Upon hearing of the proposed plans for the building of a Sports Complex on Caird Park's grassland, we would like to express our objection. There are many reasons why we are against these plans such as the removal of green-space for the general public's use, the disturbance to wildlife and the overall negative effect this will have on the environment.

Currently everyone can use this area for activities such as dog walking, children's play, sledging, low cost sports training, family activities and local events. However if these plans go ahead, this land will only be available for use by the small, specialized group of people for whom this complex is being built. We believe it is unfair and unjust to restrict the use of the park as it was gifted to the people of Dundee as a whole and should not become unavailable to the many for the use of the few.

Additionally we are concerned of the impact this proposal would have on the wildlife. There are many animals known to reside in the park, such as deer, rabbits, foxes, birds etc.. Furthermore red squirrels and bats are known to be present in the park but because no roosting have been discovered they are being dismissed. As these are protected species we feel strongly that they should go undisturbed regardless of where they roost.

The removal of such a large green-space can only negatively impact our environment. As many of our local and national policies are focusing on the protection of our environment, such as the addition of more green-space at the waterfront in Dundee, it is completely contradictory to then remove such a large area of green-space elsewhere in the city. Additionally by uprooting so many trees and grassland, and replacing this with AstroTurf, the risk of flooding to the surrounding roads will increase greatly as trees help to absorb excess water from heavy rainfall or snowfall.

Throughout the construction stage there will be many disturbances to both the public and the wildlife in terms of noise pollution and access to the park and surrounding areas. The estimated cost of £21 million for the construction of this complex alone seems completely unnecessary when the current costs of the park upkeep will be a fraction of this. This estimate does not even account for the running costs for the complex after completion.

Considering all of these points we cannot understand how it can be justified to build this complex over our public park when there are so many other places, such as industrial wastelands in the city that would be more suitable and less damaging to our environment and lifestyle.

This complex will only benefit a specialized few and we believe our park should be preserved for the benefit of everyone in Dundee.