A Peterhead park has reopened after vandals caused thousands of pounds-worth of damage.
Victoria Park had been closed since June for safety reasons after “mindless culprits” destroyed equipment and created mess at the newly-opened green space.
The £1million project was first launched in 2020 to create an inclusive safe place for residents.
The park contains a sensory garden, playpark, picnic area and outdoor adult gym equipment all in one location.
But shortly after it first opened, members of the Peterhead Area Community Trust (Pact), who initiated the plans, were “heartbroken” to see the park vandalised.
Broken glass and litter were left strewn across the lawn in a spate of incidents, while several fences and picnic benches, as well as various items from the outdoor gym, were destroyed.
Graeme Mackie, Pact vice-chairman, said: “I just don’t understand why they would want to destroy a community facility that was created at the heart of Peterhead for them.
“It’s their own park they’ve destroyed, so they are actually spoiling it for themselves.
“If we carry on using our funding to repair what has been done in phase one of the project, we can’t focus on pushing phase two, which is predominantly for older kids.”
‘Deter vandals’
As well as repairing the damage, believed to be worth £10,000, volunteers have installed additional security measures to preserve the park.
Entrance areas at Victoria Road and Morrisons have been equipped with pedestrian barriers, while new bin lids have been installed to stop gulls from scattering litter.
Wooden fencing at the supermarket’s open area has also been painted with anti-vandal and anti-climb paint in efforts to prevent further incidents of vandalism.
Volunteers are in talks with Aberdeenshire Council to install CCTV cameras and plan to increase community patrols in the area to deter vandals from causing damage.
Mr Mackie added they are now exploring all options to stop it from happening again.
He said: “We’ve got the community on our side and they have praised the effort that we’ve put in to repair the damages and install the new measures to reopen.
“We had people forming a queue outside to get in on our first day back and they all said they were chuffed the park has reopened.
“Hopefully this vandalism to the park was just a phase and the people who have done it will move on, but the damage that was caused so soon was quite disturbing.”
‘It’s vital our play areas remain open’
David Duguid , Banff and Buchan MP, praised the volunteers for their effort to restore the park and urged people to report any acts of vandalism to police.
He said: “It’s vital our play areas remain open and aren’t spoiled for the people of Peterhead just because of the actions of a few selfish individuals.”
An Aberdeenshire Council spokesman said: “The recent vandalism at Victoria Park was hugely disappointing and totally unacceptable, but we are delighted to see the facility repaired, re-opened and being widely used once again by an enthusiastic community.
“We will continue to support PACT in all aspects of the park’s development including sourcing funding streams for permanent power solutions and other amenities.”
Conversation