Chesterfield children and parents disappointed at state of ‘unsafe’ play park  – as council comments on its future

A rusty swing, see-saw and slippery rubber matting are what children in Tapton have to face every day at the play area on Derwent Road, behind the Lockoford Pub, which has been neglected for years.

Rob Birds, a dad who lives in the area, said: “The play park is falling to bits. It’s rusty and unsafe. Lots of people in the area have been disappointed with it for years. Kids walk past it every day and they are so sad that they can’t go on it.

"I have a six-month-old daughter and it would be lovely in a year or so for her to be able to go there. But it doesn’t look like she will be able to.

"The council has invested a lot of money into a new play park at Tapton House. They could have put some of that old equipment here and it would have vastly improved our park and they would have had a use for all that old equipment that they have taken away.

"This play area has been here for 30 years and it’s frustrating to see it go to waste. It’s a really busy estate with a large population of children and they are building new houses at the moment.

"There’s a really fantastic community here We have the “Locky Laners” run by a couple of lovely ladies who organise Christmas events, when they get everyone out singing carols on the street, and summer events for the kids. It’s a shame that we don’t have a play area to use.”

The Derbyshire Times approached Chesterfield Borough Council and asked if the play area could be renovated.

A spokesperson for the authority said: "In 2022 we launched our new play, parks and open spaces strategy, which commits more than £1 million of investment in play spaces across the borough over the next four years.

"We are investing in a range of play facilities during this period as part of a programme to secure fit for purpose play spaces for the long term. Tapton Park play space which is a short walk from this site is currently undergoing significant investment with these enhancements expected to be complete by the end of May.

"The Lockoford Lane site is identified as a play space which is no longer fit for purpose with the site being returned to grassland as we have done with other similar small play spaces within the Borough.”

But Rob said: “The suggestion that we send our children to Tapton House park by crossing the extremely busy Brimington Road rat-run is not acceptable.

"Kids who often play on the estate could make their own way to the play area on the estate but they would not be able to make their own way through a busy road to Tapton Park.

"Our play area is close to a pub so families can go into the pub and kids can go and play. It’s a really good little area at the heart of the estate and it is very frustrating that the council let it deteriorate into a state which is not safe to use.”