“Long overdue” repairs at Dumfries playpark are underway
The green space has been closed for most of the year.
Last updated 16th Oct 2024
Major repairs are underway at Dock Park in Dumfries and over the next few weeks, the local authority hopes the green space will be transformed.
What was once voted Scotland’s best park turned into the polar opposite this year, becoming almost unrecognisable.
The playpark was closed a few weeks before the summer holidays this year.
Play equipment, gates, and flooring, including the historic bandstand, were either fenced off or removed for safety reasons.
Earlier this year, South Scotland MSP Colin Smyth criticised the council for allowing the park to “fall apart”, resulting in the park being out of use.
The bandstand needed more than a lick of paint and parts of the flooring were needing replaced.
The playpark was also in bad shape.
The ship and the disabled roundabout in the children’s playpark were fenced off, and the broken seesaw was removed rather than replaced.
The gates were barricaded with barriers, and sections in the rubber flooring were crumbling.
The Labour MSP says: “I’m pleased to see that work has been carried out to repair most of the equipment in the park and has started on the bandstand, but it should never have been allowed to fall into such an appalling state of disrepair.
“Much of the park equipment was out of action during the school holidays and the summer tourism season, and the bandstand has been fenced off now for a year and a half which is shocking.
“I successfully fought for the £2 million refurbishment of what was an award-winning park. We transformed the Dock Park into a real jewel in the crown for Dumfries and it was voted Scotland’s favourite park. The council should hang their head in shame over the way it has been neglected in recent years.”
The council says the work at the park and bandstand is part of an eight-week programme and “they are currently on track with the works, but some aspects are weather dependent.
“The play ship is being replaced, but work has halted until an additional piece of equipment arrives. We are hopeful that this will be completed in the next few weeks.”
Although Smyth welcomes the news, he says the council needs to start thinking about maintaining the upkeep of the park.
“Now repairs are being carried out we need to see a proper maintenance regime, which is what the Council promised funders like the Heritage Lottery fund when they secured grants from them a decade ago.
“I know the council are struggling financially due to Government cuts, but not maintaining the park will mean it costs more to repair in the long run.”