The management company responsible for maintaining a popular Broughty Ferry park has apologised for its unkempt appearance only weeks after a major renovation project was completed on the site.
Users of Sandy Park, off Balgillo Road, have grown increasingly concerned at its condition, with reports of the grass not being cut for more than a month and football pitches now unplayable.
The Greenbelt Group, which owns the play area, said sorry over the weekend before adding that the company it uses to maintain the land had been unable to trim the grass because its lawnmower was not working.
It pledged to take action, but the explanation has failed to satisfy some. Resident Sam Bone said, “It’s an absolute mess and eyesore.
“The grass hasn’t been cut in over a month and is knee high, the pathways are a disgrace, overgrown with grass and sand. The south-west entrance is like a ploughed field, the north west entrance is like a lake.”
The park’s somewhat run-down state is in stark contrast to how it looked in May when it reopened after thousands of pounds worth of investment, including the purchase of new play equipment.
The high-profile campaign was spearheaded by 12-year-old Kristie Burnett from Broughty Ferry who was instrumental in the establishment of the Friends of Sandy Park.
After more than two years the youngster’s dream was realised when she, along with local councillor, Rod Wallace, carried out the ribbon-cutting duties.
But less than 11 weeks on, and the park’s appearance has left Mr Wallace “shocked and disappointed.”
He said Greenbelt’s explanation was not good enough.
“The firm is subcontracted to maintain quite a lot of sites, I am sure, on the east coast and I would have thought they would have had greater resources to call on if machinery were to break down.
“I was really quite disappointed to see the state of the park after all the hard work carried out to improve it.
“Greenbelt were really quite good about this in the beginning,” the councillor added, “but they appear to have sat back on their laurels and need a bit of a kick up the backside.”
The subcontractor of the Greenbelt Group told the firm that it would send a team out to the site over the weekend to deal with the problem.
John Beveridge, head of customer services at Greenbelt Group, added, “Our contractor has not been able to cut the grass because of a machinery fault.
“We have apologised for this to the Friends of Sandy Park who have accepted that. I have been advised that the grass will be cut over the weekend.
“We have spent quite a lot of money on the renovation of the park which only reopened recently,” Mr Beveridge added. “Everything was looking good then.”
Councillor Wallace said he would be monitoring the situation very closely, adding that he would ensure his “presence was felt” by the sub-contractor company.