Concerns about park plan grow
Food more important than football, says paper
A proposal to plough up 28 acres of King’s Park and use the land for food production threatened to divide Stirling.
Stirling Town Council voted 10-6 in favour of setting aside for cultivation the flat area near the main gate and another part of the park.
It was in response to a directive from government officials who wanted unused land worked to boost food production.
However, the paper reported that since the vote was taken opinion on the move within the town had divided .
And a private meeting was held in the Albert Halls to further consider the matter.
Retired banker JW Campbell chaired the meeting , which was attended by many influential figures in the town including sheriff clerk JG Curror, Dean of Guild Steel, Bailies Duff and Lamb and Judge Raffan.
The meeting unanimously agreed a resolution, moved by Judge Raffan, which said: “This meeting protests against the proposal to plough up and cultivate the south-eastern portion of the King’s Park until all other suitable land in the district, including private policies, is put into cultivation.”
However, the Observer was unimpressed by the prominent citizens’ move .
The Prime Minister had warned of the grave crisis facing the country and declared that more land for food production must be found.
The paper asked: “How would the City of the Rock have stood in the eyes of the country if it had gone forth, by the voice of the town council, that it considered the retention of a piece of ground for recreation purposes of more importance than its cultivation for the production of food stuffs, of which Britain is in need?”
The paper added that, with the exception of a number of boys who play football on the ground each Saturday, no one would suffer from turning over the parkland to cultivation.
It had been suggested that the change would take away land the council rented from the Crown to accommodate excursions and this would be detrimental to shopkeepers.
But this argument was, said the Observer, much less strong as cheap railway fares encouraged people to travel further afield and there were fewer big trips to Stirling than before the war.
The paper added: “The unruffled fashion in which citizens have, despite certain feeble efforts to arouse agitation, received the proposal to plough up the park shows a saner grasp of the situation than the few who have made themselves look ridiculous by telling the authorities what land to cultivate and what to leave alone in the neighbourhood.”