£29,000 report says parks are 'below average'
Preston play areas have been slammed in a report which brands many facilities in the city "below average".
The 29,000 report was compiled by auditors who visited 200 open spaces – including 56 play areas, 45 parks and gardens, six allotments and five indoor facilities.
More than 90 sites in Preston were rated as poor or average, despite the city council being recommended to provide good quality sites as a minimum.
Some of the city's worst play areas are at Grange Park, which scored just 30%, Ashton Park (32%), Cottam Park (20%) and Savick Park (28%).
Ribbleton councillor Patricia Woods said: "In Farringdon there seems to be a play area on every corner and some have nothing on them. There is one on Hesketh Road that is just dead space.
"Kids don't always want swings, roundabouts and slides these days. We need to look at what we are putting on them."
The report also found that provision for toddlers, juniors and teenagers rated from average to extremely poor.
Adrian Phillips, assistant director, Neighbourhood Services, said: "Clearly we want to have all our parks and open spaces rated as good.
"We have looked at the report to prioritise where we can put resources, but we have to be realistic.It is no secret that the council has had a disappointing revenue support grant from the Government this year."
Council chiefs defended the cost of the report at a time when the council is making budget cuts – including cutting funding for lighting in parks.
Mr Phillips said: "All councils have to do a planning policy guidance note 17. Because of the scale of it, we did not have the workforce to carry it out in-house.
"The cost was shared between planning and parks. We sought 10 quotes and went with the least one. It is very detailed and points us in the direction of investment for the future."
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Weather for Preston
Thursday 29 July 2010
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 15 C to 17 C
Wind Speed: 28 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Light rain
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