A DESPERATE bid by children in Butterknowle to get a playpark in their village is being thwarted because their parish council can’t find suitable land for it.
A group of youngsters, led by ten-year-old Sara Lowther, took it upon themselves to launch a petition last September asking Lynesack and Softley Parish Council to return equipment that was taken away from a recreation area in the village many years ago.
But parish council chairwoman Cllr Jeanette Newell says nimbyism is hampering attempts to find a solution.
Sara’s dad, Tommy, says the lack of facilities for young people in Butterknowle is putting their lives at risk.
He said: “There is nowhere for them to play so they are just sort of riding up and down the road. It is not an ideal situation and it is quite dangerous. We have got a lot of heavy vehicles coming through the village – I am surprised there hasn’t been an accident.”
He said the original play area had been dismantled more than 25 years ago and wondered why the parish council had not simply put in new equipment. Mr Lowther added: “There are grants out there so it is not coming out of their pockets. They [the children] are not asking for Flamingo Land, just a slide and a few swings.
“They don’t need anything big so it won’t cost that
much. I can’t see why it hasn’t been done before.”
But Ms Newell said the land where the original play area was sited belongs to a housing association which had been approached shortly after the parish council discussed the issue during a meeting last October
She said: “They were our first port of call, but the answer was no. We have been on this case for about 40 years – every time we get thwarted by legal restrictions or something else. People want it, but not in their back yard. People don’t want it near them.”
She added that the parish council had a piece of land in mind which could potentially house a playpark, but negotiations with the landowner have yet to take place.
