Ward councillor focuses on improving Morningside park

ISSUES at Sutton Park in Morningside were recently brought to the attention of the municipality.

Ward 27 councillor Ernest Smith said he had recently engaged with the District 10 horticulturalist on a number of concerns including illegal dumping, theft of equipment, the need for more dustbins and better use of the open space.

Smith said dumping in Sutton Park was a mixed bag of issues as the cause was from a variety of factors such as illegal dumping as well as individuals who don’t share concerns for environmental pollution which he said they could either be a part of or a solution to.

“I have witnessed people just throwing papers on the ground and when I approached them to query the issue, some of them got quite annoyed for calling them out. We need to take care of our green spaces with the increase of urbanisation,” he said.

Smith said he had discussed the issue of getting trees trimmed and the possibility of having more dustbins installed in the park, as well as having an environmental office stationed at the Park.

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“There have been proposals from members of the wider community for environmentally friendly approaches to try and turn Sutton Park into an attraction for the area however, there seems to be a need to educate people on environmental preservation and owning up to individual responsibility in not polluting the environment. Following on to this, there have also been proposals to fence the park as a whole, which is also being considered, but as always comes down to budgets and council approval,” he said.

Smith said overall, the end goal is to try and create a clean, safe space for families in the area while maximizing the use of public facilities for the benefit of everyone.

“The intention is to suggest to bring more people to Sutton Park. I feel the economic development committee should look at assisting the community in establishing a type of flea/farmers market where people can enjoy the park as well as supporting a local economy and boosting employment in the area. What is really sad is that a few of the swings had been stolen to presumably be sold for some fast cash which impacts the residents as well as their children negatively,” he said.

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