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Danger lurks at play area
PARENTS in Malmesbury are being urged not to let their children use a playground - by town councillors.
Councillors in the North Wiltshire town are so worried about the state of the Newnton Grove play area that they are telling parents to keep their children away in case they are hurt.
The playground has been blighted by problems, including missing railings, rusting equipment and crumbling concrete, less than a year after it opened.
Malmesbury Town Council has refused to take charge of the playground until it is brought up to scratch.
Because the councillors are so angry about the state of the play area they are now urging parents to keep their children away.
Coun John Bowen said: "What we wanted to do was tape it off and put up warning posters but we can't because it is not our property.
"Nothing's happening and everybody is passing the buck.
"All we can do is make people aware and ask parents not to let their children in there.
"It would be very good if the children boycott it in the meantime. We just want them to be safe - that's the bottom line."
A spokesman for North Wiltshire District Council said: "We are currently working with Westlea and the installer, Monster Play, to rectify the issues at the site.
"We don't currently have a timescale, although Monster has taken liability on some of the issues so these are expected to be rectified as soon as possible .
"Other issues, including the missing railings, which it is believed were stolen, may take a bit longer to sort out .
"The play area is inspected weekly by our contractors but they have not so far had concerns strong enough to recommend that the site should be closed."
6:02pm Thursday 8th May 2008
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CommentPosted by: Mumstheword, Walcot on 9:23pm Thu 8 May 08
QUOTE
"The playground has been blighted by problems, including missing railings, rusting equipment and crumbling concrete, less than a year after it opened.
The play area is inspected weekly by our contractors but they have not so far had concerns strong enough to recommend that the site should be closed
Unquote
Children play here! For goodness sake! There should be no compromise when keeping our kids safe. Cracked concrete and rusting equipment after less than a year! It is obviously not safe and the installers need suing if this is the case! Our children should have the best when it comes to safety standards not this shoddy example!
QUOTE
"The playground has been blighted by problems, including missing railings, rusting equipment and crumbling concrete, less than a year after it opened.
The play area is inspected weekly by our contractors but they have not so far had concerns strong enough to recommend that the site should be closed
Unquote
Children play here! For goodness sake! There should be no compromise when keeping our kids safe. Cracked concrete and rusting equipment after less than a year! It is obviously not safe and the installers need suing if this is the case! Our children should have the best when it comes to safety standards not this shoddy example!
Posted by: Casual Observer, Swindon on 10:33pm Thu 8 May 08
[quote][bold]Mumstheword[/bold] wrote:
QUOTE
"The playground has been blighted by problems, including missing railings, rusting equipment and crumbling concrete, less than a year after it opened.
The play area is inspected weekly by our contractors but they have not so far had concerns strong enough to recommend that the site should be closed
Unquote
Children play here! For goodness sake! There should be no compromise when keeping our kids safe. Cracked concrete and rusting equipment after less than a year! It is obviously not safe and the installers need suing if this is the case! Our children should have the best when it comes to safety standards not this shoddy example![/quote] Absolutely right - sue everyone! keep the kids safe! cracked concrete isn't safe! children should have the best!..
Hang on.. we never had any of this molly-coddling when we were young but somehow we survived.
What's so special about YOUR kids that they must be protected from any danger?
Or is that you are just plain STUPID!
Mumstheword wrote:
QUOTE
"The playground has been blighted by problems, including missing railings, rusting equipment and crumbling concrete, less than a year after it opened.
The play area is inspected weekly by our contractors but they have not so far had concerns strong enough to recommend that the site should be closed
Unquote
Children play here! For goodness sake! There should be no compromise when keeping our kids safe. Cracked concrete and rusting equipment after less than a year! It is obviously not safe and the installers need suing if this is the case! Our children should have the best when it comes to safety standards not this shoddy example!
Absolutely right - sue everyone! keep the kids safe! cracked concrete isn't safe! children should have the best!..
Hang on.. we never had any of this molly-coddling when we were young but somehow we survived.
What's so special about YOUR kids that they must be protected from any danger?
Or is that you are just plain STUPID!
Posted by: PeeGee, Swindon on 8:10am Fri 9 May 08
Casual Observer, have you forgotten to take some medication? MTW didn't specify HER children. Anyway, as a parent, MY children should have the best. I would be failing if I thought anything different. Of course, I could always let them run feral and not give a s**t.
The playground is unsafe. You comment appears to me advocating this.
If it is not fit for purpose, the transitional owners (not stated) should remove the faulty equipment immediately. It is not stated, but I think it is fair to assume that any faulty equipment will be replaced at their own cost. As for Malmesbury Town Council, they may not have taken ownership, but surely they have a duty of care to protect their residents with some signs/barriers if the owners will not.
On the other hand, it could just be some spurious reporting (in the Adver? Never).
Casual Observer, have you forgotten to take some medication? MTW didn't specify HER children. Anyway, as a parent, MY children should have the best. I would be failing if I thought anything different. Of course, I could always let them run feral and not give a s**t.
The playground is unsafe. You comment appears to me advocating this.
If it is not fit for purpose, the transitional owners (not stated) should remove the faulty equipment immediately. It is not stated, but I think it is fair to assume that any faulty equipment will be replaced at their own cost. As for Malmesbury Town Council, they may not have taken ownership, but surely they have a duty of care to protect their residents with some signs/barriers if the owners will not.
On the other hand, it could just be some spurious reporting (in the Adver? Never).
Posted by: Andy Newell, Swindon on 8:46am Fri 9 May 08
[quote]Children play here! For goodness sake! There should be no compromise when keeping our kids safe. Cracked concrete and rusting equipment after less than a year! It is obviously not safe and the installers need suing if this is the case![/quote]
Children play in derelict buildings and dirty ponds. I'm not saying they should, or that this is safe, but let's get some perspective - this is some cracked concrete and rusty metal! Children come into contact with far more danger in their own homes. If there was any real danger, then the area would be immediately closed or the equipment removed. Sounds to me like the council are playing the health and safety card to whip up some hysteria amongst 'angry mums' like Mumstheword.
Of course this area should be made safe and the equipment replaced by the contractors, but what good will come if the council 'sue' the contractors? Are you aware of civil procedure in the County Court? You can only claim for actual costs or damages, and the procedure is slow and the result uncertain. Far better to politely approach the contractor and ask them to rectify (which appears to be what is happening) than fly off the handle like Mumstheword and sue sue sue... that way you will put everybody's back up, get the minimum possible result and this will take place over months or years during which time the equipment deteriorates while solicitors are arguing in the courtroom at huge cost to the council tax payer.
Children play here! For goodness sake! There should be no compromise when keeping our kids safe. Cracked concrete and rusting equipment after less than a year! It is obviously not safe and the installers need suing if this is the case!
Children play in derelict buildings and dirty ponds. I'm not saying they should, or that this is safe, but let's get some perspective - this is some cracked concrete and rusty metal! Children come into contact with far more danger in their own homes. If there was any real danger, then the area would be immediately closed or the equipment removed. Sounds to me like the council are playing the health and safety card to whip up some hysteria amongst 'angry mums' like Mumstheword.
Of course this area should be made safe and the equipment replaced by the contractors, but what good will come if the council 'sue' the contractors? Are you aware of civil procedure in the County Court? You can only claim for actual costs or damages, and the procedure is slow and the result uncertain. Far better to politely approach the contractor and ask them to rectify (which appears to be what is happening) than fly off the handle like Mumstheword and sue sue sue... that way you will put everybody's back up, get the minimum possible result and this will take place over months or years during which time the equipment deteriorates while solicitors are arguing in the courtroom at huge cost to the council tax payer.
Posted by: Robert Feal-Martinez, Swindon on 8:56am Fri 9 May 08
Crumbling Concrete, is concrete allowed in children's play areas, except as foundation for equipment. If is is said foundations then the contractor is most definitely liable if the site is less than a year old. As for the railings, I think NWDC should worry less about whose legal responsibility it is and more about safety. If it is unsafe, surely MTC can call for an inspection by the HSE, who could then close it. There seems to be so many options here, but we are talking about Councillors making decisions I suppose.
Crumbling Concrete, is concrete allowed in children's play areas, except as foundation for equipment. If is is said foundations then the contractor is most definitely liable if the site is less than a year old. As for the railings, I think NWDC should worry less about whose legal responsibility it is and more about safety. If it is unsafe, surely MTC can call for an inspection by the HSE, who could then close it. There seems to be so many options here, but we are talking about Councillors making decisions I suppose.
Posted by: emmylou83, Stratton on 9:18am Fri 9 May 08
Just wait till a child gets seriously hurt and then you'll all change your tune. mums I'm with you on this one Casual Observer get a personality transplant
Just wait till a child gets seriously hurt and then you'll all change your tune. mums I'm with you on this one Casual Observer get a personality transplant
Posted by: Mumstheword, Walcot on 9:41am Fri 9 May 08
I am no where near hysterical! This playground is less than a year old for goodness sake! It should not be in this state. I am not a sue, sue, sue person BUT that new rusty equipment and cracked concrete may not be all that is lurking. It is not good enough for our kids!
Kids come first, ALL kids and I really think we need to get that message across to them, because right now, family life in this country is becoming increasingly poor. More kids than ever are suffering as a result of the society we live in. Depression, non stop exams at school from the age of seven, high divorce rates, both parents being forced to work full time, the rise in eating disorders in young kids, underage sex and drugs, smoking, truancy shall I go on .....
Just maybe if we started to put the kids first, if we showed them that they were valued and we had the opportunity to nurture and spend some proper time with them, then perhaps life would get better and crime would go down just a tad!
OK maybe I am hysterical! But it is all for the right reasons. I have had a lot of involvement with children over the past few years so I see all these things first hand. A nine year old girl with an eating disorder, parents addicted to alcohol, kids being separated from their brothers and sisters and going into care, an eight year old who took a knife to school, a boy who never goes to school, a lad who's mum left one day and never came back (she now lives in London with her girlfriend)kids from 6 weeks old in nursery from 7.30am until 6.30pm,they are the result of OUR society. I imagine that many of them are feeling like society does not care much about them. How are some of them going to behave with this in mind? It all starts with little things. Lets start at the beginning by saying a playground like this is just not good enough.
By the way my kids go pond dipping at Coate, climb trees etc etc. In fact it is my daughter's ambition to ride the wall of death!
Wake up now!
I am no where near hysterical! This playground is less than a year old for goodness sake! It should not be in this state. I am not a sue, sue, sue person BUT that new rusty equipment and cracked concrete may not be all that is lurking. It is not good enough for our kids!
Kids come first, ALL kids and I really think we need to get that message across to them, because right now, family life in this country is becoming increasingly poor. More kids than ever are suffering as a result of the society we live in. Depression, non stop exams at school from the age of seven, high divorce rates, both parents being forced to work full time, the rise in eating disorders in young kids, underage sex and drugs, smoking, truancy shall I go on .....
Just maybe if we started to put the kids first, if we showed them that they were valued and we had the opportunity to nurture and spend some proper time with them, then perhaps life would get better and crime would go down just a tad!
OK maybe I am hysterical! But it is all for the right reasons. I have had a lot of involvement with children over the past few years so I see all these things first hand. A nine year old girl with an eating disorder, parents addicted to alcohol, kids being separated from their brothers and sisters and going into care, an eight year old who took a knife to school, a boy who never goes to school, a lad who's mum left one day and never came back (she now lives in London with her girlfriend)kids from 6 weeks old in nursery from 7.30am until 6.30pm,they are the result of OUR society. I imagine that many of them are feeling like society does not care much about them. How are some of them going to behave with this in mind? It all starts with little things. Lets start at the beginning by saying a playground like this is just not good enough.
By the way my kids go pond dipping at Coate, climb trees etc etc. In fact it is my daughter's ambition to ride the wall of death!
Wake up now!
Posted by: Andy Newell, Swindon on 9:53am Fri 9 May 08
[quote]I am no where near hysterical! This playground is less than a year old for goodness sake! It should not be in this state. I am not a sue, sue, sue person BUT that new rusty equipment and cracked concrete may not be all that is lurking. It is not good enough for our kids![/quote]
I didn't say you were hysterical, but you have reacted to the sensational reporting and H&S hysteria the councillors were using to get support for their side of the story.
Your first reaction was 'the installers need suing' which, to me, is an overreaction and totally inappropriate at this stage for reasons already given.
I agree our kids are important, and you make a good case for why they should be top priority, but I think this is a case of cotton wool kids who might, heaven forbid, graze their knees on some rough concrete.
If this playground was really so dangerous, there is no doubt it would be removed or closed down instantly.
I am no where near hysterical! This playground is less than a year old for goodness sake! It should not be in this state. I am not a sue, sue, sue person BUT that new rusty equipment and cracked concrete may not be all that is lurking. It is not good enough for our kids!
I didn't say you were hysterical, but you have reacted to the sensational reporting and H&S hysteria the councillors were using to get support for their side of the story.
Your first reaction was 'the installers need suing' which, to me, is an overreaction and totally inappropriate at this stage for reasons already given.
I agree our kids are important, and you make a good case for why they should be top priority, but I think this is a case of cotton wool kids who might, heaven forbid, graze their knees on some rough concrete.
If this playground was really so dangerous, there is no doubt it would be removed or closed down instantly.
Posted by: Andy Newell, Swindon on 9:55am Fri 9 May 08
[quote]I am no where near hysterical! This playground is less than a year old for goodness sake! It should not be in this state. I am not a sue, sue, sue person BUT that new rusty equipment and cracked concrete may not be all that is lurking. It is not good enough for our kids![/quote]
I didn't say you were hysterical, but you have reacted to the sensational reporting and H&S hysteria the councillors were using to get support for their side of the story.
Your first reaction was 'the installers need suing' which, to me, is an overreaction and totally inappropriate at this stage for reasons already given.
I agree our kids are important, and you make a good case for why they should be top priority, but I think this is a case of cotton wool kids who might, heaven forbid, graze their knees on some rough concrete.
If this playground was really so dangerous, there is no doubt it would be removed or closed down instantly.
I am no where near hysterical! This playground is less than a year old for goodness sake! It should not be in this state. I am not a sue, sue, sue person BUT that new rusty equipment and cracked concrete may not be all that is lurking. It is not good enough for our kids!
I didn't say you were hysterical, but you have reacted to the sensational reporting and H&S hysteria the councillors were using to get support for their side of the story.
Your first reaction was 'the installers need suing' which, to me, is an overreaction and totally inappropriate at this stage for reasons already given.
I agree our kids are important, and you make a good case for why they should be top priority, but I think this is a case of cotton wool kids who might, heaven forbid, graze their knees on some rough concrete.
If this playground was really so dangerous, there is no doubt it would be removed or closed down instantly.
Posted by: Mumstheword, Walcot on 10:01am Fri 9 May 08
Andy, I do not believe this is "sensationalist" reporting. Would to the council really draw attention to this in the local paper if not necessary? They are clearly putting the kids first here. They seem to have used a "dodgy" company to install this playground.
Andy, I do not believe this is "sensationalist" reporting. Would to the council really draw attention to this in the local paper if not necessary? They are clearly putting the kids first here. They seem to have used a "dodgy" company to install this playground.
Posted by: Mumstheword, Walcot on 10:03am Fri 9 May 08
Incidently, I do agree that this country has become quite ridiculous about health and safety, but not in this case.
Incidently, I do agree that this country has become quite ridiculous about health and safety, but not in this case.
Posted by: Casual Observer, Swindon on 10:38am Fri 9 May 08
[quote][bold]emmylou83[/bold] wrote:
Just wait till a child gets seriously hurt and then you'll all change your tune. mums I'm with you on this one Casual Observer get a personality transplant [/quote] Got a perfectly good balanced personality thanks - developed through playing in woods and around lakes, ponds, crumbling playgrounds, fifteen foot high slides (with no safety barriers) and old tyres slung from a rope.
Health and safety is ruining life for young people, not protecting it.
emmylou83 wrote:
Just wait till a child gets seriously hurt and then you'll all change your tune. mums I'm with you on this one Casual Observer get a personality transplant
Got a perfectly good balanced personality thanks - developed through playing in woods and around lakes, ponds, crumbling playgrounds, fifteen foot high slides (with no safety barriers) and old tyres slung from a rope.
Health and safety is ruining life for young people, not protecting it.
Posted by: Andy Newell, Swindon on 11:16am Fri 9 May 08
[quote]Andy, I do not believe this is "sensationalist" reporting. Would to the council really draw attention to this in the local paper if not necessary?[/quote]
It doesn't always work like that. Sometimes a casual remark made by a council officer to a reporter can result in a story like this "blowing up" - and the Adver does tend to exaggerate or sensationalise something relatively minor to make a good story out of a non-event. I've been involved in several stories appearing on these pages where this has happened i.e. I know the full details and what is printed is possibly a lot more interesting or readable than the real facts.
I can't say this has happened here, because I haven't seen the playground involved, but anything I read here is taken with a pinch of salt and it's rather naive of anyone who believes everything they might read in any newspaper.
Andy, I do not believe this is "sensationalist" reporting. Would to the council really draw attention to this in the local paper if not necessary?
It doesn't always work like that. Sometimes a casual remark made by a council officer to a reporter can result in a story like this "blowing up" - and the Adver does tend to exaggerate or sensationalise something relatively minor to make a good story out of a non-event. I've been involved in several stories appearing on these pages where this has happened i.e. I know the full details and what is printed is possibly a lot more interesting or readable than the real facts.
I can't say this has happened here, because I haven't seen the playground involved, but anything I read here is taken with a pinch of salt and it's rather naive of anyone who believes everything they might read in any newspaper.
Posted by: Grumpy old man, Swindon on 11:30am Fri 9 May 08
Oh come on, even the title of the article is sensasionalist! If there really is uncovered concrete in the playground it should be shut NOW as playgrounds are no longer allowed to have uncushioned surfaces - if it was built like this it should never have opened. A bit of rust never hurt anyone. Yes it should be fixed and shouldn't be rusting so soon after being built, but we don't know why. Wouldn't surprise me if it was the kids scraping the paint off that's caused it to be honest!
Hey, here's an idea - Maybe we should wrap all kids up in some bubble-wrap and polystyrene?
Oh come on, even the title of the article is sensasionalist! If there really is uncovered concrete in the playground it should be shut NOW as playgrounds are no longer allowed to have uncushioned surfaces - if it was built like this it should never have opened. A bit of rust never hurt anyone. Yes it should be fixed and shouldn't be rusting so soon after being built, but we don't know why. Wouldn't surprise me if it was the kids scraping the paint off that's caused it to be honest!
Hey, here's an idea - Maybe we should wrap all kids up in some bubble-wrap and polystyrene?
Posted by: Mumstheword, Walcot on 4:20pm Fri 9 May 08
Hey, here's an idea - Maybe we should wrap all kids up in some bubble-wrap and polystyrene?
Nah! They taste better in hot dog rolls or burger baps:)
Hey, here's an idea - Maybe we should wrap all kids up in some bubble-wrap and polystyrene?
Nah! They taste better in hot dog rolls or burger baps:)
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