'Outrage' as swings removed from play area

Families have been left "outraged" after play equipment was removed from a park in the first week of the summer holidays.

Cornwall Council said the swings and roundabout at St Just Recreation Ground in West Cornwall were deemed unsafe and beyond repair following an in-depth survey.

The local authority also confirmed there was no funding available at present to replace them.

Parents argued an "already poor facility has been reduced further, without any confirmed replacement plan or interim provision".

Pauline Milligan, one of several mums whose children use the park every day, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service "lots of the kids are outraged too".

"Playground provision in St Just was already inadequate, but removing the swings and roundabout has made the situation considerably worse," she said.

Milligan said the play area was one of the few free, accessible places where children could meet, be active and spend time away from screens, particularly during the school holidays.

"I completely understand that genuinely unsafe equipment cannot remain in use," she said, but added questions remained "unanswered" about what would be done to restore the facilities.

Susannah Parsons, whose 10-year-old son regularly meets his friends in the park, said: "The timing is terrible - there will be nothing for them to play on in the summer holidays now."

Rachel Lochhead agreed it was "a real shame", adding her three children "loved using the swings".

Councillor Brian Clemens, who sits on both St Just Town Council and the local authority, said the equipment "had to be removed because it failed its safety check and the council would be culpable".

"The timing is unfortunate, but if it's failed its test, it's failed its test," he said.

"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."

In an email communication seen by the LDRS, a Cornwall Council officer said: "We are aware [St Just Town Council] are looking into funding opportunities and we would be happy to work with partners to develop proposals to regenerate the entire space, but expect that this will take some time."

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