Just hours after Maitland City Council unveiled its $40,000 improvement to Johnston Reserve, crews had to return to the site after a grader came too close to one of the new concrete pitches cracking the playing surface.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Initially it was thought the new wickets and surrounding ground works at the Mt Pleasant Street site had been trashed by vandals and hoons in cars, however, further inquiries revealed the damage was accidently caused by council equipment.
Fairfax Media reported on Monday how the cricket pitches behind Maitland Hospital had been replaced and surrounding ground works carried out.
The project was ready for the start of the 2016-2017 cricket season and was part of a $500,000 capital works program carried out across the city by council. Council’s Manager Infrastructure Construction and Maintenance Ashley Kavanagh said the damage occurred when a council grader got too close to one of the wickets.
He said the tyre marks on the fields were not caused by cars doing burnouts but by earth moving equipment council had to use on site.
Mr Kavanagh said the “minor” damage would be repaired for a nominal fee.
“It was caused by one of our machines that got a bit too close to the cement work which was still a bit green,” he said.
“We realise time is of the essence and it will be repaired before the start of the cricket season.”
Maitland District Junior Cricket Association president Glen Findley has applauded council for the new wickets. While disappointed about the damage he hopes the wickets will still be available to use when the cricket season starts in a few weeks.
When it was first thought the damage may have been caused by vandals, Mr Findley suggested erecting barriers around the playing fields to act as deterrants.
“Any sort of barrier around the field would be a deterrant and stop cars from getting onto the grounds but they’re not going to stop people generally vandalising the site.
“This is something that user groups will have to discuss further with council,” Mr Findley said.
New play equipment at the Fred Harvey Sporting Complex in Woodberry and at the Baker’s Brickyard site near Raworth, along with upgraded cricket wickets at Johnston Reserve on Mt Pleasant Street are just a few of the many projects Council has been working on as part of its ongoing commitment to improve recreational facilities across Maitland.
“‘Projects like these are all about ensuring Maitland is an enjoyable city to live in,” Mr Kavanagh said. “They might seem small in comparison to some of Council’s other major projects but they do make a difference to the lives of residents.”
