Following on from our thread last week highlighting the playing conditions at Pilrig Park, there were some interesting comments from the "Friend of the Clubs" Mr Ian Mackay. Ian has been a stalwart of youth and Amateur football in the Lothian area for many years, and has been a witness to the many trials and tribulations faced by clubs who incur the regular "brick walls" they face when dealing with council officials. The "old school tie" carries a lot of weight in this city when it comes to youth and amateurs sport. Ian's comments are recorded below and lifted from his website http://localheroesunlimited.webs.com/
" It was interesting to see Ian McDonald at this game, considering his ongoing disappointing treatment at the hands of officials in Edinburgh City Council. Ian has poured money in to sponsoring his own club, Redhall Star, at Redhall Park and he has in fact transformed the out-of-date changing facilities in this park but he refuses to spend any more until he gets a lease to the place. The matter is now in the hands of his lawyers but he faces a trying time in his dealings with those in power in Edinburgh City Council. Personally, I do not know how Ian McDonald keeps going. I have been through the same treatment in the past few years in my campaigning for better facilities for young people. But I found that in Edinburgh it is not possibly what you, rather who you know that matters. For example why do rugby clubs get permission to set up bases in public owned property and in the process sell alcohol sometimes on ground owned by the educational departments? I don’t know of any football club that has this type of licence. I was at Meggetland on Saturday for the semi-final of the Craig Gowans Memorial Cup and I was reminded once again of my camptagning to get the use of the main stadium for football finals, etc. Despite eventually proving that the main stadium used exclusively by Boroughmuir Rugby Club was in fact owned by the people of Edinburgh, I never did manage to get it for football. Do you know that the main stand and pitch are maintained by all of us who pay our council taxes. That and many other things I found out in my long career promoting and campaigning on behalf of those wrongly classed as being in minor-grade sport are treated by the rugby loving officials in power in Edinburgh,. Do you in fact ever notice that rugby pitches in council owned property always get preference over football pitches and are usually situated on the flattest ground and near to changing faciliites. I will be surprised if Ian McDonald does not decide to call it a day, just as I was forced in to"
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