Longbeach play park users call for missing swings to be reinstated

Monday 07 June 2021

Users of Longbeach play park at Gorey have expressed their concern about the lack of swings for older children, with officials saying they are waiting for funding to give the park a makeover.

A number of guardians have aired their frustration that the swings have been removed for months now, leaving only the smaller swings for very young children and babies on the site.

Pictured: The Longbeach play area swings were removed after neighbours had complained about noise in the late evenings.

One grandparent who contacted Express, Dee Smith, said that it’s “ridiculous that there hasn’t been anything done about it,” and that many users of the park she had spoken to are “all up in arms about it.”

She added that “it just seems so unfair that younger children and grandchildren are standing in the baby swings,” rather than having swings of their own.

Louise Ogilvy, another parent whose children use the facility, also criticised the lack of swings, saying that her older child cannot use the swings when they visit.

“We go there all the time... and I keep saying to my 8-year-old that I’m sure they’re going to be back,” she explained. 

“It’s very frustrating when the little ones can go on the small swings but the bigger ones can’t go on them at all.”

She said she had initially assumed that it had something to do with the moving of the park, which was considered briefly last year, but later rejected after feedback from users. 

She then said people were told it was to do with noisy teenagers using the swings at night.

She added that parents initially "thought they must have been taken to be replaced" but had seen or heard nothing since.

Head of the Parks and Gardens department, Bruce Labey, confirmed to Express that the swings had been removed following complaints from nearby residents about the noise from teenagers late at night and anti-social behaviour.

Pictured: The swings have been removed from the park for a number of months now.

“There was squeaking in the wind, at 02:00 - 04:00… we tried to fix the problems with copper grease, all sorts of experiments, but nothing stopped the squeaking,” Mr Labey said.

However, a bid has put in to the Treasury for funding so that the park could be completely updated, and the Parks department are currently awaiting a decision. 

“We have made an application for funding to cover this and quite a few other projects, and we are awaiting this outcome for additional funding,” Mr Labey said. 

He added that they wanted to focus on creating a ‘natural play area,’ which would include wooden and timber structures rather than metal and plastic.  

He explained they done some initial investigations with a ‘natural play’ specialist in the UK, who had given them a quote “just north of £80,000” in terms of the scale and type of equipment they would need. 

If they were to be granted the funds, they would then engage in a consultation, which would see them shape the design of the overhauled park.

Grouville Constable John Le Maistre said that he “appreciated” users’ concerns about the lack of swings in the park, adding that he “shall look into it to see what can be done and see if we can replace them.”

He also agreed it was an “important facility,” and that re-emphasised that its equipment “does need replacing.”