Council sparks fury by removing play equipment from popular park

Furious parents in Cornwall have hit out after equipment was stripped from a well-used play park just as the school summer holidays began.

Cornwall Council removed swings and a roundabout from St Just Recreation Ground this week following a detailed condition survey that found the apparatus was unsafe and could not be repaired.

The authority has confirmed it lacks the budget to install replacements and is dependent on external funding sources that are not currently available.

Families have been left with virtually no outdoor play facilities for older children over the summer break, with residents saying the remaining equipment caters only for toddlers.

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The park, which is owned by the charity Fields in Trust, formerly known as the National Playing Fields Association, is one of very few free recreational spaces in the area.

Pauline Milligan, a mother who lives directly opposite the recreation ground, said the removal had left local children devastated. "Lots of the kids are outraged too," she told Cornwalllive.

She described the existing play provision in St Just as already insufficient before the latest blow.

"I see first-hand how much the equipment was used - until its removal, my son and his friends used the swings and roundabout every day," she said.

Ms Milligan added that the park represented one of the only free spaces where children could be active and socialise away from screens.

Susannah Parsons, whose 10-year-old son regularly meets friends at the site, criticised the scheduling.

"The timing is terrible - there will be nothing for them to play on in the summer holidays now," she said.

Rachel Lochhead, a mother of three, called the decision insensitive to local families. "Losing the swings is the saddest bit," she said.

Cornwall Council has maintained that the equipment posed a genuine safety risk and had to be taken down.

An officer from the authority explained in correspondence that the apparatus failed its inspection and was beyond economical repair, leaving the council exposed to liability had it remained in place.

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The local authority acknowledged the unfortunate timing but stressed that equipment which does not pass safety checks cannot be left standing regardless of the calendar.

Officials said they were aware that St Just Town Council was exploring potential funding streams and expressed willingness to collaborate on proposals for a comprehensive overhaul of the entire site.

However, they cautioned that any such project would take considerable time to materialise.

With no council budget earmarked for new apparatus and external grants currently out of reach, there is no confirmed timeline for when replacement equipment might be installed.

Councillor Brian Clemens, who represents the area on both Cornwall Council and St Just Town Council, said he had been attempting to resolve the situation since safety concerns first emerged last August.

He revealed that the town council had offered to assume responsibility for running the park through Cornwall Council's devolution process,

The Independent councillor confirmed a meeting with the town clerk and the Mayor of St Just was scheduled for next week.

"We are doing everything we possibly can - myself and the town council - to find a solution that doesn't mean that the burden falls entirely on the taxpayers of St Just," he said.

Councillor Clemens said: "Sadly, there's going to be a gap before any new equipment goes in and it's highly unlikely Cornwall Council will put it in, so we're still determined to find a solution whereby the town council can do it if we can find the funding.

"We are doing everything we possibly can - myself and the town council - to find a solution that doesn't mean that the burden falls entirely on the taxpayers of St Just.

"We're trying to provide the service that they want and if anything it will be better than they had before. It's not going to happen overnight though, that is the issue."

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