the money will not even scratch the sides of the work needed.
“And even with the full £60m, fewer than half of playparks will be renewed — with some waiting another 10 years for a lick of paint.
“This is the latest example of the SNP short-changing Scotland’s councils and the families who just want a nicer environment for their children to play in.”
Where has money already been spent?
The council received £108k from the Scottish Government fund in 2021/22.
It was used at:
- Kirriemuir – Martin Park £17,800
- Montrose – Splash unit replacements £6,900
- Crombie – Play park timber unit replacements £32,000
- Arbroath – West Links vandalism replacement £ 13,500
- Letham – Dempster Park play area unit replacement £ 6,800
- Forfar – Graham Crescent unit replacement £6,500
- Monifieth – Blue Seaway unit replacements £24,500
The 2022/23 allocation of £111k was to be spent on:
- Friockheim Park £41,000
- MacDonald Park, Arbroath £40,000
- Spink Street, Arbroath £30,000
Local authorities body Cosla carried out a scoping exercise on the state of Scotland’s playparks in 2022.
It revealed 4,878 that are owned, managed or maintained by local authorities.
969 of these are in immediate need of refurbishment at an estimated cost of £20m.
A further 2,542 parks are in need of medium term refurbishment over the next one to five years at an estimated cost of £103m.
Scottish Government response
A spokesperson said: “As set out in the Programme for Government 2021, the Scottish Government is investing £60 million to renew play parks in Scotland, so children have access to high-quality outdoor play in their own communities.
“This funding is for public, free-to-access parks and will be distributed to local authorities over the course of this parliamentary term.
“Angus has benefited from £439,000 over the first three years of the programme which has supported the renewal of nine play parks.
“Shortly after the funding was announced in 2021, we wrote to local authorities to underline our expectation that their whole play estate will be considered as part of the renewal programme.”
Conversation