Field conditions could axe Highland Games
Dundonald Highland Games organisers say this year’s showpiece won’t go ahead unless the playing field used to stage the event undergoes urgent attention.
Concerns over the ground conditions have put question marks over its staging this year’s event on Saturday, August 6. Nearby construction work on a new development is said to have taken its toll on the underfoot conditions. Sources say the condition that the field has been left in, the Games “cannot currently go ahead.” Organisers have asked both Dundonald Community Sports Recreational & Heritage Association (DCSRHA) and South Ayrshire Council to “urgently rectify” the issues.
Elaine McClure, the Games’ chairwoman, said: “We have had several meetings with DCSRHA and we are committed to working with them to make sure that we can host the games on the playing field. We are looking at every option open to us to overcome the access issues, guarantee financial viability and, of course, ensure the safety for vehicle and pedestrian traffic, whatever it takes we will do!”
A spokesman for the associatiuon said they are waiting for retrospective planning permission and added: “We want the games to be able to proceed as it has in the past, and prior to the pandemic.
“We are hopeful that we will receive the ‘go ahead’ from SAC Planning very soon, and if this is the case, we are confident the field will be finished, at least to a point where the Highland Games can go ahead, indeed, but for what was previously used as a vehicle entrance requiring further work, the field could most likely be used as is, albeit in a somewhat smaller area.”
A council spokesman said they lease the playing fields to Dundonald Community Sports Recreation and Heritage Association.
He added: “They have used a private contractor to carry out drainage works on the playing field. We are happy to provide the association or their contractor with advice on how the condition of the playing field could be improved.”