Littlemoor play park saved after anti-social behaviour fears
Local residents were worried the park could be closing down
A play area in Littlemoor in Weymouth WON'T be closing down after fears for its future.
Locals believed Housing group, Aster, were looking to close the park on Clayton Close down over reports of anti-social behaviour.
But Aster says it's listened to the voices of residents, 70% of whom made it clear they wanted the park to stay.
Councillor Louie O'Leary told Greatest Hits Radio Dorset he's been speaking to the group on residents behalf.
"It's another loss of a local amenity. There's a number of children on Littlemoor, and I know from my personal experience from growing up there, you didn't always have the newest games console, the newest toy at home to play with so the park was somewhere you could go for free and enjoy.
"If it had gone it would have been a tremendous loss.
"I've responded to complaints about anti-social behaviour from people and attended the site myself, but they're always very low key stuff.
"To remove the park to deal with ASB you're throwing the baby out with the bathwater. You deal with the ASB, you don't get rid of the play equipment.
An Aster spokesperson said:
“We appreciate that play areas provide important places for local children to enjoy. That’s why we’ve taken time to engage with local residents to better understand how they use the play park on Clayton Close, which has been a longstanding facility in the community.
“Over the last three months we’ve monitored the play park and spoken directly to residents about how they use the space. Most people we spoke to (70%) told us they want the park to stay open, because it provides a safe environment for young children to play within the neighbourhood.
“We’ve now completed our consultation and can confirm that in response to this feedback from the community, the park will stay open for local children to enjoy. It was always the case that any action we took would take into account the wishes of the local community”.
“We recognise there have been concerns raised about older youths using the park inappropriately, so we’d encourage people to report any anti-social behaviour in public places directly to the police via the 101 service or using the online portal."