Dog walker's dismay at Thrybergh Country Park quagmire

A DOG walker who regularly visits a country park has criticised a council for turning its car park into a “quagmire”.

Geoff Lazenby (64), of Ravenfield, likes to take his two-year-old dog Mega to Thrybergh County Park for a stroll.

He has never had an issue parking his car there before, but when he visited the park after a recent spell of bad weather he discovered the newly-resurfaced car park was a mess.

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“They had some community payback workers out a few days ago,” said Mr Lazenby.

“They were barrowing some stuff that had been tipped and they were spreading it out and tamping it down.

“The morning after, I went to take my dog for a walk as I do every day.

“It was just like a quagmire. They had some heavy vehicles on it and nobody was parked on it at all.”

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Rotherham Borough Council confirmed the material used to resurface the car park “did not meet expectations” and the car park would be resurfaced at no extra cost to the council.

Mr Lazenby said the messy car park had put off a lot of visitors.

“It’s also been transferring onto the paths and roadways and into people’s cars,” he said.

“I’m having to wash the dog’s paws down before I put her in the car. It’s just a nightmare.

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“I have been using the park for 20 years and I have never seen it this bad.”

Mr Lazenby said the council had tried to cover over the surface with fresh gravel to fix the problem.

Polly Hamilton, the council’s assistant director for culture, sport and tourism, said: “Work was carried out by the Community Payback team to improve the surface of the car park at Thrybergh Country Park.

“During this time, the overflow car park was opened to ensure visitors were unaffected by the works. 

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“Unfortunately, the material used to resurface the car park did not meet our expectations.

“This has now been removed and will be used elsewhere.

“The team will be returning to lay a more suitable surface at no extra cost to the council.

“While we wait for the remedial works to take place, the car park has been made fit for use and reopened for visitors.”

 

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