Positive debate on village renewal
THE DEVELOPMENT of a three-acre plot of land in Murrintown was discussed at a public meeting the Community Centre recently when a proposed plan was put members of the public.
A committee has formed in the village to spearhead a campaign for often mooted and long desired development of the significant patch of land behind the community centre. A draft proposal suggested the provision of a playing field (that could be used by all clubs in the locality), a children’s playground, and a Memorial Garden with walking track.
Greg Mullan, who is a member of the committee said that, overall, the meeting was very positive with about 40 locals turning out to discuss the plans.
‘We had a Question and Answer segment and everyone had their say. We gave everyone a questionaire on leaving and have also made a digital copy available on Facebook so we’re waiting for some of those to come back and then we’ll proceed from there.’
Greg said that everyone was in favour of the playground and the memorial garden but there were some reservations about converting the rest of the field to a pitch with some wondering if, given the size of the space, it could be divided better to include basketball courts and a skateboard park.
Others were concerned about anti-social behaviour that might correspond with having a pitch there while some felt that the pitch would only be available to local sports clubs rather than the community as a whole.
Mr Mullan explained that the pitch would available to all groups and sports and would be a community field for all, adding that, in terms of funding and logistics, a pitch was the best option as it was not envisaged that funding would be granted for extra elements like basketball courts or a skateboard park.
‘Our vision is that this will be a village green that all of the community can use.’
He added that once the questionaires came back, the committee would move on to applying for grants, targeting LEADER funding for the playground and County Council Village Renewal Funding to construct the pitch and Memorial Garden.