Sir – High handed, overbearing and egotistic are just a few of the words we would use to describe our "newly elected" councillor, Graham Phillips.
Perhaps the fact that he has no idea of how a councillor should deal with a few complaints over a children’s play park is the key ("Play equipment too near homes" NT July 13).
Surely he should have asked the complainants (whose names, by the way, he gave to a committee member) if they had made any enquiries to the committee about what was being erected or if they had attended any of the meetings – the answer to that being "no"; then he should have asked Planning and TEC Services if permission was required and the answer to that would also have been "no"; whereupon he should have gone back to the complainants and told them nothing could be done.
Obviously he is so egotistical he did not want to lose face by admitting he alone did not run The Highland Council. Instead he has started a "Playpark War" (his words not mine – recorded on a telephone message he inadvertently left on the wrong number) which he cannot win.
It is a fact that Timberline, who installed the equipment, are the only ones who can move it due to warranty and Health and Safety issues – this would cost £4500 (committee in possession of estimate) plus approximately £2000 site works.
We doubt anybody in this Ward would appreciate £6500 being squandered needlessly when there are so many other projects requiring funding.
We sincerely hope that anyone with similar opinions will contact the councillor and let their views be known.
As to the police being called at 3am, this has nothing to do with the new equipment being installed and is purely a breach of the peace which can happen anywhere.
We are at a loss to understand how Golspie children make more noise than other children at play but perhaps further south, where he comes from, they are more subdued or else he has never been near a school at playtime or a park where children go to have fun and enjoy themselves.
Personally if this is the starting point for our "newly elected" councillor we think it should also be the finishing point and tender his resignation and let someone with a better understanding of living in a small community take over.
Mr Salmond of the SNP has told us time and time again about the dangers of child obesity and we may be wrong but we thought exciting new equipment in a park encouraging more children to get out and about was a good thing, so perhaps Councillor Phillips is deceiving us about which political banner he is flying under and his SNP stands for Superior Natural Plonker!
Hazel and Tommy Sutherland,
5 Tower Street,
Golspie.
