Plans for a major redevelopment of a park in Kirkwall have been given the go-ahead by Orkney Islands Council’s planning committee.
The proposals would see big changes for Papdale Park, including the building of an amphitheatre area, having a burn run through the park with bridges, changing the area’s car park and improving the tracks & paths.
The applicant was the council itself with leisure and culture services manager Garry Burton speaking on its behalf.
He said: “The application that’s being presented has been a long-standing aspiration for the community. There has been a lot of community engagement around the development of the park.
“The proposal that’s been put forward is seen as much more of a community benefit than just a development of play park itself.
“There are other benefits that have been highlighted in the presentation to members, around the re-culverting of the burn, the biodiversity aspect and the community focus.”
While there was no dissent from members of the planning committee and there were no statutory objections, there was an objection from a nearby resident concerned about:
- Maintenance of the area
- Having areas of water near a children’s play area
- De-culverting works attracting vermin and vandalism
- Antisocial behaviour
However, the council’s planning department felt these concerns had been dealt with in the plans.
When reaching decision for the application the chairman of the council’s planning committee Rob Crichton simply said: “Do we have any general comments? Other than saying it’s great to see this park being redeveloped, from my own person point of view.”
No further comments were made.
No works on the park area will begin until a phasing plan has been approved by the council.
