Parents and children were annoyed to learn that the swings have been removed from the park which they walk through each day on the way to and from school.
We believe Cheshire East Council removed the swings from The Temp, off Gravel Lane, during the summer holidays - much to the disappointment of local families and children from Ashdene Primary School.
Bethan Crook, of Eden Close, told wilmslow.co.uk "My children used these swings every day and it was a surprise to find them missing without any warning or explanation from the Council. It's important to encourage children to play outdoors and it's a shame that the Council have removed one of the few sets of swings we have in Wilmslow."
Caroline Brown, of Knutsford Road, said "Since The Pleasure was developed, it's popularity has sky-rocketed. If The Temp was developed too it would have similar success. We need two parks in this highly populated part of Wilmslow."
Jane Gerrard, of Beechfield Avenue added "As a Beechfield Avenue resident with two sons, I was really disappointed to find the swings had disappeared when we returned from holiday. They are a well-used resource within our community."
Sarah Price, of Eden Close, told wilmslow.co.uk "My children were really upset when they saw that the swings had been removed. They loved using them on the way home from school and at weekends. We can't believe that the Council took them away without informing anyone, and are not intending to replace them."
Paul Stansfield, of Moor Lane, added "First they remove the slide, now the swings. It looks like a plan to stop children using the playing field, so they can sell it off to property developers."
Updated: 14.23pm on Tuesday 11th September.
A Cheshire East Council spokesperson said: "The swings, which were the only items of play equipment at The Temp, were beginning to fall into a state of disrepair and at the end of their life. Following the most recent regular maintenance and safety inspection, a decision was made to remove them.
"Last year, approximately £50,000 of funding was invested into the refurbishment and provision of new additional equipment at the site on South Oak Lane which is just a few minutes' walk away and very popular with a variety of age ranges.
"This followed consultation with parents and children at Ashdene Primary School and residents, who worked with us.
"Rather than having old items of equipment dotted about everywhere, we have been trying to refurbish the most popular play areas with more and additional equipment.
"The Temp now has an orchard planted by Transition Wilmslow, with whom we work closely with and we are considering the site becoming a community garden.
"We do hope the community continues to enjoy using the nearby South Oak Lane area for play and recreation."
Did your children use the swings at The Temp or feel the facilities at The Pleasure are adequate for the area? Share your views via the comment box below.
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
It's not an area that particulalry needs a community garden, a quick wander round Google earth shows that nearly all houses have gardens. What an area of this size needs is open, safe places in which our children [of all ages] can meet and play safely. Whilst the Pleasure is a good space it shoudn't preclude having another park when you consider how many houses there are around both spaces.
Of course we will expect a full and frank discussion with CEC on this as with all their other useful, well thought out schemes...
As a member of the steering group I was instrumental in establishing the orchard. I consulted many of the residents and received a very positive response to the idea. I assured them that we would be only taking up a small area, that we valued it as a playground and wanted to maintain multiple uses. The ten fruit trees that we planted, with the help of pupils from Ashdene Primary, are thriving which shows that the community does appreciate them and that they can exist alongside the usual recreational activities of a park.
We have talked about the possibility of adding raised beds for vegetables, within the orchard area, and at present are trying to raise money for a small start. The aim would be to use it as an educational resource so that people would be encouraged to go home and grow their own in all those gardens that Neil Matthews rightly mentions (above).
If anyone out there would like to join our food group to become involved in such a project please get in touch through the Transition Wilmslow website.
If you are parents of the children in the picture and can give a little time to help with this project, please get in touch. Equally if you were involved in fulfulling the requirements for the fantastic facilities at The Pleasure, your input and guidance would be extermely welcome.
Dear Tessa
Thank you very much for your communication regarding the swings at the Temp in Wilmslow.
Cheshire East Council are committed to the safety of play equipment in play areas to ensure that all children and young people who use these facilities are safe to do so. We are proud to have an excellent standard for safety for our community. A local resident to the Temp recently made contact to inform us of a potential problem with the swings on site which were the only items of play equipment at The Temp. Our qualified in house safety maintenance inspection Officer went out to inspect the swings which were identified as beginning to fall into a state of disrepair and at the end of their life. Following the most recent regular maintenance and safety inspection, a joint decision was made to remove them. Presently we do not have a budget for replacement items and our priority was to ensure that unsafe equipment did not remain in use to cause any risk to children.
Last year, approximately £50,000 of funding was invested into the refurbishment and provision of new additional equipment at the site on South Oak Lane which is just a few minutes' walk away and very popular with a variety of age ranges. This project was a result of a very committed group of parents wanting to work with us to find external funding to improve and enhance the play area. We are always keen to work with the community to carry out such projects. Please see below an extracted email (with the persons details removed)and response from 2010 where a local resident and user of the Temp asked about such a project, unfortunately I did not receive a response and therefore nothing progressed and since then no-one has made any request to enhance the area for children's play.
Please see attached a document that you may find useful if you would like to consider a project in your area.
We would be delighted to work with you if you are interested in looking for external funding for the Temp.
With kindest regards
Marianne Hodgkinson
Parks Management Officer
Open Space Development
Cheshire East council
Macclesfield Town Hall
SK10 1EA
Tel:01625 383780