Councillors want to sort waterlogged pitches in Thurso
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A BID is to be made to do something about the waterlogged football pitches in Thurso, according to local Highland councillor Matthew Reiss.
Speaking at the first public meeting of the re-formed Thurso Community Council on Tuesday night, he said he and his ward colleagues are "determined to try and sort it out".
"We will do our level best to try and do something about it," Councillor Reiss told the meeting, although he stressed the local authority does not have much money. He said Sir George's Park, known locally as the Dammies, which is owned by Highland Council but run on its behalf by High Life Highland, is used by five different football teams.
Thurso FC, who play in the North Caledonian League during the winter season, have been unable to play on the Dammies and have had to go elsewhere for their "home" games.
The problem appears to be the amount of water coming from the Springpark area of the town and the inability of the drainage system to cope with it. "We hope to make it a financial priority," Councillor Reiss added.
Earlier, Councillor Reiss responded to criticism levelled at the local authority by Audit Scotland in a report which assessed the council's performance from 2010 to 2019. It highlighted falling service delivery standards and the unsustainable financial performance. There had been "disappointing" lack of progress since the previous audit in 2010.
However, Councillor Reiss said: "It is fair to say a lot of staff have done a lot of work try to deal with less money."
He gave examples of the number of posts that have been cut, and pointed out there used to be six road safety officers but that had been cut to two.
"A lot is being done to try and balance the books," he said. "We have to accept criticism but it has to be tempered and reasonable. These things take time to sort out. It is a bit like trying to turn an oil tanker round."
