STAINDROP parish councillors are to call on advice from a playground safety expert after fears that newly delivered bark could prove a hazard for children.
Concerns were voiced by members despite reassurances from the company that inspects the village play area that the surface is up to standard.
The quality of the bark was first called into question during the council’s June meeting and samples were sent away to be analysed by the company contracted to carry out safety inspections at the play area.
Reporting back during the July meeting, parish clerk Judith Mashiter said: “They say it is compliant.
“They agree that bigger bits of bark do slip through the screening occasionally and the advice is to just remove the bigger bits by hand.”
She added that the company which provided the bark had offered to give the village a top-up bag free of charge.
The council’s deputy chairman Cllr Darrel Chapman, who is qualified to carry out playground inspections, said he was unhappy with the response received.
“They rely on us just taking their word it is best quality,” he said.
“I still say that is not playground standard, that is rubbish.”
Cllr Ed Chicken said he had been to visit other playgrounds in the area and had found bark is uniformly postage stamp size elsewhere.
Cllr Roger Humphries described the attitude of both the provider and the inspection company as “casual” .
He said: “This worries me a little bit here because the only inspection we have got for insurance purposes is one that says this has shards and stuff in it and that the advice is for these to be hand-picked and removed.
“If someone cuts their knee, or worse, on these shards we [can be] sued, and it looks as though it is reasonable if we have not picked out all the big bits. I think it will be worthwhile for once to get an independent inspection.”
Cllr Chapman said he would get in touch with the instructor who had provided the playground inspection course he attended to ask that he has a close look at the playground.
