Let’s build a park Appeal to raise £60,000 for specialist wheelchair play park at North Inch

Katharine McKay (left) and Claire Wilkie with daughter Maisie A Perth family are aiming to raise thousands of pounds for a specialist play park their daughter and others like her can enjoy.

Maisie Wilkie (8) has cerebral palsy, which has left her bound to a wheelchair with limited movement, restricting her from enjoying play parks across the city.

Now, mum Claire and friend Katharine McKay are on a mission to build a specialist wheelchair play park at the North Inch for Maisie to enjoy.

The pair eventually want to see sensory equipment and pieces that can be accessed by a wheelchair at the popular children’s play park.

However, they need to raise around £60,000 to make this dream a reality.

Katharine explained: “Maisie is confined to a wheelchair because she has acute cerebral palsy which leaves her with limited movement and she is partially deaf and sighted.

“She can’t speak and she can’t eat orally so she has a feeding tube.

“This means a lot of her enjoyment comes from sensory equipment. Her type of play is different to other children because she totally relies on her mum and dad to look after her.

“It all started off because I didn’t appreciate how little help Claire and Maisie get. They just get the basic stuff to see them through.

“She is a happy little girl and when you are out with her she loves having the wind on her face or going over a bumpy track and getting shaken about - that is what is enjoyable for her.”

Maisie currently has to travel all the way to Cumbernauld around 45 miles away - with her mum if she wants to enjoy a fully accessible play park, as she needs appropriate changing facilities as well as the wheelchair accessible play equipment.

This is why they want to have the play park at the North Inch.

Katharine continued: “There is no access to play equipment that have facilities nearby like changing facilities.

“For parents of disabled children they sometimes have to drive for miles or use the back of the car for changing, or go to a disabled toilet but then they need to use the floor.

“That’s why we picked the North Inch - there is less hassle because Bell’s has the changing facilities right next door. That takes a lot of worry away for the parents.”

The pair have already had talks with Perth and Kinross Council and a landscape architect to map out exactly what they want to see for Maisie at the play park.

She said: “We decided it would