Call for action over playground deemed 'unsafe' for children (From Enfield Independent)

Call for action over Ivy Road Recreation Ground deemed 'unsafe' for children

5:30pm Friday 24th August 2012 in News By Hermione Wright

A mother is calling for urgent action to clean up a Southgate playground which she claims is “not safe” for children.

Mari Warby, who lives in Hillside Grove, is upset about Ivy Road Recreation Ground in Grovelands Court, which is overgrown with grass and nettles and polluted with rubbish and broken grass.

She has taken her three-year-old daughter to the park since she was a baby as it is just a two-minute walk from her home, but claims the area has never been clean.

The 37-year-old said: “It is awful, and it is scary because we can’t leave the children to play. We have to always see what they are doing and make sure they are not picking up any rubbish and glass – it is not very nice.

“It would be nice if it was kept clean and the bins were changed because they are open. The grass is overgrown and there are lots of nettles.”

The learning development manager said rubbish always overflows from the open bins, which is unsightly and dangerous as children may start to play with the rubbish on the floor.

Rubbish is also strewn in front of a bench and beer cans are littered inside the play area.

She said the area, which is behind Southgate allotments, is “not safe” for her daughter and other children to play inside and it is time for Enfield Council to act.

Despite emailing the council about the situation, she has heard nothing back. She added: “Southgate only has one playground and the council seems to be totally uninterested to maintain it.

“It is not good enough, the council needs to sort it out and make it nice.”

She regularly meets other parents in the park who would also like the area to be cleaned up for the sake of their children.

She said the problem is especially bad during the summer holidays as the area attracts more children who are enjoying their time off from school.