ℹ️ TRENTHAM PARK CLIMBING FRAME FUTURE UPDATE

While I commend the community response, including the wonderful paint work, the future of the climbing frame has still not been decided.

I have spoken to managers in the service over the last week and I have the following updates:

- The new timber deck has been installed, which will withstand normal use, only to minimise the risk of accidents in the short-term, as people continue to climb on the unit. Officers have stressed they made this clear when approving its replacement.

- The safety surface under it still requires repairs and depending on how wide the damage is under the surface, it is not clear how much this will currently cost.

- The unit now looks attractive after being kindly painted by a member of the community, but officers stress this is only hiding the true condition of the unit and does not address their concerns.

- The slide has quite a lot of dents as well, which have been caused by some form of hammers or similar implement.

- There are also decorative panels missing that were destroyed from previous fires and these are not proposed to be replaced due to the risk of additional arsons.

In the long-term, the officer recommendation is still the full removal of the climbing frame unit and replacement with other equipment, and any repairs should be viewed as a stop gap for safety reasons only.

In the meantime, an update letter will be sent to local residents to ensure they are aware and that they are being provided an accurate current position.

We'll also use this letter to ask for views on what equipment should replace the unit, should that decision need to be made sooner rathe then later.