This is why Bamber Bridge's £110,000 mega new children's slide hasn't arrived

The installation of a huge new slide at Bamber Bridge's Withy Grove Park has hit a snag.

Earlier this week, South Ribble Borough Council excitedly told residents that contractors were due on site on Wednesday, February 14 - weather permitting.

But weather didn't permit, and the installation has been temporarily halted. A spokesman for the council told the Post: "The adverse weather from the last few days meant that groundworks couldn’t commence in the initial time frame and we are waiting on an update, however we envisage no disruptions to other sections of the playground whilst the installation work is taking place. We will be putting out comms once the new slide is installed."

There's a yellow weather warning in place for this weekend - and this is when it will snow

What will it be like?

The near nine-metre-high kit will boast two slides - one a spiral covered tube and other other a more traditional open shute. It will also include around 30 other features across its eight levels, like climbing equipment, viewing platforms and a fireman’s pole.

There will also be a megaphone - a prospect South Ribble’s planning committee heard had initially caused alarm amongst the authority’s environmental health team, because of the noise it could cause. A condition banning any amplification of the feature was included as part of the permission that was granted for the design.

Manufacturers Komplan say it will be suitable for 7-12-year-olds, with capacity for 55 children to use it at any one time. What does it replace?

The original two-shute tower slide at Withy Grove Park was set alight twice in the space of a fortnight in August 2022. It had been hoped that the popular attraction could be saved and repaired, but parts of the structure were so badly melted by the heat of the blazes that it had to be dismantled in January 2023.

South Ribble Borough Council was told that the play feature - which was installed in 2007 - was no longer manufactured and so could not be replaced like-for-like. The cost of the new tower has been covered by the council’s insurers and discussions have been held with both the fire service and police about how to avoid a repeat of the arson incidents, including by the use of upgraded CCTV and other measures “to deter damage and anti-social behaviour”.