IT’S mixed news for children in Westbury as one ‘dangerous’ playground has been repaired and reopened – but another remains firmly chained shut nearly six months after it was closed.
The play park on Kendrick Close, which closed in May because the ground was ‘too mossy’, was repaired and reopened by Wiltshire Council last week following a story in the White Horse News.
Its closure caused upset among local residents, with some even offering to pay for repairs or do the work themselves.
Des Lucas, who lives on Kendrick Close, has grandchildren who use the park and says the local children are celebrating after the park was re-opened.
“The grass was cut and the matting power-washed in the park last week, and it has been reopened,” he said. “I’m glad it’s back to normal but it does seem ridiculous that it took so long. It seems the story in the paper did the trick!”
The park had been closed because moss on the ground was deemed too slippery and dangerous. The repairs, reportedly costing just £150, were delayed because Wiltshire Council said it ‘couldn’t afford to do the work’.
Though it is playtime as usual on Kendrick Close, a park across town – on Paxman’s Road – has been closed since February because of ‘dog damage’, a resident has told White Horse News.
Local man Phil Tucker says the playground, which is maintained by Persimmon Homes, has been chained shut for nearly six months, with residents kept in the dark about when it will reopen.
Phil said, “The park has been chained up since February, apparently for maintenance work, but I haven’t seen anything going on. There was only a notice saying there was ‘dog damage’.
“I’ve tried to phone Persimmon 14 times since it closed, but still haven’t had an explanation. To close it for a couple of weeks to work on it would be fair enough, but nothing seems to be happening.
“It’s frustrating; I have a son who plays in the park and it is well used by other families in the neighbourhood. Older children are climbing over the fence and using it anyway – if it’s not safe, they need to do something about it.”
Westbury Town Council confirmed that it knows the park is closed, but neither they nor Wiltshire Council can take action because the park is owned by the housing developer.
Richard Briggs, managing director for Persimmon Homes Wessex said, “We met with the council and a local councillor last week to review the play area.
“We took the decision to close the play area because there is some damaged equipment. Seats appear to have been chewed by dogs, which have resulted in very sharp areas that could cause injury.
“There is also considerable dog fouling in the play area, which is unacceptable to both the users of the playground and to our maintenance staff. The council have advised they will provide ‘no dog fouling’ stickers in and around the play area when re-opened.”
When asked by White Horse News, Persimmon said there was ‘no indication’ when the play area would be reopened.
