The chair of a community council has hit out at “mindless” vandalism at a recently refurbished play park.
Last year, Clarkston Community Council (CCC) obtained grant money and raised cash to put in a zip slide and flymobile at a playground in the town’s Seres Road.
This additional equipment was installed to complement East Renfrewshire Council’s £60,000 refurbishment of the existing space.
Unfortunately, however, matting underneath the zip slide at the well-used space was stolen at some point in the last fortnight.
Rebecca Nicholson, the chairperson of CCC, said it was “hard to comprehend why anyone would do this".
She told the Barrhead News: “It’s such a strange thing to do. I don’t know why people would want to take the mats but the fact that people have done that is really mindless and disappointing.
“It’s a shock to us that this happened. It’s having an effect on kids who use the slide as it means that the matting that needs to be there to protect them on the ground (is gone)."
The zip slide and flymobile were installed after a community consultation which asked people what they would like to see in the Clarkston area for those aged nine to 14.
More than 600 young people took part in the survey and the overwhelming response was in favour of adding these two pieces of equipment.
For the zip slide and flymobile, in the region of £3,000 was raised by CCC through grants and local contributions.
In a social media post, a spokesperson for the local authority said: “East Ren has some fantastic parks and public spaces and we’re committed to maintaining, upgrading and improving them.
“Just last year we refurbished the play equipment at Clarkston’s Seres Road park and thanks to funding secured by CCC, we also installed a new zip wire.
“So, we were really saddened to see vandalism at the park recently, with a number of the mats under the zip wire stolen.
“The mats need to be replaced, so this mindless vandalism will, unfortunately, result in increased costs to the council.”
The matter has been reported to Police Scotland by the council.
A spokesperson for the force said: “Around 11am on Wednesday, April 19, 2023, officers received a report of the theft of grass matting from a park on Seres Road, Clarkston.
“Enquiries are ongoing.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here