Children’s rope swing banned ...by elf ’n’safety
IT was an innocent idea, encouraging children to enjoy some good oldfashioned outdoor play.
But volunteers have seen their attempts to set up a rope swing and a scramble net in nearby woods ruined by local bureaucrats who claim the structures do not meet safety standards.
Community group Friends of Shepley says the council in Kirklees, West Yorkshire gave them verbal permission for the project.
And the swing and scramble net had been in place since last autumn without any reported injuries.
But last week, two days after members of the group met again with authorities, the apparatus were removed from Memorial Woods.
Andy Scott, chairman of the group, said: ‘[The council] have given us permission but it’s difficult to get anything down on paper from them. A liaison officer came out in 2016 and we discussed what we wanted to do.
‘We have kept them regularly updated with reports. We were going on verbal permission to go ahead.’
Mr Scott said during one visit to the site a council officer saw children using a swing made from a two-inch thick rope and attached to the strongest branches of an oak tree. ‘He never voiced any concerns,’ Mr Scott said. ‘In fact, he suggested that we dig a fire pit.
‘We were under the impression that everything was fine and there were no problems.’
Kirklees Council removed the equipment following an inspection by its qualified play instructor who found it to be ‘poorly constructed and unsafe and therefore not suitable in a public place’. Mr Scott added: ‘ In hindsight we should have made sure that they signed it off first.
‘I have lived here 46 years, all my life. The kids have not got a decent playground or a youth club. They have nothing. All we are doing is costing us money and time.
‘It’s not costing the council anything. We are doing it for the right reasons.
‘It’s really frustrating. The kids loved it. They thought it was fantastic. We have jumped through hoops, but whatever we do is never enough. There is always something else to do.’
The council said: ‘ The council met with the Friends of Shepley who installed the equipment. They provided no evidence to show they had permission to install it.
‘If the group had met with the council prior to putting the equipment in then we would have supported them in their endeavours to ensure that their hard work and effort was not wasted in the way that it has been.’
‘The kids loved it’