Defendingtheindefensible

South Ayrshire Council’s behaviour over the proposed Girvan pitch is so obviously indefensible - but that does not stop them trying - even under anonymity!

The wagons appear tightly circled. Welcome to the Battle of Little Big Scorn. First skirmish. Let’s talk about demand. Andrew Sinclair of Girvan FC told me there was no demand for the pitch.

And he would know. There are maybe 70 kids registered with the SYFA - and they don’t need a full-size pitch until 13. There is ample grass for them.

And Girvan FC already accommodates children. There is a clear mismatch between current demand and the potential capacity a 3G pitch can deliver. (Note - The council has never ever offered a business case).

There is no rugby in Girvan, yet SAC say the pitch is also for rugby. Why?

Regular readers may remember that local councillor Peter Henderson who “overestimated” the number of SAC residents by 56%. Has Peter lost count again?

Second skirmish. Let’s talk about why this is even being discussed. The locals, unprompted, called it the “Alec Clark Memorial Pitch” fully aware this is his reward for sustaining the coalition.

This is not sport driven. It is a 100% political decision. I am haunted by the words of a senior sportscotland manager who once told me “I’m fed up putting pitches in the wrong place because a councillor wants it in his ward”. This is just such a vanity project.

See also “Golf Academy” and “Olympic-sized swimming pool”.

Reconsidering battle plans. “Mr SAC” says there are no alternate sites. Not so.

There is adequate space beside the academy with the culverting of the old mill stream. (No doubt SAC will knee jerk that’s not possible but there’s a culverted stream below the National Stadium.) Siting a 3G pitch beside the school would allow better management and security of the site and minimise contamination of the rubber infill by soil. The proposed location is not suitable primarily because of inevitable soil contamination. And the proximity of trees. To suggest that the absence of a pitch is the reason for one is almost as ridiculous as the seven (7) mentions in the frankly amateur SAC petition of how a pitch would sort out some damp ground. At the bargain price of £850k.

This reasoning begs the question when South Ayrshire will get a Tourist Information Office? Or a Citizens Advice Bureau? Because everyone else has at least one of them!

The final battle. As to “assurances given in court” such assurances were given only after the residents withdrew.

SAC are rewriting of history to cover up their appalling and deliberate bullying of residents. They had previously refused to withdraw the threat of costs being awarded.

This was, and remains, a clear denial of natural justice by SAC. As a remedy, the hearing should be reconvened at cost to SAC so that the sheriff can be allowed to consider the submissions.

And there should be no risk of costs being awarded against residents. And the aftermath. SAC’s faux green credentials are now in complete tatters. A 3G pitch needs more than 4000 tonnes of virgin rock and several tonnes of un-recyclable plastic carpet - for a virgin grass site! Really? And what about the specific maintenance equipment? Not that SAC has ever mentioned maintenance of the pitch because it is much more demanding than grass!

So where will this equipment be kept or will it drive down to Girvan every time it is needed? It is depressing how SAC councillors and staff with their uniforms and rifles of office think they can beat back the residents of South Ayrshire time after time. The Battle of Little Big Horn, also appropriately know as the Battle of Greasy Grass, resulted in the defeat of the US forces. General Custer was found after the Battle with his ears gouged out. Why? Because he did not listen.

John Dunlop, Ayr