Local parents, saddened and frustrated by the state of their local playpark at Blackberry Way, Midsomer Norton, are asking if it will ever be restored to its former glory.
A local parent contacted The Journal to see if anything can be done. She said: “We bought our Persimmon new-build home fourteen years ago at Blackberry Way, Midsomer Norton, built on former Duchy of Cornwall land. The Duchy had a significant input into the design of the estate, and the sales team promised us that a lovely woodland playpark would be constructed – and it duly was.
“However, since the site has been completed and all of the houses sold, the park has fallen into a complete state of disrepair. It has missing equipment and benches, dead trees, overgrown vegetation, slippery paths and steps, crumbling brickwork and rotten wooden retaining structures. It is a very sad and depressing place, and children certainly cannot play safely there.
“Over the years, a number of residents have complained to Persimmon, the Council, the local MP, and the Duchy – to no avail.
“I understand that Persimmon hope to hand over the maintenance of the estate, including the park, to the Council, but obviously, given the Council’s current financial position, there is little chance of it being adopted.”
Midsomer Norton Town Councillors have been in contact with Persimmon over the site, most recently when rotten posts were torn up and scattered around. Commenting on the wider issue, Town Councillor, Michael Evans, told The Journal: “When major new developments go up, there is the opportunity to require developers to put in extras to serve the community.
“Very often a playpark is among the facilities chosen, but the recent vandalism to the playpark site at Blackberry Way, and its long decay before that, illustrates the difficulty of maintaining these sites, especially if they are hidden away, off the beaten track and therefore vulnerable.
“We need to try to hold developers to account if they do not maintain them, it is true, but good up-front discussions with developers in advance might help avoid this sort of situation in future.
“Recently, developers have been engaging with the Town Council at an earlier stage, and this is a welcome trend.”
Persimmon Homes have been contacted for comment.
Comments
This article has no comments yet. Be the first to leave a comment.