Concerns raised over state of playing field

* Mike Edwards's picture of the playing field he is concerned about.

A concerned local resident has told a local county councillor of his concerns about a Llangollen playing field and the nearby site where new homes are being built.

Mike Edwards tells Cllr Graham Timms in an email, a copy of which was sent to llanblogger: "I am very concerned that the football pitch has been out of commission for months being cordoned off where SG Estates have constructed a below-ground soak-away for the Vicarage Road Development.

"The area has remained in this condition for sometime meaning it is unavailable for local youths to use. There is no sign of any final reinstatement work and no consultation or communication with residents to keep them in the picture, it’s our town and our facilities after all.

"This is on top of severe ongoing disruption for residents firstly on Willow Hill and now Vicarage Road. Vicarage Road is covered in a layer of mud despite being swept and it’s regularly littered with parked construction vehicles cause immense problems for the Vicarage Road residents.

"I would be grateful if you could take this up with the relevant officers and SG Estates and let me know what proposals are being put forward to alleviate the issues and to provide greater respect to residents of Llangollen."

Cllr Timms responded: "I had an email from a ward member about the youth centre sports pitch and the mud on the roads by the Vicarage Road site. I've spoken to SG Estates this afternoon and will be meeting with them early next week to help to resolve these issues.

"The sports field is still a candidate site for housing in the new LDP (Local Development Plan) but myself and Ken Skates have made our objections clear at the highest levels within the county council. I am hopeful that the sports field will be saved for future generations." 

Steve Griffin, managing director of SG Estates, told llanblogger: "The final seeding for the football pitch will be carried out when we have suitable weather.

"We have purchased a road sweeper that sweeps the road three times a day and have extensive offsite parking for vehicles in the compound area.

"It’s almost impossible not to cause some disruption during our development works by the nature of what we do and the weather we have to do it in."

He added: "The new road will be completed to base course by Monday meaning 99% of our site traffic will use Willow Street from Monday. This will help enormously. 

"One last mitigating point, we cannot control the site operations associated with the new reservoir. We seem to be taking quite a few blows on the chin for these guys."