Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Children left frustrated as play parks fall into disrepair
Residents say broken slides, missing swings and taped-off areas are ruining children’s enjoyment of play parks across the district, amid delays in repairing and replacing equipment. Brad Harper reports...
Families are calling on the city council to urgently fix play areas blighted by missing swings, unsafe ground and broken equipment. Residents say they are “increasingly frustrated” with the state of parks in need of major refurbishment.
But the local authority has told of difficulties obtaining parts for play equipment “due to supply issues”. Councillors in Canterbury, Whitstable and Herne Bay are calling for urgent action after fielding complaints from families.
Cllr Mel Dawkins (Lab) says parents and children are “really upset” about the neglected condition of the wellused St Stephen’s play area, off Hales Drive in Canterbury. “The swing has not been there for more than a year,” she said. “It used to be a double swing and was supposed to be replaced.
“There are a few other bits that have been taken away and nothing has been looked after. “The ground is unsafe because it is uneven and they have these spongy tiles where the ground is coming through.” Meanwhile, Westgate councillor Pip Hazleton (Lab) raised concerns about several of the play areas in her patch, including at Victoria Memorial Recreation Ground off Rheims Way. “It is still missing two swings that were reported last summer,” she said.
“It is a nice park but it’s a big estate up there and it gets a lot of use.”
She says residents have contacted her about missing equipment in Toddler’s Cove, including swings which disappeared last spring and were only replaced a few weeks ago. “If the pandemic showed us anything, getting exercise and fresh air is important, particularly in the city centre where residents don’t have gardens,” she said.
Cllr Neil Baker (Con) says he is “increasingly frustrated” with the state of some play areas in his Whitstable East and Herne Bay West county council ward.
He says pieces of equipment have been out of action for “an absolute age” - with the zip wire at Swalecliffe play area being off-limits for more than a year. “There is a lot of stuff that hasn’t been replaced for some time and the longer it goes on, the more frustrating it is,” he said. “I’m a parent myself so it is noticeable.”
He says concerns have also been raised about the Hampton play area.
“It’s something residents quite often get in touch about because it’s quite sad as it’s something that could be used so much more as it’s in a lovely location,” he said.
“But when the swings are out of action and there are things not there, it’s quite sad. “Kids turn up and they’re not going to be wanting to come back if things aren’t ready to play on.”
Gorrell councillor Chris Cornell (Lab) has been part of a community effort to fundraise for improvements to the Cornwallis Circle play area in Whitstable.
A consultation on the work is expected to launch before summer and it is hoped it will be completed by the end of the year.
“The whole process relies on housing developments and then hoping they make a contribution,” he said.
“It helps certain new areas but it doesn’t help landlocked play areas which are nowhere near a new development. “Cornwallis Circle has had broken play equipment for two and a half years and there is a community effort to raise money for it.
“We have been pretty lucky with that.”
But Cornwallis Circle resident David Roberts, 54, who has also been part of the community effort, praised the city council for collaborating with residents to get improvements done. He says the local authority has been “very amenable, good communicators and pleasant to work with”. “Cornwallis is a lovely space and it is a space used by all ages,” he said.
“It’s used by families, kids in the playgrounds, parents meet there and teens come here. It is very positive as it is.
“Some of the bits are still in use but some are old and have become damaged and maybe could be repaired but it’s probably better to replace them.” Lead councillor for open spaces Ashley Clark (Con) says the amount of cash spent on play areas each year fluctuates, but is in the “hundreds of thousands”.
“Money comes in from developers as a contribution towards open spaces, and that is ringfenced and allocated for certain locations,” he said.
“As such, that is outside the council’s budget. Some years we have got more money than others but there will be an ongoing budget, and a budget to deal with emergencies.” Council leader Ben Fitter-harding (Con) says getting parts for play equipment has become difficult for the local authority
“due to supply issues”.
“As a father of two young children myself I know just how important our play parks are and we’ve been working with the council’s officers to expedite repairs where possible,” he said. “Providing safe play places for our children is a high priority for me and I’m reviewing how we can invest to provide even better facilities for our families.”
A city council spokesman says problems with play equipment - which is vulnerable to the elements and vandalism are “inevitable”, and at times it needs to be removed or sealed off to keep children safe. He continued: “Unfortunately, this can often be a lengthy process. Manufacturers can be very slow and parts are invariably needed from abroad, which causes further delays.
“Currently we have repairs outstanding to various pieces of equipment, such as swings, zip wires and slides, but we can reassure people that as soon as parts arrive, we get the repairs done as quickly as we can.” Aside from repairs, the council says a number of refurbishments are under way or due to start soon, including at Reculver, Hampton, Chestfield and Cornwallis Circle.
A new play area has also recently opened at Vauxhall Avenue in Canterbury, with another one due to be installed in the Dane John next year. The spokesman added: “At a time when council finances are tight, we continue to provide the best possible play area facilities that we can, as we recognise the importance of them to children’s physical and mental health.”