Chapel-en-le-Frith dad demands action over play park left to ‘rot’

A Chapel-en-le-Frith dad is demanding action over a former playpark which has been left to ‘rot’ after equipment was removed due to antisocial behaviour.
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John MacMillan, 42, told how the small park - now closed-off with an orange barrier and overgrown with weeds - made part of the smart South Head Drive estate look like an ‘inner city ghetto’.

Dad-of-one John - who bought his detached, four-bedroom home in 2006 - said the play equipment was taken out over five years ago.

At the time teens were gathering in the park ‘smoking, drinking and generally making a nuisance of themselves’.

John MacMillan says the neglected park devalues his homeJohn MacMillan says the neglected park devalues his home
John MacMillan says the neglected park devalues his home

He added that in the years that followed the area had been subject to vandalism and was now a ‘general eyesore’.

John said many living on the estate - built in 1999 - believed the unsightly play area devalued their homes.

He said: “Walking past it you’d think you were in Moston or Moss Side in Manchester.

“If you were buying a house on the estate you’d think ‘why have they done that? The kids around here must be awful’.

The decaying park near South Head Drive, Chapel-en-le-FrithThe decaying park near South Head Drive, Chapel-en-le-Frith
The decaying park near South Head Drive, Chapel-en-le-Frith

“But teenagers still congregate there because they can just climb over the fence - they’ve not solved the problem by removing the equipment.”

John, who has a three-year-old son, says he would like to see the park restored with play equipment for youngsters but fears his boy will be too old to enjoy it by the time this happens.

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He said: “They’ve obviously been drinking and all sorts in there - wrecking the place – but that’s ruined the enjoyment for the younger generation and I don’t think that’s right.”

John MacMillan says the current state of the park is 'an eyesore'John MacMillan says the current state of the park is 'an eyesore'
John MacMillan says the current state of the park is 'an eyesore'

Chartered surveyor John said he had written to Chapel Parish Council, High Peak Borough Council and Derbyshire County Council to find out who now had responsibility for the land.

However he added ‘not one of the authorities has acknowledged responsibility or come up with any information as to what the future plans are for the parcel of land’.

He said: “The current state of the park is an eye-sore and will undoubtedly affect house prices in the area - who would want to live next to a vandalised, fenced-off compound?

“The whole situation is simply disgraceful and I am not the only resident in the area who feels like this.”

A spokesperson for Barratt Homes Manchester said: “We have been maintaining the open space since the development was built in 1999 and have been working

closely with the local authorities to reinstate the park.

“Unfortunately the maintenance system was suspended due to COVID-19 - when work was limited to essential services only.

“Contractors working on maintaining our developments will start work as the lockdown measures are lifted by the government and we will prioritise these works in Buxton.

Furthermore we are currently in discussions with High Peak District Council regarding the long-term ownership, reinstatement and management of the park.”

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