Fareham parents and councillors raise safety concerns over new playground without fence

A Fareham Borough Council plan to refurbish a playground has come under fire for not including a fence to enclose the area, as local parents worry about the safety of their children.

The Fareham town centre play park was deemed unsafe over the summer, so the council allocated funds from the Fareham Town Centre Regeneration programme to install a better play area with new equipment, which is due to open on October 7.

However, the new playground will not have a fence surrounding it, sparking concerns over children’s safety and accessibility.

Councillor Gemma Furnivall, who represents Fort Fareham, worries that the lack of fencing will ostracise some families from using the new play park.

“I have an autistic child, so I'm a SEND parent myself, and the play park wouldn't be safe for my child and won't be safe for lots of other children,” she said.

“He's very large for his age, he's eight, but he's the size of a 14 year old. If he ran from me, I wouldn't be quick enough to get him. But also he could very easily knock somebody over, so actually, there is a wider risk to pedestrians as well.”

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A graphic released by the Fareham Borough Council showed that the park will be circled with flower planters and benches instead of metal fencing, but Cllr Furnivall points out that these do not increase the security of the play park.

“The way they've designed it is open all the way along one side, nearest the shops. That's over three shops worth of length that parents would have to police,” she said.

“There are gaps amongst the other sides as well. The benches are open at the bottom, so children could easily get underneath them, and they're not backed, so kids can easily get over the top of them. So essentially it is open. for children to get out.”

Cllr Furnivall decided to start a petition to “see what strength of public feeling there was” about the play park. Two days over the launch, the petition had nearly 1000 signatures.

“On the petition there's a survey asking ‘are you more likely to use it, less likely to use it or not likely to use it at all?’ 90% of those people are responding saying they wouldn't use it at all or are less likely to use it,” she said.

“What I plan to do is obviously present that evidence to the council to see if they will do something about it. If the petition reaches 1500 signatures, then there has to be a debate at council about it, at which point there are several parents who said they would like to come and speak to put the case forward for our children and families.”

Cllr Furnivall also noted that the conversation around the new playpark has been “amplified” in the last few days after an inquest into the death of three year old Noah Woods revealed that the boy had left a play area "through a gap in the fence" before going missing. He was later found dead in a nearby pond, following a huge search in Suffolk.

“The council indicated that it is parental responsibility to watch your children, but what we know, particularly from Noah's really tragic case, is that this can happen in seconds,” said Cllr Furnivall.

“We want the play park to be as beautiful and as accessible and as used as possible. This is about making the town centre a place where everyone can come and enjoy it. What we're hearing overwhelmingly is nearly a 1000 people saying that this is a problem and that they wouldn't be able to use the play park safely.

“This is a real issue. and I would like the council to take it seriously and I would like to hear about possible mitigation plans.

A site visit with councillors and council officers is planned for October to look at the finished park, consider the concerns on the ground and work through the practical options available. However, fellow Fareham Borough councillor Kirsten Wiltshire has asked for that meeting to be brought forward, following an outcry from her constituents.

Cllr Kirsten Wiltshire said: “The new play park should be a fantastic addition to Fareham Town and I’m really pleased to see this investment being made. But parents and carers have raised genuine concerns with me about the lack of fencing, particularly for some children with SEND, and I want to make sure those concerns lead to action.

“I’ve taken this directly to the council and I want officers to meet us at the park, look at the issues on the ground and work through what can practically be done.

“I don’t want to prejudge what the best solution is before we’ve had that discussion. What matters is getting a solution that works and makes this new facility as safe and welcoming as possible for local families.

“I hope we can achieve that by working constructively with the council. If we can’t, then I’ll be pushing for further action.”

Councillor Furnivall also believes that a meeting should be set up to allow concerned parents to talk to the council directly about this matter.

She said that: “My hope is that the council will see that this is an important issue, and one of the things I've asked for is a meeting, where SEND parents and parents who are worried about this could come and meet with officers and talk about it. That hasn't been accepted at the moment, but I would like to see that.”

The News has approached Fareham Borough Council for comment.

You can find Cllr Furnivall’s petition here.