Preston Park Children's Playground yesterday
Following concerns about the state of the children's playground in Preston Park and safety concerns LINK, Brent Council Parks Department yesterday decided to close the playground pending completion of repairs.
In a message to councillors the Head of the Parks Department wrote:
I am writing to make you aware that we have made the decision today to immediately close the children’s play area in Preston Park, due to safety concerns.I appreciate that it is the summer holidays; however, the surfacing underneath almost all pieces of equipment has now deteriorated to such a condition that we consider it to be a risk for children using the space. We do not take this decision lightly, but we have a responsibility to provide safe places for play.We had identified some surfacing issues previously and had been obtaining quotes for their repair. Unfortunately, contractors have advised us that temporary repairs will not work and full scale resurfacing of the safety surface is needed. This is not something that can be undertaken immediately and we are therefore closing the playground today whilst we get quotes for the works.The closest alternative children’s playgrounds can be found at Northwick Park, John Billam Open Space and Woodcock Park.
The news comes after the local controversy over the proposals for a Multi Use Games Area on one of the park's tennis courts during which the state of the children's playground was raised and spending priorities questioned.
Clearly the closure is not ideal during an especially hot summer school holiday and last night it was reported that the playground was still in use, but questions are being asked about how it was allowed to deteriorate to this extent, and how it managed to achieve Green Flag status given the situation.
2 comments:
It's a wonder any Brent Park gained Green Flag status with the exception of a few, most have no Toilets, no Cafe, no Water Fountain, very few flowers including the newly formed Meadows! and it's not for lack of maintenance as Krinkels are doing a very good job. However much of the issues that add to their demise is caused by thoughtless uncaring Residents/users who think it's OK to not pick up their rubbish, leaving it scattered around with the help of the local vermin foxes etc, and that rice and curried beans do not form part of our native British Birds diets and only attract Rats and Flying Rats i.e. Pigeons to our Parks.
In comparison to some Children's Playgrounds located outside of borough of Brent, Brents Children's playgrounds are at best abysmal, 2nd rate and sadly inferior to the majority. We have no Adventure Playground since the closure of Stonebridge. I would be very interested in who Brent hire to design these parks as I find it hard to believe they know anything about Childrens Play.
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