Angry residents in a Cornton estate have called for an end to a ‘standoff’ over maintenance of a playpark which they say has become dangerously rotten.
The playpark was built on the Strathallan Park estate in 2011 by Stirling Council, with a Section 75 agreement drawn up between the council and housing developers Stewart Milne Homes over facilities in the area.
However, it is claimed that no further work has been carried out since then, with neither party willing to take responsibility for the land – leaving locals concerned for the safety of the equipment on the site.
Crispin Bennett is one of those left angered by the lack of maintenance work –and accused Stewart Milne of not listening to queries from local residents over the lack of work being carried out.
Mr Bennett said: “The issue has been a problem ever since the playpark was built back in 2011 and gradually the infrastructure has started to rot, with one of the residents paying out of his own pocket because it was dangerous.
“Stewart Milne haven’t transferred the land over to the council so they can’t maintain it so they are not holding up their end of the bargain – I can’t understand why you would build a playpark and then not look to maintain it?
“It feels as if they have made their money from the site and now they are walking away from their responsibilities and any time it has been raised, Stewart Milne have just told residents to go away.”
However, a spokesman for the Stewart Milne Homes rejected those claims and said the developer had been in “regular correspondence” with residents over the last few years regarding the maintenance of open spaces within the development.
The spokesman said: “It is simply not true to say that we have ignored the residents.
“Indeed, we have been in regular correspondence with them and they are fully aware of what is a complex situation regarding the responsibility for maintaining the residual areas of open space, including the playpark, on this site.
“It is currently the responsibility of the community to maintain these areas.
“However, as already outlined to the residents, we have been working to find a longer-term solution and, as soon as we can complete the construction of a football pitch on adjacent land, we will explore the potential adoption of these areas with Stirling Council.
“We are progressing works on the football pitch and hope to have this completed in the coming months, at which point we will engage with Stirling Council.”
Meanwhile, a Stirling Council spokesman told the Observer: “We share the frustration of residents over this long- running proposed land transfer.
“Stirling Council does not own the play area and does not manage or maintain it.
“This is between the landowner and developer and we continue to encourage both parties to resolve outstanding issues for the benefit of all in the local community.”
