Site proposals for park...

Action Group Update 21/8/03

At last nights meeting the most important thing under discussion was the proposed site for the park!

At the moment the council's position is still with the Meadows as the preferred location due to the fact this has already been formally agreed by city councilors. Given the legislative problems which have been well publicised this is not the favoured option as it could take up to two years before building could start on site! To change this the Action Group and the Council are looking for your feedback. A "Short Life Working Group" has been set up by the council, involving members of the ESP and they have been busy looking at all the other possible options, so thanks go out to all those involved (you know who you are!)

Basically there are now only two other serious options under consideration one of which you may already be aware of is Inverleith Park, but the other late runner is St. Marks Park (Just off Warriston Rd north of Powderhall). Both of these options are looking good for a number of reasons and we strongly advise you get yourself down to have a look if you are not already familiar with them. Both the Action Group and the Short Life Working Group have been looking at a number criteria including:

• Possibility to expand the park in the future - Both sites offer potential (The Meadows would probably be limited)
• Safety and security - We are waiting for the Police to come back to us with their advice
• Ease of access and transport

There were a few concerns about drainage at the Inverleith site which meant that the park might have to have been built up rather than sunk into the ground meaning less park for the cash! This seems (?) to have been sorted out (after all Perth was built on a flood plain and is designed to fill up and drain if there is a flood!) and there is little difference between these two sites at the moment, which is why we need your feedback!

Questionnaires have been distributed through Focus, Boardwise and Route One, so if you have a preferred option get yourself up to one of the shops ask them for a copy of the questionnaire (don't be shy!) and fill one in! But beware we are under pressure from the Council and only have a few days left before the completed questionnaires are collected back in so you'll need to do this before next Thurs 28th Aug for your vote to count!

So Meadows, Inverleith or St. Marks, the decision is yours?

- esp