WESTBURY Town Council is set to vote next month on whether to take over ten play areas in the town, amid growing concerns that the county is leaving them to perish.
It is a move that would see the council start paying to clean, maintain and repair the parks, which are currently run by Wiltshire Council. One local councillor feels the town has been backed into a corner.
Sue Ezra, town councillor, former mayor and chair of the play areas working group leading the bid, says if the town doesn’t take up the job, it risks the parks closing down.
Cllr Ezra told White Horse News, “Wiltshire Council isn’t doing any repairs on the parks. As we saw on Kendrick Close, if something goes wrong they’ll just close the play area to avoid paying to fix it. It’s not acceptable.
“We need to keep the play areas open for the many children in Westbury who need safe places to play. If that means the town council has to pay for it, we don’t have a choice.”
The decision comes just weeks after Wiltshire Council faced criticism for closing a park in the town to avoid a £150 repair, and it was revealed that another, owned by Persimmon Homes, has been chained shut for six months. The ten play areas concerned are at Grassacres, Bridge Court, Penleigh, Camargue Road, Connemara Close, Timmor Road, The Mead, Kingfisher Drive, Kendrick Close and Primmers Place.
“We’ve been pushed into a corner now where we have to pay for things as a town or not have them at all,” cllr Ezra continued. “The same thing happened to the public toilets; we couldn’t let them close and we can’t let the parks close either. What else can we do?”
The town council could receive some funding from Wiltshire Council for the first year but would have to pay from its own budget in future, which could mean a rise in council tax.
Town clerk Deborah Urch said, “The town caretaker could do some of the tasks like cleaning and maintenance but we’d have to hire a professional company for repairs and safety checks.
“The council is in discussion over the running costs with Wiltshire Council, and will make a decision on whether it is getting good value for money.”
Both cllr Ezra and the clerk said they felt confident the town council would vote in favour of the move.
