Concerned mothers call for improvements to children’s play area
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A group of mothers of young children have called for urgent improvements to the play area in Newcastle Emlyn’s “King George V Playing Fields”. They have described the play equipment as “unsafe, and a disgrace to the town” and plan to take their children to a play area in Llandysul (8 miles away), if Newcastle Emlyn’s facilities are not upgraded by the summer.
Fiona White, a spokeswoman for the group, said:
“The equipment doesn’t meet with safety regulations. It is broken and dangerous. How the Town Council website can say, under amenities, it “boasts” a children’s play park is a wonder to me! It’s not something I would boast about!
“The slow rate at which the playing fields committee has raised funds over its 28 year history has simply not been sufficient to maintain or replace the equipment. The situation is now desperate and a lump sum is needed to make real improvements.
“We feel that the community which pays already through Council Tax together with the revenue the car park must generate, should not be chased year after year to buy raffle tickets, when the target amount to be raised is so far beyond our reach. After 28 years, the community is naturally very disheartened and sceptical about whether anything will change if things continue to be tackled as they are. Having a decent, safe play area for the town’s children is a basic right, yet in Newcastle Emlyn it is simply not being met. With Government targets to tackle obesity and the sedentary lifestyle many families slip into, surely this is the perfect opportunity to make a difference in our town.
“The Chairman of the Playing Fields Committee has told us that an application has been made to the National Lottery Fund, but a successful outcome cannot guaranteed so we have written to Carmarthenshire County Council asking for support. They have been helpful but say it is not their responsibility and pointed us towards “Fields In Trust” for ideas.
“We have decided to try and move things forward by starting an action group and organising a petition. This will show any funding body that the strength of community feeling on the issue. I encourage everyone to sign the petition and give us their thoughts on how to proceed.”
Downloaded the petition for printing
The action group can be contacted at nce.actiongroup@btinternet.com
Photos of the play area
18 Responses to “Concerned mothers call for improvements to children’s play area” [latest first]
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All strength to the parents of children in Emlyn for their struggle to do something to improve the out of date and disgraceful apology for a playground. The ‘facilities’ do nothing to encourage healthy active play, which in the current concern about childhood obesity, is surely growing in importance. The playing fields are a shameful reflection on the town. A lack of investment in the children of Emlyn is short - sighted and a disgrace. Action is vital!
Well done to everyone who is supporting Fiona in this matter of concern to all parents and grandparents of the children of Emlyn. It is a disgrace to have a playing field in this condition especially in today’s climate with child behaviour and obesity causing concern to us all. It is time for action now! We are pleased to see the responses from AM’s and other officials, and hope this will impress those responsible.
I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiments expressed in this article. As a mother of 2 young children, I felt passionately enough to raise my concerns with the County and Town Councils some two years ago. I discovered that a small Committee of volunteers were in desperate need of new members to help them to maintain the playing fields. I decided to join the Playing Fields Committee to try to help the community achieve its aim of having a safe and modern play facility. I have to stress that the Playing Fields Committee work hard to maintain the facility by voluntarily undertaking site maintenance and organising fundraising activities but will of course struggle to raise enough capital through fundraising alone to fund a total refurbishment of the facilities. The Committee have been pro-active in applying for grant assistance and indeed, as the article states, are currently awaiting the outcome of a large grant application which we all sincerely hope will be successful. In the meantime, if anyone is interested in helping carry out some maintenance, they are welcome to join members of the Committee at its first site gathering of the new year on Sunday 19th February at 10am.
We are pleased to hear that some much needed maintenance work is going to be carried out to the park in the near future. At the weekend several nails and screws were observed protruding from the equipment that could easily cause injury, together with the heavy hanging chains on the broken swings and other apparatus.
However, will the maintenance include making the dangerous slide safe? The open side areas at the top of the steps to the antiquated slide, which lists to the right, does not I believe, conform to safety standards. The high side should be enclosed and if a child were to fall through the gaping wholes there is no protective surface to prevent injury. Managed play areas lay a material around all the equipment that absorbs impact or which can cushion a fall better than a natural grass surface, which will still be too hard!
Unfortunately, it is the belief of many that this park is beyond simple maintenance and if it were to be inspected by RoSPA for example, it would mostly be condemned. Sadly this is why after 28 years of fundraising and awarded grants, some committee members and residents of Newcastle Emlyn alike have lost faith. If simply joining a committee would solve the parks problems that would be wonderful but it has recently become evident that joining it is futile.
It is important not to lose sight here of the children who deserve something better and need to have fun and unstructured play in their playground so please keep safety at the very top of your priorities!
We all appreciate that we can’t wrap our children in cotton wool twenty four hours a day and that there is always an element of risk but people are too quick to condemn Health and Safety until of course it’s their child who has become injured or worse.
At the end of the day we all want the same thing – a safe modern park for our community, how we go about getting it remains to be seen.
Regardless of how and when we achieve a safe modern park, we also must recognise that in the immediate future essential maintenance work must be carried out and the Committee volunteers would be most appreciative of any help!
Crazy that they can waste £25,000 on a highly questionable CCTV system, yet fail to maintain facilities like these.
I have been deliberating long and hard about this comment, as someone who joined the above-mentioned committee a few weeks ago, for all the same reasons as Sharon above.
Prior to joining the committee, my instinctive approach had been similar to Fiona’s – wanting answers and immediate action, based on the assumption that the County Council surely must be responsible for the upkeep of the playground, as the only one of its kind in the central town, and being so prominent in the community and so close to the primary school.
Yet it seems it is the facility’s complex history that has been its downfall – because it is private land, gifted to the town, and owned by a Trust. Despite my role on the committee, I am still very strongly of the opinion that it is rather too convenient that the playground falls outside of the Country’s responsibility, leaving the Council able to wash its hands of any responsibility for raising funds, etc, leaving everything to those dedicated few that meet regularly to come up with new ways of raising the substantial sums needed to replace all the equipment.
Having corresponded with and met with the Council, I find that individuals there are more than happy to offer help, but equally to point out that, ultimately, this is not their concern or responsibility. For me, this is just not good enough, regardless of the technicalities.
I absolutely applaud the King George V Playing Fields Committee for their unwavering commitment to this cause for the last 28 years, and for maintaining hope and motivation which must have become increasingly difficult with each passing year.
But my feeling is, as Fiona’s, that the County Council must not be allowed to continue to shirk responsibility for providing a basic, safe play area for the substantial and prominent town of Newcastle Emlyn. Regardless of whether it is their legal responsibility or not, this is a moral responsibility.
Leaving aside the not insignificant matter of our children’s health and safety (and those who visit the town in the tourist season), national and European targets on reducing obesity and counteracting the increasingly sedentary lifestyle many of us have, mean this ought to be a County or even a national concern. It is simply not acceptable for the County Council and those above them to pass the buck back to the town and the committee just because they can. Look at almost any other town in any other county, and you will find facilities that are far better than those we have come to put up with in Newcastle Emlyn, through understandable apathy, despondency, and a failure to believe that, if we shout loud enough, we can make a difference.
This needn’t be an aggressive, negative battle – we are all focused on the same goals, after all. I am fully behind any campaign to make higher powers aware of our plight so that more help can come in from all angles. This need not undermine the committee’s substantial efforts, for which I am sure the town is extremely grateful.
I shall be there for the clean-up scheme this Sunday as a show of my willingness to get my hand’s dirty, and because I am a member of the committee. But equally, I support any initiatives to raise the profile of this cause, and to attract broader participation and help.
We all know the need to desperately replace the equipment. However, the Action Group appears to be a splinter group who apart from raising the profile of the state of the park, do not wish to lend a hand with any practical help.
Please be united with the committe rather than undermine it’s efforts. Why not join - you may have some good ideas that have not been already explored?
My fear is that the few people left in Newcastle Emlyn who want to do something about the park will become alienated by unco-ordinated but well meaning publicity. There won’t be anyone left who will want to actively do anything then! Still, maybe a small housing estate on the park is what people want? I hope not!
Of course we would like the County Council to help - but it hasn’t happened in the 8 yrs I’ve been on the Committee. The Town Council have been very supportive but have very limited funds. The real issue is “do people want to play an ACTIVE positive part in the community or do they just want to be negative?”. I hope it’s the former. If so, find out when the Committe mtg is next being held and come along and help influence things in a positive way!
All sorts of skills and expertise will be welcomed.
Children build their social awareness and understanding by communal activities. Children need plenty of healthy outdoor exercise, which helps them live a long and healthy life. These and many other factors should be taken into ‘account ‘ by the council.
Apart from a social and moral obligations, the council are in existence to work for the community. In doing so also save money for the community. Save money in the long term. Children who do not have adequate facilities during their development are likely to cost the council and the public far more in the long run in terms of social stability health and recources. Police, hosptals, education etc.
The council it seems lack any foresight at all let alone meet its obligations.
Kevin Fitzmaurice-Brown
I agree with Robin about the importance of a concerted, positive approach, and I do think that ultimately everyone wants the same thing - a decent playground. The sticking point, I think, is the timeframe in which this may be realised.
It’s fantastic that we as a committee got so much maintenance done on Saturday but, equally, it is perhaps a shame that more people did not know that this activity was taking place, so that more concerned parents could have participated in the clean-up operation.
The only thing we as a committee are guilty of, perhaps, is the softly-softly approach we have taken in the past. Clearly, no one wants to stir up trouble or become too embroiled in the politics of it all, but it is true that gradual fundraising which depends largely on public goodwill may not be enough if we want to have a fantastic facility for children while they are still young enough to enjoy it.
Whatever the history of the land’s ownership and management, and whatever the county council’s apathy to date, I feel this can still be challenged. Clearly, the town council does not have the funds to address this problem without external help, but the county council, which receives the lion’s share of our hefty council taxes, could find the money if it really had to, so it makes sense to direct our concerns there. I support all of the committee’s aims and efforts, but feel there is merit in a dual-pronged approach to this if we want to get something done soon.
I hope people will come to the public meeting in Newcastle Emlyn tomorrow, at 7pm at the old school. I gather the main subject of discussion will be facilities for young people in our town. Perhaps this will give some indication of there the broader council’s aims are as might affect our cause.
In response to Robin’s comment, if yourself or anyone from the committee would like to discuss matters regarding the park with any of us personally please email us at the address above and I will happily provide you with my phone number, which I have already given to your secretary previously.
It was after careful consideration others and myself chose not to join the playing fields committee (therefore we are not a splinter group) because previously when people had in the past their endeavours to raise new awareness or get outside help to improve the park was immediately thwarted! Therefore, as is our right to freedom of choice and for the greater good, we chose to tackle the issues from a different angle. This we feel is not negative as you claim, but rather a proactive and very positive approach in which the end result will hopefully be a new play area for the children of Newcastle Emlyn.
We are not knocking or belittling anything that the committee has done in the past, in fact we commend your efforts with the funds you have had, however, from the state of the park, this has been too little too late. Other parks in the area have been funded over the years by various grants and have fantastic facilities but we feel it has been ineffective and perhaps a little short sighted to continually put all your eggs constantly in one basket (The Lottery Fund), which previously has proven unsuccessful! Our concern is that if you are unsuccessful with this grant application in July what will become of the park then, will the committee disband has your chairman has indicated or has alternative funding been sought?
It is evident by the overwhelming support of the petition that many concerned parents and residents want something done about the park and whilst we recognise that the it does need maintenance and I am sure everyone is grateful for the committees endeavours, I and many others feel that the action required has gone beyond litter picking and wood preservative.
However, I do agree with you that as a community we need to to play an active positive part in the community to achieve our mutual goal and then perhaps collectively we may achieve a successful outcome. As Kevin says in his comment “children need plenty of healthy outdoor exercise, which helps them live a long and healthy life” so lets not lose sight of what is important here.
There is another committee meeting on Monday 25th Feb at 8pm in the Emlyn Arms. I don’t have the power to invite people as such, but Alan Jones, the mayor, would be the person to contact if people were interested in attending. I know the committee is keen to attract new blood.
Just to clarify, as Secretary I took the contact number from one of the petitions and was not personally handed it. In addition, my suggestion that the Chairman contacted the action group was not met with a particularly positive response!
I’m pleased to say that last night’s meeting of the Teifi Valley Community Network, which discussed youth and children’s plans for this area for the next 3-4 years, was a well attended and productive event. The councillors and network members there really seemed to take note of our plight to substantially upgrade the local playground, particularly as this cause is so directly aligned with one of the Network’s core aims for 2008-2011. Follow-up action has been promised. There are huge funds available for the plan as a whole, so keeping this issue high on the agenda will be important.
I couldn’t agree more with your comments Sue and feel that it is crucial as a community that we work together in the pursuit of obtaining a new park for the children. I feel, as we have, it is important for only constructive comments to be passed here to enable us all to achieve a positive outcome and this appears to be echoed by us all. Thankfully to date we have raised the profile of our plight and now we must work towards our common goal. I feel joining forces and encouraging others to do so will give us far greater strength overall. After all we are all on the same side! - aren’t we?
I just wanted to leave a comment in reponse to the disappointingly negative story that has appeared in this week’s Tivyside. After weeks of good progress in completing new grant applications and organising exciting new fund-raising events in aid of refitting the King George V Playing Fields, the newspaper has chosen to dig up old comments and present a very negative slant to the fact that the Council has now stepped up and condemned the playground in its current state.
Surely no one can be surprised that the Council has acted in this way. It was inevitable and should probably have happened years ago. Which of us would really want an injured child on their conscience. It is not true that any play facility is better than none at all. My view is quite the opposite - surely it is better to have a safe playing field, and a sense of urgency about replacing the equipment with something modern and safe, than accept and continue using equipment that was clearly bordering on dangerous, despite all our efforts to maintain it with next to no resources.
It is deeply regretful that the Tivyside has chosen to dredge up old comments made earlier in the year, and to present the situation in such a negative light. In fact, the Action Group is now working closely and proactively with the King George V Playing Fields Committee (of which I am a member), to ensure that we are all working together for a rapid resolution to this ongoing problem of a lack of decent outdoor play facilites for the children of this town.
If anyone is in any doubt at all about the commitment of either the Committee or the Action Group to this cause, we hope to put an end to that with a whole range of fund-raising activities that we are planning together for the months ahead, beginning with a massive Fun Day on the playing fields on Saturday May 31st. We hope everyone will come and support the event, and this important cause.
Sue Tabbitt
Hi,
I see this all over the country and we as a play area provider can help you with your grant applications and point you towards funding. We also provide free drawings and surveys as well as tools which will can demonstrate why the play area is needed and the effect it will have.
If you would like further information contact me at npigdon@proludic.co.uk
Good luck!
A comment from Alun Jones has not been approved as the email address provided does not exist.