AusLeisure

The Hills Shire Council in north western Sydney has advised that the new sporting fields in North Kellyville which were damaged in a senseless act of vandalism have now been restored.

Council staff and contractors have worked hard to replace the turf, which was vandalised by cars mid May.

The Hills Shire Mayor, Dr Peter Gangemi advised “we’ve calculated about $50,000 worth of damage was done when these vandals broke into our new sports complex and senselessly destroyed our fields.

“Some sections needed to be cut out and new turf laid. In other areas where the damage was less extensive, rolling, topdressing and fertilising could be done to save the grass.

“Fortunately, no damage to the irrigation system has occurred, but we do have delays with getting onto the next stage, which is installing the sand slit drainage.”

Sand silt drainage is a method of drainage using small trenches filled with sand, gravel and pipe to remove excess water. This makes the playing surface more durable and allows sport to return much quicker after wet conditions.

Mayor Gangemi added "this could still impact those using the fields for this season’s summer sport.

“But we are doing everything in our power to avoid any delays and our contractor, TRN Group, is also doing everything possible to recover impacts to the schedule caused by this reckless act.

“We know how much these sports fields mean to our local sporting groups and the wider community, and that’s why we are working hard to get the grass to re-establish itself in time for summer sport.

“I’d like to thank our Council officers and contractor for restoring these fields.”

Mayor Gangemi went on to say that he hoped this incident would deter would-be vandals, concluding “many of our residents were outraged that someone would do this to a community facility.

“Damage to our facilities inevitably leads to their closure, impacting the whole community. This is not to mention the extra resources and costs associated with their repairs, which ratepayers ultimately have to cover.

"I encourage residents to report antisocial and illegal activity to the police and this will go a long way to deterring future acts of vandalism.”

Images: Samantha Riley Drive Reserve fields restored (top) and The Hills Shire Mayor Dr Peter Gangemi at one of the vandalised locations that will eventually be covered as grass grows (below).

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