A Hadleigh town councillor has welcomed action by Babergh to give a popular play area a major refurbishment.

Andrew Knock has been pushing for Babergh to replace play equipment, including a baby swing, and make repairs to damaged matting and other parts of East Meadow play area in Cox's Lane Hadleigh.

Swing missing

Parents have expressed concerns about ripped and damaged matting and other equipment, which could endanger youngsters' safety Cllr Knock has tried to get action from district councillors without success.

Nub News met with a group of parents at the park and they spoke about ASB, graffiti and vandalism. 

Cllr Knock said: "This is a welcome development and I, along with many residents, will be delighted when this gets done.

"We have a swing that was taken away in 2020, and still has not been returned.has been going on a long time now without any tangible action so to see them replaced will be excellent..

"You can see quite clearly the damage and there are real worries that little fingers could get trapped or injured.

"This is a well used facility in Hadleigh and the children and parents deserve better.

"It is good to see the district council is taking action and we especially look forward to the refurb."

Zip wire matting damaged

After taking Cllr Knock and the parents' concerns to Babergh, a spokesperson for the district council, said: "We know this is a popular and well-used play area and can reassure residents that initial site visits are now taking place ahead of a major refurb, so the area can continue to be enjoyed by families in future years. "

"We will share plans as soon as they are available. 

"In the meantime, we are trying to source replacement parts so we can repair the vandalised play equipment as soon as possible, but global supply chain delays mean it's taking a little longer than we'd hoped. We continue to inspect the site weekly, cleaning graffiti and repairing vandalism wherever possible."

Cllr Knock pushed for play area improvements

Cllr Knock has shown a keen interest in improving play areas around the town and was contacted by parents about the Babergh run area following his success in securing swings and also a slide Corks Lane.