As the Rutherglen Reformer reported recently, Cambuslang and Rutherglen only have 17 playparks. This is less than half the number provided in Hamilton (41), and just under a quarter of the number in East Kilbride (75).
A new survey on playpark provision is being conducted by South Lanarkshire Council – this is what the SLC Communities & Empowerment Officer has to say.
As playparks and green spaces feature highly in all of the neighbourhood plans I think it’s important we share this opportunity within the communities we live/work in. The Scottish Government has identified £60m to allow Councils to improve existing fixed play areas. South Lanarkshire Council has been allocated £298,000 of the £5m budget for year one which equates to 5.96%. Funds are likely to be allocated over the period 2021 to 2026 and if the same percentage is used for the remaining £55m, the Council will receive around £3.5m in total.
The refurbishment of a play area can cost between £30,000 and £350,000 depending on size so the potential fund will not be sufficient to transform all of the Council’s 233 play sites. We are therefore initially interested in finding out about local priorities in your specific area. However, please note that any money allocated can only be used to refurbish existing fixed play areas owned by the Council, for critical maintenance and to make the areas more accessible and inclusive for a range of abilities.Your nearest play area may have space limitations with no room to expand or could be in private ownership so you may want to tell us about a play area that you use more often rather than the one that is closest to you. To help us decide on how to allocate available funds as fairly as possible, please take a few moments to share your views in the following questionnaire.The survey will be open until 31st January 2022. Please complete it now to let South Lanarkshire Council know your views.