Playground “Ticking time-bomb”
I SHOULD like to furnish further information concerning your article “Ticking time-bomb.”
I SHOULD like to furnish further information concerning your article “Ticking time-bomb.”
One of the conditions upon which planning permission for the “adventure playground” was granted required the setting up of a liaison committee on which residents, both for and against the development, were to sit.
As a former member of that committee I can tell you that it was impossible to get committee members who were in favour of the development.
The Cambridgeshire County Council representatives on the committee made every attempt to dominate meetings - Agendas were written by CCC members without regard for what the residents on the committee wanted to discuss. This took no account of the direction by CCC that the committee must be chaired by a resident and not a CCC officer.
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It is true to say that the committee secured small changes to the original plan however, we all felt that these changes were an attempt to placate us and draw our attention away from major matters.
The collapse of the liaison committee means that planning requirements have been breached and that, technically, the construction is being carried out illegally! Having said this, nobody believes that work will stop - the playground is here to stay but it must be effectively controlled.
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Your article states that the youngsters playing on the site were kept off the area under construction. This is a flight of fancy; the fencing erected to keep the youngsters off the area under construction has been flattened repeatedly, allowing youngsters to trespass on the construction site.
CCC and Sutcliff Play do not acknowledge their legal duty of care to trespassers and their culpability should there be an accident.
The funding for the playground stipulates that it is for children between the ages of 8 and 14 years, yet young men of sixteen and over are often seen on the playground.
Once these older youths establish their right to the playground, a visiting security guard will not be able to stop them.
As to locking the gate at night, the fences are far from a deterrent and are easily climbed.
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