Playground construction delays branded as ‘absolutely ridiculous’ by concerned residents
By Laura Lyne
CONTINUED delays to the construction of a new playground at the Tallaght end of Tymon Park have been blasted as “absolutely ridiculous” by a local resident as the long-awaited playground is still to undergo the tendering process.
Yvonne O’Malley, a Tymon North resident who helped to create The Vanished Playground, a community campaign for the playground’s return, has been re-starting the campaign to bring back the playground in recent weeks.
She has received over 17,000 reactions from local residents in response to the campaign, which was restarted following a question submitted by Fianna Fáil councillor Charlie O’Connor about the progress on the playground at the Tallaght Area Committee meeting at the end of January.
In the question, Cllr O’Connor noted the “frustration of the local community” in respect of the “continued” delay of the playground.
In response to his question, the council said that the delay was caused by a number of factors including the “volume” of consultations to deliver the Five-Year Play Space programme.
Yvonne told The Echo: “I really don’t understand what’s going on with the whole process. The money was in the budget in December and the plans are already there.
“They say that they’re consulting on a playspace for Kilnamanagh, but what about Tymon North. Why haven’t they cleaned up the old playground area? It’s totally being neglected.
“The aim is now to get people talking again, and to get people to put it to candidates when they come to their doorsteps.
“This has been going on since last summer and it’s a total fob-off. It’s absolutely ridiculous.”
Following the meeting, Labour councillor Mick Duff received an email from South Dublin County Council chief executive Daniel McLoughlin, who assured Cllr Duff that the design is ongoing, funding is in place and the project will “go to tender this year”.
The tendering process for the project was expected to take place last November after being delayed ahead of the 2015 summer season.
The famous timber playground with a giant slide was decommissioned due to health and safety concerns in 2010.
Following the tender process, the new playground is expected to be located beside the car park at the Tymon North entrance to the park.
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