Elder Heath playground site is like an ‘abomination’ says concerned mother

THE planned site of a playground in Elder Heath Park in Kiltipper has become an “abomination”, according to a resident who lives adjacent to it.

Emma Murphy, who has lived in Elder Heath for the past four years, said there are issues with mud, open piping and an unsecured hose at the site, which she said poses a safety risk for residents.

“It’s like an abomination at this stage,” Ms Murphy told The Echo. “We’ve been here for four years and we’ve just always had a building site in the corner.

“There’s a lot of hazardous stuff left there, like a hose that people swing out of, and pipes.

“I’d just like to see it finished and made safe.”

Passing the site with her two young children, who are aged five- and two-years-old, “isn’t easy to navigate”, according to Ms Murphy.

The site is owned by Fortunestown-based property developer Kelland Homes, which is behind the construction of the Elder Heath and Tynan Hall Park residential developments.

In correspondence with Kelland Homes seen by The Echo, Ms Murphy stated that ground outside her house is “disgraceful, filled with loose hard-core being thrown around onto the road”.

She added that there are “large lumps of concrete scattered around and a big pile of topsoil which is now a solid mound.”

This has been the case for the past four months, according to Ms Murphy, and she’s appealing to Kelland to secure the site and “get rid of the concrete” and mud that is currently there.

A Kelland Homes spokesman told The Echo: “We are planning to commence with the playground works in the upcoming weeks subject to final design approval with a completion date expected for the middle of October.

“We have only recently finished completing the footpaths to the area which needed to be completed prior to playground commencement.

“As regards the hose and piping, this was in place for maintenance purposes for watering trees but we are arranging for this to be removed.”