Fury as playground plans for Bishopstown stall again due to lack of funds

Plans for a public playground first promised for a suburban Cork park almost a decade ago have stalled again due to lack of funds.

The disappointment came despite the fact local residents had offered earlier this year to help fundraise to secure the facility. But they had been told, at the time, fundraising would not be necessary.

City council officials confirmed last week it had hoped to advance the playground for Murphy’s Farm in Bishopstown this year.

“However, given the very tight financial constraints on the council, it has not been possible to do so,” said the city’s director of services in environment and recreation, Jim O’Donovan.

The news sparked a furious reaction from a local councillor, Fianna Fáil’s Cllr Mary Shields, who had been campaigning for the delivery of the facility for years.

She said residents’ hopes were raised in May after a meeting with city officials to discuss the stalled project.

Ms Shields said the residents had drafted their own plan, were led to believe that funding would be sought in this year’s city council budget, and that the project could start next year.

“They even offered to help by fundraising and were told it would not be necessary,” she said. But after a question to the council’s chief executive, Ann Doherty, about the lack of progress on the playground, it emerged that it may not be delivered until 2017 at the earliest.

Mr O’Donovan said provision has been made in the council’s draft 2016 budget for the appointment of a consultant to oversee the design process of the proposed playground.

He said this would allow the project to “advance further” next year, “subject to finance being available”.

“Both the design and consultation would take a number of months to complete, with an expected construction date in 2017,” he said.

But Ms Shields said at least one generation of young people has grown up since a suitable children’s playground was first sought for the area. “My own children were deprived of a local playground and my grandchildren are unlikely to enjoy such an amenity because it is being shelved once again,” she said. Plans for the amenity at Murphy’s Farm were first drawn up more than a decade ago. But despite the then Cork Corporation indicating that funds were ring-fenced for the project, it never materialised. “I am very annoyed Bishopstown people are being fobbed off and this important amenity is being put on the back burner once again,” Ms Shields said.

She plans to fight to ensure an estimated €250,000 is set aside during tonight’s city council budget meeting to secure the delivery of the project as soon as possible.