Suburban Community Council to engage funding consultant for play park project

The Subbies are to appoint funding consultant Alan Jones as project manager for an attempt to obtain funding for a major upgrade to the Moss-Side Road play park.

Gurnites may have encountered Alan at the presentations he has done in recent months for NICE. He seems a pretty sharp mannie and maybe this is the way forward in these austere times as local authorities face more and more cutbacks. The community councils just don’t have the administrative infrastructure that the Highland Council has (or still has at the moment) and so hiring a professional like Alan is one way to go. He operates on a “no win, no fee” basis but charges a fee equivalent to 10% of the project’s costs should it be successful.

There will be thorough community consultation before anything goes ahead and already it was reported that children in the Tradespark area are bringing forward their ideas. Alan told the meeting that the project would qualify under the post-code eligibily for Community Spaces funding from the Big Lottery. Funding of up to 95% could be available and the remaining part of the costs could be met through volunteer labour.  

Alan also stated during the introduction part of his presentation at the Subbies meeting last Wednesday night that he was also working with our four local Highland Councillors to try and get a bigger adventure style play area on the east links area (that’s the putting green part of the links).