Shellharbour: A Council With ... No Balls
Illawarra Mercury
Saturday May 10, 2008
BALL games have been banned at an Albion Park reserve in a council crackdown that threatens similar fun at another 100 parks.
Shellharbour City Council says complaints from residents about boisterous games and fears of litigation have prompted the second ball ban in a year.Signs outlawing ball games were recently erected at Thomas Park, around the corner from Hegarty Park which was ruled out-of-bounds to cricket, football and other activities a year ago.Mayor David Hamilton said the council was assessing every park in the municipality and further restrictions could be imposed."I think it's appropriate in some cases to ban ball games. But I believe we have to investigate the whole matter," he told the Mercury."We have (liability) laws ... things are changing. It's a sad thing to say, but if a kid hits a ball and someone loses an eye the council can be held responsible."We have a serious issue with play parks in the city that we have got to address and each park will be dealt with on its merit," Councillor Hamilton said.Ironically, the swoop on ball games comes as this week's Healthy Cities national conference in Kiama heard councils needed to provide more public space and encourage exercise."I've always encouraged people to get out and exercise. I wish I could do more myself," Cr Hamilton said.Healthy Cities Illawarra general manager Frank Wallner said the key was to design spaces that could be used by all residents and not to restrict park play. But he said people playing ball games needed to be respectful of others.Cr Hamilton said parks had become a problem for the city."We are doing an investigation. We are monitoring some of these parks but each needs to be treated differently," he said.The problems ranged from repeat torching of playgrounds in one park, to ball games such as those banned at Thomas Park in Albion Park.Albion Park resident Tom Brown complained to the council about a group of 16- to 18-year-olds who played cricket regularly in Thomas Park next to his home. Mr Brown said the noise of the balls and the constant swearing was disturbing and he was concerned about damage to his property.The 64-year-old has not fenced off his home from the park because he would lose sunshine, he said.Yesterday, the small park was quiet and empty and mounds of dirt covered the cricket pitch.Mr Brown said he was not against all ball games, just cricket played by boisterous older boys.However, his wife said no damage had been done by the flying balls and she accepted that living by a park brought a bit of noise and activity."I think having a park next door you've got to put up with some of these things," Robyn Brown said.The council's operations and services director, Arthur Webster, said the intention was to stop inappropriate ball games, not all types."Older people want to be able to sit in parks and feel safe, and young babies and children too. They have a right to be protected."The council had about 100 "passive" small parks where balls were not encouraged. Parks would be dealt with on a case-by-case basis according to complaints and risks.Albion Park's Don Hallett, who has lived in O'Keefe Cres for 40 years, said he was shocked when ball games were banned in Thomas Park.
© 2008 Illawarra Mercury