A POPULAR Old Town play park will be taken over by the parish council – despite it boasting a boulder that “could kill someone instantly” if it was to fall from its spinning axle.

Despite a suggestion from South Swindon Parish Council’s projects officer that the large Sarsen stone could be sold to Jurassic World, councillors opted to take on the Angel Ridge playground wholesale from Swindon Borough Council after hearing reassurances the weighty rock was safe to stay.

The playground, off Withering Road on the new Okus development, was last year dropped from a list of play areas due to be taken on by the parish council over concerns the stone wall boundary of the popular park was crumbling away.

In a report for parish councillors by projects officer Oliver Saunders, the design was described as “over ambitious for a public park…and will need careful management”.

Mr Saunders suggested filling in a water feature, which allows children to channel a stream of water through various dams and spinning wheels. “It does not recycle the water back tot the top and will remain high maintenance and potentially costly. It is potentially a trip hazard as well.”

His most damning remarks were reserved for the large Sarsen stone: “Enormous boulder mounted onto a spinning pedestal is a potential danger and must be monitored closely. If it falls it could kill someone instantly.” He recommended seeking assurances from the manufacturer, or suggested councillors could “consider total removal and welling to Jurassic World”.

However, parish clerk Rob Core told councillors those reassurances had been received. An independent safety report had flagged no serous concerns and the crumbling wall rebuilt.

“I have the details from the supplier and the landscape team now about how [the stone is] put together. I’ve got a lot more confidence that it’s not going to come off. It looks quite good. It fits the setting,” he said.

Mr Core suggested the water feature was a valuable piece of play equipment in the park. It would cost around £400 a year to maintain.

He said: “From a play perspective, if you go up on any warm day the kids absolutely love it. The play value from that alone is immense, probably far outweighing the cost.”

Old Town councillor Nadine Watts backed the park remaining as it is: “It’s a really popular play area. It stands out from the rest. That water feature is a unique selling point.”

Addressing remarks about the park being over-ambitious, councillor Nick Burns-Howell said the parish should seek to be ambitious: “I think we should challenge ourselves and everybody to be ambitious for public parks and celebrate the interesting features that are there that have great play value.”