Luton Park Shambles

Luton recreational park in Chatham is used by a diverse amount of people, from the elderly to young children. Many people walk there dogs through the large fields that surround the park. There are a number of football pitches for the sunday leauge. Even a full size cricket field. It's very much a communal family park.

Last summer in 2011 Medway council received a grant from central goverment to improve the play area. Im not sure how much the grant was but I feel it should have been enough to update and improve the whole of the play area with safety in mind.

In the middle of summer 2011 the new play area was built. Every part of the original play area was taken out and new shiny apparatus was installed. Well that part was done. Now they had made the play area twice the size, but the very smart planners seemed to have forgotten something. The original fencing was then too short to go around, so a large gap was left.

This is a meeting I would of loved to be a fly on the wall at. I image them all sat down after realizing they had no money left and one person saying "open plan". Yes its true they are telling us now not finishing the fence all the way around the play area was there original plan. A park where dogs are allowed to run around, and through no fault of the owners can now run into the play area itself.

There was I'm sure another part to this meeting. Accessibility to the park itself and dont forget they have no money left. Well it seems they did have some, because they have put a tarmac path that leads to, well seems to be mud and the grass only. Really the path just stops and goes nowhere.

How nice this new park is. Well this is unless you have a pushchair or a wheelchair. Then you have a multi terrain surface to navigate to get to the play area. After talking to the coucil about this they just say "We have no funds to sort this out."

On the upside we have been told the fencing around the park being "Open plan" does not work. (Surly this was not that hard to work out.) Once we are into the new fanatical year the fencing will be completed.

As for the path though. They have informed me over the phone someone may go down there to mark out where the path should be. Please note this is not to put a path in that pushchairs can go with ease.

Its the same thing over and over again with this council. We will start out with a really good plan but stop half way as we can't plan our money. Never mind the residents or visitors to the area who just have to cope.