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Published:
January
21,
2010
Parents
demand improvements at mud-clogged £140,000 play area
Scores
of parents and children are unhappy that a brand new £140,000
play area which opened in Highbridge last month has been turned
into a muddy quagmire and are calling for action from the district
council.
The
long-awaited revamp of Apex Park’s play area was
completed last month, but since then poor wearher has left
the play equipment surrounded by pools of rain water and thick
mud.
 A
group of parents has this week called on Sedgemoor District Council
- which oversaw the building of the play area - to introduce extra
sponge flooring around the equipment so that it can be used following
wet weather.
One
parent, Hazel Fear, told Burnham-On-Sea.com: "It's such a
shame that when so much money has been spent on building this
wonderful play area, it is now in such a poor state."
"My
three year old, Morgan, slipped up and fell face-first into the
mud and several other children have been having problems too."
"The
mud has also been tracked onto some of the play equipment, in
turn making it slippery and dirty."
She
added: "The sponge flooring that is in place around some
of the equipment needs to be extended across the whole site so
everything is weather-proofed."
"We
also need fences introduced around all the play equipment to avoid
dog mess being left where the children play. Some action from
the council is urgently needed here."
Burnham-On-Sea.com
contacted Sedgemoor District Council regarding the issues and
spokeswoman Claire Faun admitted: "There
are some teething problems with the newly-opened play area within
Apex Park."
She added: "Sedgemoor District
Council is aware that there are some problems with mud and pooling.
Once the ground is less saturated, the contractors will return
to re-turf and survey for any other problems that need remediation."
"It is usual for areas such
as these to have a 'settling-in' period and that any snagging
problems are dealt with as and when they arise. It is counter-productive
to deal with these problems whilst the ground is still so wet."
The
new play area was funded by a £60,000 grant from the National
Lottery, plus £73,462 from developer contributions, and
£6,538 from Sedgemoor District Council.
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