Mid and East Antrim play park closures 'will rob children'

The closure of play parks across County Antrim would "rob a generation of local children", according to one local resident.

In the Mid and East Antrim Borough Council area, 12 playgrounds are at risk of permanent closure after safety inspectors raised concerns about equipment.

The council manages 67 play parks and is responsible for their maintenance.

Since 2019, it said it has spent £3.3m on play park refurbishments.

"It didn't come our way," said Ann O'Donnell, of Windsor Residents' Association in Whitehead.

Ransevyn playground, one of her local parks, is at the centre of the local community and surrounded by houses.

It is "reaching end-of-life status", according to the council, and has been earmarked to be dismantled and turned into a grass area.

A four-week community consultation which begin in December ended on Friday, despite requests from residents for an extension.

"It's short-termism to close these places down," Ms O'Donnell said.

"The pandemic took so much away from us all and that's why we don't want anything else taken from us.

"We need these parks. We need them so much for our children, for ourselves and for Whitehead to continue to be the inclusive, welcoming place that it is."

Local resident Robert McClenaghan said upkeep of the park has been "minimal if not zero" since it opened more than a decade ago.

"If year on year they had looked after this park it would have been fine," he said.

"A tin of paint and a tin of WD40 would have sufficed - now they're saying it costs too much for upkeep."

Mr McClenaghan said the local community has "had enough" and described residents as "fuming".

"These people pay their rates, they want a nice area to live in," he said.

"The council are robbing a generation of local children of outdoor play."

He said children from the area would have to cross two main roads to reach the nearest playground, if Ransevyn closes.

"I can't stress enough how angry people are," he added.

"We're willing to do whatever it takes to keep this park, losing it is not a scenario we're even thinking about."

The ongoing cost of park repairs was discussed in a report presented to the Mid and East Antrim Council's Neighbourhoods and Communities Committee in October.

The report said: "The transformation of play parks listed will provide significant financial savings.

"The play parks identified have ongoing issues for a variety of reasons which result in significant investment each year to ensure safety for users."

Recently, the council's interim chief executive Valerie Watts said the organisation as a whole is facing a £7.2m shortfall in its finances.

For over 20 years, Deborah Ferris has run an after-school club and day care centre near Ransevyn playground, looking after over 70 children at a time.

The centre uses the local playgrounds, which are enclosed and easily monitored, on a daily basis.

"We don't have access to outdoor play," she told BBC News NI.

"We've plenty of grass areas, we don't need another one - we need our park."

Ms Ferris said children will have "nowhere to go" if the park is taken away.

"We use the parks in the area for the children's physical play, for their mental wellbeing, for them to mix with their friends and just to get out in the fresh air," she said.

"We pay high business rates, part of which are paid to the council, that should be used to upgrade the parks on a yearly basis, then they wouldn't have to close them."

Yana Tweed's house backs onto Ransevyn playground.

She regularly cares for her two nephews, both of whom have additional needs.

"It's great that you can leave your children out and you know that they're safe - there are so many children from the estate that all come here," she said.

"I don't know what the kids would do or how they would socialise without the park - where would they go?"

BBC News NI approached Mid and East Antrim Council for interview, but no representatives were available.

In a statement, the council said "signage was installed for members of the public at each of the play parks identified for potential transformation on 7th December 2023".

It said following the closing of the public consultation on Friday a report would be "taken to committee to outline details of each response and recommendations on next steps for each play park".