Ashbourne desperately needs a park. It is long overdue and it is entirely unsuitable for a town of this size to have such a glaring absence of greenspace.

The pandemic has really highlighted the years of neglect in this area; we were confined to the town and were for the most part confined to walking through housing estates, commercial areas and industrial estates.

There are countless physical and mental health benefits to having a park to visit, having one available for the thousands of residents in Ashbourne and the outlying areas would be a great way to reap these benefits.

Our councillors are motivated and commited to bring this proposed 80 acre project to fruition and are well placed to manage the logistics and the finances of the project.

I note there is a planning application to build houses beside the Killegland cemetery on land which was hoped to be used as an entrance to the proposed 80 acre park. This is a short sighted decision which makes use of land which was intended to benefit the community. 

The most important thing for Ashbourne now is a park and everything that needs to be done to deliver this 80 acre project should be done. Continuing to pile housing into the area without the relevant recreational areas and services is madness and needs to stop.