New home needed for toy fire truck
A wooden toy fire truck, allegedly built to make a statement in a small Taranaki town, is to be removed amid safety concerns.
The fire truck, which sits on the corner of Matai and Rata streets on SH3 in Inglewood, was built by industrial designers and town residents Nicholas Jones and Glenn Catchpole.
The New Plymouth District Council requested the truck, which is a hit with kids, be removed as it’s considered a health and safety issue.
‘‘The primary reason that it was a safety issue is because of where it was positioned in proximity to this main road,’’ Jones said.
NPDC infrastructure manager David Langford said there was a potential for the fire truck to still be used by the public in a safer location. ‘‘We really appreciate the efforts of the Inglewood resident who built this play fire truck, unfortunately the location is not suitable as it’s too close to two busy roads,’’ Langford said.
‘‘We may be able to move it to a safe location and put adequate safety measures under and around the equipment. We’ve made an offer to discuss this possibility with the resident who built it.’’
But Jones said the fire truck was more about creating a statement. ‘‘We put it here to highlight that this is a dangerous place and there aren’t many safe places to play and hang out in the middle of Inglewood,’’ Jones said. ‘‘It’s main purpose was a conversation starter, to get the community thinking about the space,’’ Catchpole said.
Jones claimed the central area of the town had a dire lack of family spaces and although a new playground was built, he claimed it wasn’t appropriate for the younger children. The pair said community feedback was to move the fire truck elsewhere, but they were considering auctioning it off and using the money to build something bigger and better.