Ballinlough Park games area ‘a happy addition’

Works on a new multi-use games area at Ballinlough Park, described as a “happy addition to the local area”, have been substantially completed.

The amenity, installed at the park located close to St Anthony’s Boys National School, is, Fianna Fáil councillor Terry Shannon said, a much-needed facility given the growing number of young families in Ballinlough.

Speaking to The Echo, Mr Shannon said it was something he had pursued for quite some time. “From start to finish it took nearly two years in terms of getting the finance, the tendering process… procurement,” he said.

Mr Shannon said he expects minor works to be completed within the next week or so after which time it will be open to the public.

“It brings facilities to the parish that we didn’t have and of course we need more because the amount of new families in the parish with kids is extraordinary and it’s great to see it.”

The former lord mayor said he would now like to see some additional benches installed at the park.

“The other thing I’m looking at is kind of a playground for bigger kids — now they’re in the region of €300,000 with the zip wire and all that kind of thing — something similar to what’s below in Douglas. Now the issue that will arise will be where we would put it because obviously that would have a fairly big footprint,” he said. “We’ll see if we can get the funding and if we’re in the happy position where we have the funding, well then we can look at where best to site the actual playground itself. But look that’s in the future.”

Meanwhile, Independent councillor Kieran McCarthy, also a former lord mayor, described the facility as a “happy addition to the local area”, adding: “We’ve been seeking it for a while. There has been calls for many years to revamp the playground in Ballinlough, which we’ve done, and many calls over the years for the [games area] and then there’s many calls as well to target the bigger problem of Douglas swimming pool in terms of its revamp.”