PUBLIC amenities in Ruspidge are going to the dogs because of apathy in the community, says Cllr Bob Rhodes, a member of Ruspidge and Soudley Parish council.

Cllr Rhodes said the maim problem areas are the football ground with its once famous slope, the Memorial Hall and the children’s playground.

The amenities are run by the Ruspidge Welfare Trust, established in the 1990s.

“The trouble is that no one wants to run it,” he said. “There is small residual group trying to hold it together but we really need to get more people in the community involved.

“We are rapidly approaching the point where it’s ‘use it or lose it’. The football ground is a case in point. For years the local club played on it complaining about the very steep slope of the pitch.?“About £250,000 was spent having it put right and then the club folded. We now have a lovely level football pitch with no one to play on it.

“The Memorial Hall too is a problem. It has dry rot and damp and it’s a real battle to maintain it.

“We would like to see a new hall with an all weather five-a-side pitch. But in the meantime we desperately need to get the community on board with us.”

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