Yesterday I was contacted by Gloucestershire Live regarding the play areas at Earls Park. I gave the following statement:

The two play parks at Earls Park, at Manu Marble Way and Neven Place, are currently in the ownership of the developer Matthew Homes and are their responsibility. Once the parks are adopted and handed over to the city council, the council will then be responsible for the maintenance of the site.

I work proactively with Matthew Homes on behalf of the residents of Earls Park. In July I had a site meeting with management, including the Managing Director, and I shared the details and action points of this meeting on my website, https://sebastianfield.mycouncillor.org.uk/2021/07/16/earls-park-site-meeting/
and my Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/cllrsebastianfield

As well as urging a number of actions which have been carried out such as blocking off the illegal cut-throughs, arranging for missing street nameplates to be installed and updating on highways issues, at this meeting I again raised the matter of the parks which were fenced off and unavailable for use.

I pressed the management to get these parks open as soon as possible, in time for the summer. I was told that this should be done within two weeks, but obviously this has not happened. I have continued to press Matthew Homes on this matter and it is a source of frustration for me and residents that the parks are not yet open. I have contacted Matthew Homes to relay resident concern and frustration, and to enquire what is causing the delays.

I have spoken personally to the Managing Director today, who has informed me that the delay is due to the safety signage not being delivered yet from the manufacturer. Without this safety signage, the site is not insurable and the parks cannot be opened.

The MD informs me that Matthew Homes have been pressing the manufacturer and checking in regularly, and has just been told that the signage will be delivered by October 7th, and installed soon after. He is also looking into the matter of the grass growing through the matting, with the site team. Once the parks are opened, though, they will be maintained by the city council parks team anyway.

I am disappointed that Matthew Homes have not been able to get this site open yet but hope that we can get the parks in use by half term.

The delays are very frustrating for all, but I would rather the safety signage was in place and the parks were opened with all safety precautions taken.

I will keep checking in with the developer and the council to ensure this timetable is kept to as far as possible, and I will continue to speak up on behalf of local residents, as I always have done. I am always contactable and happy to hear from residents of Podsmead on any issue.