Fix our pond plea!

STATION Park is about to enter its third year with its main attraction non-operational.

And the council has been accused of ‘playing chicken’ with the community.

The boating pond has been out of action since 2023 due to a persistent leak and, despite repeated investigations by council officers and other experts, no noticeable action has been carried out to get it in working order for the up-coming tourist season.

A number of solutions to the pond problem were discussed at Tuesday’s meeting of Moffat and District Community Council, ranging from placing dye packets in the water supply to check for other blockages and leaks, to redirecting water from the River Annan to fill the pond, which would require the permission of SEPA.

It was also revealed by group chairman Liam O’Neill that experts quoted the council £300,000 to fix the pond. However, further details had not been shared with the community council due to commercial confidentiality.

Mr O’Neill said: “When the council eventually brought in experts at the end of last year, they made a number of recommendations. However the estimate they came away with to fix the pond was around £300,000, and of course when you quote huge figures like that you’re not going to want to pay that, and we don’t have the details why it would cost that much.”

Residents have had enough with the ‘lack of urgency’ from the local authority, with some thinking their indifference is part of a long-game plan.

Moffat stalwart and community councillor Leys Geddes said: “It seems the council is playing a game of chicken with us: they are waiting for us to throw our hands up and say ‘enough, we’ll do it ourselves’ and they’ll say ‘go ahead’, because they know they’re supposed to have done it and they haven’t, and they want it off their books.

“But it would then mean the community has to take on a massive responsibility and we don’t have the people and we certainly don’t have the money.”

Secretary Mick Barker echoed these sentiments, adding: “What I’m frustrated by is the fact that we are coming to our third year of potentially not having the park ready.

“I’m frustrated by the lack of energy and enthusiasm from the council, we should not be going into a third year without an understanding of what’s happening to the pond and we certainly shouldn’t be heading into our third year trying to get permission from SEPA at this point in time, we should have had it months ago.”

“The sense of urgency is not there to try and solve the issues for the community.

“The council has said they are happy to work in partnership with us, and that means ‘your problem not ours’.”