Football club’s planning victory after tot was hit by a ball

A decision to erect mesh-type fencing beside the Jim Patterson Memorial Pavilion at Coldstream FC’s Home Park ground was prompted by an incident in which a wayward football struck a child at the playpark, located just a few yards from the goal frame and separated by a 6ft wooden fence.

Club chairman David Lauder had expressed concerns about the close proximity of the playpark to the pitch when it was built in 2019.

But after the recent ball-hitting incident it was decided to submit a planning application to Scottish Borders Council to erect netting behind the goal to ensure there was no repeat.

The council agreed to cover the cost of what is referred to in the planning bid as a ‘ball stop feature’.

Now the application has been approved by the local authority’s lead planning officer Julie Hayward, who said: “The fence would be installed between the football pitch and play area to the south east and would improve the sports facility and protect the surrounding land uses.

“This type of fencing can be seen at other sports facilities in the Borders, such as the rugby pitch and tennis courts in Volunteer Park Hawick.

“It is considered that the proposal would be in keeping with the sporting use of the site and would not harm the visual amenities of the area or views into and out of the Conservation Area.”

The action is necessary believes Mr Lauder, who fears that a ball struck with force could potentially cause brain damage to a very young child if it connected with a sensitive area of their head.

Fortunately, the youngster struck in the incident did not suffer any injuries or require hospital treatment.

Mr Lauder said: “At the end of the pitch there is a playpark. We weren’t happy when it was built, we had raised the issue with the council but then Covid came along and we thought we might as well forget it just now.

“But then we had an incident when a ball struck a kid in the playpark, so we notified the council about that and they gave us the money to go ahead and get this work done.

“The fence comes right up to the playpark, it’s directly behind the goal and the players shoot towards goal with some force as they are trying to score a goal and it can sail over the bar or past the post. The problem is the kids could be up at height on one of the playpark structures where a ball could strike them.

“We wanted to do this work before something serious happened. If there’s a small kid with a head that isn’t fully developed, it could lead to brain damage. We would not want that on our conscience.”