Campaign leads to play park repair

A new fence has been installed to make safe a popular playpark in Ross-on-Wye.

Herefordshire Council contractors have placed a new metal bow top fence around Archenfield Play Park in Archenfield Road.

Ross town councillors, who campaigned for the works, say they are also looking to improve playparks across the town.

Councillor Bev Pope said: “When I first came to Ross there was a chicken wire fence around it, and it got taken away because it was dangerous.

“I’ve been trying for some time to get Herefordshire Council to replace that fence.

“It’s a bow top metal fence. It now encloses an area which means it’s safe for kids to go there.”

Ross West ward county councillor Louis Stark said Herefordshire Council deserved a “pat on the back” for completing the works.

“I started the ball rolling in July 2019. I had a meeting with the locality steward down there,” he said.

“Then the issue became one of funding and Bev suggested private sponsorship but it didn’t materialise.

“I went back to the county council a year ago and they promised when funding did become available the play area would be their priority. And a year later they have been as true as their word.”

He said budget cuts to councils have led to many parks being left in a bad state.

“This is a victim of austerity because it’s this sort of public works that tend to be cast aside when you are tight of money,” he said.

“Balfour Beatty have had their budget reduced over the years as well so they are working with a much smaller pot as well.

“So, the things that take priority are the roads and footpaths. So it does tend to mean recreation spaces suffer.”

The town council is also understood to be in talks with Connexus over making improvements to some of the play areas they own in the north of Ross.