Lack of play parks and delays on new facilities spark frustration in Inverness neighbourhood
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FURIOUS residents have hit out at the lack of decent play park facilities in an Inverness neighbourhood – after losing patience over a lack of progress on a long-promised 'kick pitch' area.
Developer Tulloch Homes is supposed to create a kick pitch at Leys Green as part of conditions attached to its ongoing house building in Milton of Leys.
But despite it promising more than a year ago that the work on one would be finished in 2022, and contractors subsequently being seen seeding grass on the site, the area earmarked for it is still nothing more than a patchy grass scrubland chock full of loose stones that residents say would make the site dangerous to use for sport or play.
And fed-up residents say the lack of these facilities has been rendered even worse recently after the only other play park facility in the area, at Balvonie Brae, was closed and partially dismantled after a piece of multi-use play equipment was deemed unsafe.
Although the problems at Balvonie Brae are unconnected to the Tulloch Homes development the residents say it has made the situation even more acute in a neighbourhood poorly served by play facilities and parkland – and where kids are forced to play football on streets and open spaces not suitable for the sport.
Hitting out at the long wait for a kick pitch, resident Kim Thain said: "Despite it being included in [Tulloch Homes'] planning conditions, and them having built literally hundreds of houses in the area – we're still waiting.
"The 'kick pitch' they promised is still essentially nothing but mud and rocks. Scattered around are all rocks. It's like the surface of the moon, with mud. It's hardly a 'play area', and the community is getting nowhere in terms of getting some play areas for the local kids."
She continued: "Residents of Balvonie Green are getting upset again as the kids are using it to play as it's the only space for them, resulting in footballs getting battered off houses and cars, and the grass turning to mush as it's not suited to football matches. But it's hard to blame them when there's nothing else available.
"I've lived up here for seven years and there's never been anything new provided for the kids, but plenty of houses have been built.
"Highland Council tells me that the playpark/kick pitch promised in the Leys Green plans by Tullochs is only required once 50 houses are built as part of that development, but they've stopped at 49, so the council planning team can't do anything.
"There was also a small park/kick pitch planned next to the new nursing home which is under construction, but that land has now been sold to the home developers and is being turned into a 'garden'."
She added: "We're at a loss. Hopes were raised that we would finally get something when [Tullochs promised work] last year, but if anything, it's now worse. We don't know what we can do."
Responding to her concerns, Tulloch Homes acknowledged that the seeded grass on the kick pitch was not up to scratch and it would be doing further work.
Tulloch managing director, Sandy Grant, said: “We understand the importance of open green spaces and community facilities for all to enjoy and we were disappointed not to be able to open the kick pitch at Milton of Leys last year.
“Whilst we had hoped the pitch would have been ready sooner, we were not satisfied with the condition of the area after it was seeded. As the quality was not as we had expected, we made the decision to reseed this pitch – a task that can only be done at certain points of the year due to the weather.
“We are pleased that work to the kick pitch has resumed, and the reseeding is currently under way.”
Meanwhile, the factors who maintain the play park at Balvonie Brae – First Port – have sought to re-assure residents that the facility will reopen shortly.
“As part of our regular playground inspection, we have identified a piece of equipment that has come to the end of its life and needs replacing on the grounds that it is unsafe," said a spokesman.
"This will not affect the remaining equipment, which will continue to be available once the unsafe equipment has been dismantled and removed. We anticipate this will be complete in the coming days, at which point the playground will re-open.”
“We will shortly be conducting a ballot with residents who can decide if they want the piece of equipment replacing like-for-like or something different installed.”
The damaged equipment being removed is a timber 'multi-play' structure and some nearby sleepers that had rotted.
