‘Mucky Park’ to remain under council control

A LONG-standing saga has finally come to an end — and a recreational area dubbed “mucky park” will remain under the control of Rotherham Council.

Coronation Park in Maltby, which has suffered anti-social behaviour and littering, was the subject of an asset transfer changeover order from current owners Rotherham Council to Maltby Town Council.

But this was withdrawn last month after discussions were “unable to proceed” any further — sparking a war of words between Tory councillors and a Labour rival.

Conservative councillor Cllr Simon Ball (pictured), who serves Maltby and Hellaby West, said it was another reason why the town had been forgotten. with RMBC focusing on the £47 million Forge Island investment rather than sorting issues with a park “riddled with problems”.

He added: “Our town just over the M18 border has simply been forgotten for quite some time by RMBC, who say no money is available for bins, new equipment, roads resurfacing and paths.

“The council can find the resources for its £47 million Forge Island project in Rotherham town centre, but not Maltby.

“There’s no wonder residents feel forgotten.

“Coronation Park is falling to pieces with inadequate play equipment, broken glass scattered on the floor, and dog poo on paths a regular occurrence which is blighting the area.

“Rotherham Conservative councillors in Maltby have to fight tooth and nail for every penny to make improvements to this area and we will continue to do so until our voices are finally heard by this council.”

Cllr Ball’s ward colleague Cllr Adam Tinsley, also Conservative, said RMBC could have helped to rejuvenate the park with a small fraction of the investment on Forge Island.

“After being caught in the asset transfer process for around 16 months, any consultations for the park have been unable to proceed.

“There will now be a consultation to discuss improvements for the park.

“With funding of £40,000 available, we will look to see what play equipment can be replaced.

“Although this money sounds like a lot, it will not go far enough to see huge improvements that are needed to make Coronation Park the place it should be.

“Surely if they can find £47 million for Forge island they can find 0.01 per cent of the figure to double the money available for improvements at Coronation Park?

“Since being elected, we have successfully pressured the council to apply for funds to upgrade lighting and improve CCTV in the park and we will continue to work hard for the people of Maltby.”

Cllr David Sheppard, RMBC’s cabinet member for social inclusion and a member of the ruling Labour group, said: “We were surprised to hear that after advocating for cuts to local public services for more than ten years, Maltby Conservatives had discovered that their cuts have real consequences in our communities.

“Despite losing hundreds of millions of pounds over the last 12 years, we have still been able to prioritise Coronation Park for recent investment in bins, CCTV, and lights in the multi-use games area.

“Because of the changes we’ve made, ward members are able to give priorities to local street cleaning and grounds maintenance teams, and the Maltby councillors have taken advantage of this.

“Since the Maltby Town Council has changed its mind about taking over the park, we will of course continue to invest in the play equipment with the funding that we would otherwise have been giving to them to do this.”