WORKING out exactly who is responsible for the swings and roundabouts has proved to be anything but child’s play for parish councillors.
Members of Startforth Parish Council have become increasingly concerned over who is responsible for what as far as the Stainmore Close play area is concerned.
Councillors were told that monthly inspections of the equipment are being carried out by Durham County Council’s outdoor facilities officer – but members were concerned that the same issues were being flagged up each time with no action being done to resolve them.
As a result, clerk Judith Mashiter compiled a report on the play area in an effort to discover where responsibilities lay.
She said two agreements between the former Teesdale District Council and Startforth Parish Council were made in March 1997, covering the area where play equipment is installed and the informal football area next to it.
These agreements passed to Durham County Council in 2009 when the Teesdale authority was abolished.
In 2015, a meeting was held with the county council’s neighbourhood services manager at which parish councillors said they were unable to continue with the agreements due to lack of cash and manpower to carry out maintenance and inspections.
Ms Mashiter said notes of the 2015 meeting indicated Durham County Council would replace equipment unfit for purpose “as a one-off” and included a statement that county officers would “continue to undertake maintenance” .
“It is unclear to what exactly this refers,” she said.
Based on the information she had gathered, Ms Mashiter had compiled a list of responsibilities as accurately as possible.
The land belongs to Durham County Council and is leased to the parish council, however, question marks remain over who owns and maintains the equipment, litter bins, benches and other items.
Cllr Peter Worley confirmed it had been the parish council which had installed a zip wire and swing basket in 2021 thanks to cash from housebuilder Kier Homes to improve community facilities.
Durham County Council cuts the grass, although no agreement is in place, while the parish council looks after the boundary fences, hedges and walls.
Questions were asked about the extent of Durham County Council’s responsibilities for issues flagged up by the monthly inspections.
Ms Mashiter said the parish council could organise its own quarterly and annual inspections to be carried out by suitably qualified experts.
Cllr Peter Worley supported this, adding that in the past, the parish council had worked with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA).
Cllr Craig Baker suggested that the parish council wait and instead write to Durham County Council to find out the reasons behind the monthly inspections.
