Residents in Cornton housing estate call for developers to swing into action over playpark

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Residents in a Cornton housing estate have accused a housing developer of dragging their heels over upgrading a playpark and transferring vital green space to the community.The playpark was built on the Westhaugh estate in 2011, with a Section 75 agreement drawn up between Stirling Council and Stewart Milne Homes over facilities in the area.But residents claim it has not been maintained since, leaving it in a poor condition, unsafe to use.Following pressure on Stewart Milne, it was agreed between the developers and the council to commit to a safety review of the playpark.The developer has since confirmed that the inspection report of the park was received on May 26, but residents claim so far there seems to be no commitment to a joint inspection with the council to agree on a way forward.Resident Crispin Bennett said: “The council did an independent review of the playpark, but Stewart Milne are sitting on that review.“The playpark is just not safe, the matting is ripped and the wooden structures are rotting away; Stewart Milne received that report on May 26 and were to be arranging a joint inspection within two weeks but as far as I’m aware, there has been no progress.“There is no reason really why they can’t just deal with this playpark issue.”Mid Scotland and Fife Green MSP Mark Ruskell has also been applying pressure over the playpark works.He said: “The local community have been sent round the houses trying to find a solution to this problem.“We’ve called on the developer to get folk round the table to find a way forward, and I was glad to see this happen.

But we now need to see concrete action to finally get a resolution.“We have serious concerns about the safety of children using the unsafe play park.