TEN Westbury parks have been saved by Westbury Town Council, who have taken over ownership from Wiltshire Council, after concerns they were being left to perish.
As part of the assets and services being transferred by Wiltshire Council to parish and town councils, Westbury Town Council agreed to take on responsibility for 10 play areas in Westbury. This is in addition to the skate park in Penleigh and the outdoor adult fitness equipment in Grassacres.
Prior to the change of ownership, Wiltshire Council had stated that play areas would be closed if a piece of play equipment was considered unsafe, as there was not sufficient budget money available for repairs. This happened in 2016 when the Kendrick Close play area was closed as it was deemed too dangerous to play on. The bill to fix the problem and re-open the park was £150, but Wiltshire Council said it could not afford to repair the equipment.
The transferred play areas are; Grassacre Park, Timor Road, Primmers Place, The Mead (Campion Close), Kingfisher Drive, Kendrick Close, Chestnut Fell Road, Bridge Court, Becks Mills and Penleigh Park.
Mayor of Westbury, cllr Gordon King said, “As mayor, I am delighted that Westbury Town Council has succeeded in taking control of 10 play areas from Wiltshire Council and I pass on my congratulations to staff and councillors on the play areas working group for making this happen.
“For the first time the council has a unique opportunity to work with its neighbourhoods to develop a long-term plan for each play area that ensures they remain relevant and used. A wise man once told me that “Children learn as they play. Most importantly, in play children learn how to learn” making this a very exciting challenge.”
Deborah Urch, clerk to Westbury Town Council said, “The play areas are leased to the town council for seven years from Monday 8th January 2018. The terms of the lease were negotiated over several months. The town council received a one-off funding of £22,000 from Wiltshire Council (£2,200 per play area). There was also S106 funding for Primmers Place of £3,478.60, The Mead £256.11 and Timor £5,176.17, that will be received over the life of the lease.
“We also have a maintenance contract, complaints and issues process in place. All that remains to do is purchase new signage and agree a policy in the event of temporary or long term closure due to Health & Safety.
“Following a tender process, the town council has contracted IdVerde to manage the maintenance of the play areas (grass areas, trees, weeds and small repairs etc.) and weekly inspection. We are also required to have an independent inspection annually, this will take place in March. Ongoing, the town council is working towards a strategic business plan and supporting financial plan that we hope to complete by April. This will set out our budget to upkeep and improve the play areas over the life of the lease.”
Deputy Mayor, cllr Ian Cunningham said, “I feel that play areas make a town a better place to live, so I am delighted that we can keep them running. But they are surprisingly expensive (particularly repairs and maintenance) and also an example of a facility that many people will not use – or will for only a short time.
“There are several town services that are likely to be cut or reduced by a cash-strapped Wiltshire Council and that are now being offered to the town council. For each, people may question the cost e.g. “I don’t drop litter, why should I pay for it to be picked up?”
“I’d hope that people will still see the value in supporting quality services in the place where they live, but there is a discussion to be had in Westbury about value and levels for services which benefit “us all” but may not directly benefit all the individuals who will have to pay for them; the decisions are coming closer to home.”
