‘Waste of money’ rap for £50,000 park refit
A £50,000 park refurbishment has been criticised for leaving it muddy, with poor equipment and looking ‘nothing like the proposed design’.
Macclesfield Town Council spent the money at Hall Grove, in Tytherington, and the new look and equipment was unveiled at an event on Wednesday, October 10.
Some visitors have been less than impressed though and branded it a ‘waste of money’ with some areas of hard surface looking unsafe
The town council has defended the work, describing the park as much improved and say the ‘mud’ will disappear when the planted grass seed takes hold.
Among those disappointed was Alice Kan, who said: “What a waste of time and money.
“Great to see there are a few pieces of new equipment in the park, but disgraceful that the park remains in an unsafe state and is nothing like the proposed design.
“It is regrettable that public money has been wasted with a very poor standard of finish, when a well designed and built park could have made a huge difference.
“The council needs to commit to completing the existing works and improving the rest of the park to provide a safe and pleasant facility for the whole community.”
Karen Greenwood added: “Numerous complaints have been made to the council, either directly or via Facebook, from residents, which to date, remain unanswered.”
At the opening families could come and try the new equipment and there was also face painting and snack boxes handed out.
It was one of two events that day, the other was at the playground on High Street, Macclesfield centre, which had also had a £50,000 refurbishment.
Councillor Gareth, Jones, from Macclesfield Town Council, says the park belongs to Cheshire East Council. But the town council still spent money improving it.
He said: “We had a budget of £50,000 to spend and we spent a lot of time on the park.
“It is in a much better state and we have some fantastic replacement equipment. Some old equipment is still there because it is still serviceable.
“I think people are being a little bit unfair, it is a far, far better park than it was. It’s great for the area.”
The image of the park released before its opening showed what the equipment, rather than the park itself, would look like, he added.