The regeneration project is set to start at the end of this month.
A regeneration project of Battersea Park’s adventure playground is to start at the end of this month despite last ditch efforts to stop the plans in their tracks.
Currently Battersea Park adventure playground is open for a few hours after school each day for fun activities under part-time staff supervision.
Under new plans Wandsworth Council intend to extend opening hours by removing the need for playground staff.
Before the council announced the plans in January there was speculation that they were due to charge for playground access, something residents opposed.
Sandra Munoz-Alvarez from Battersea is concerned with the new plans.
She believes the removal of staff could be dangerous for the children given the “gang culture” in the area.
She said: “The children were talking about the new equipment – they don’t want it to be like everywhere else.
“They want something that is challenging, that’s really tall like a climbing wall.”
Wandsworth Council insists Battersea Park will remain unique and challenging.
In June they announced that children who frequent the park were involved in the park’s design.
Children’s services spokesman Cllr Kathy Tracey said: “Young people who use the adventure playground are in the best position to tell us what’s good and what’s not so that is why we have actively engaged with them to ascertain their views.
“Their opinions have helped us decide what to install in the adventure playground.
“Our aim is to carry on providing an exciting and challenging adventure playground for youngsters. We will be doing this at a time when many other local authorities are actually closing theirs down.
“Keeping the playground in Battersea Park open and keeping it free to use are the two outcomes our residents told us they wanted. We have listened carefully to their views and fully addressed both points.”
Ms Munoz-Alvarez, who is part of the Women of Wandsworth group, was told by the council that the park was going to be safer, newer and open for longer but she said they failed to mention the loss of playground staff.
“It’s going to be a normal playground like everywhere else, which isn’t what the children want,” she said.
Despite the council’s insistence that a final decision has been made on the £200,000 regeneration project, Ms Munoz-Alvarez still hopes that the council make a u-turn.
She said: “Last summer they were going to start charging to use it, but two days before the beginning of the charge they did a u-turn. So they could do a u-turn again.
Councillors approved the purchase of new equipment in June, which includes rope swings, chain ladders, aerial walkways, tube slides, scramble nets, zip wires and fireman’s poles.
New look: the council hope to install new equipment at Battersea Park
Chief Press Officer for Wandsworth Council, Charlie Masson Smith, said: “Final decisions about the future of Battersea Park were made in January – nothing has changed since then.”
When addressing concerns regarding the removal of park staff Mr Masson Smith said: “It is a simple fact that older children do not tend to use the playground.
“Only 8 per cent of visitors last summer were aged between 13 and 16.”
Ms Munoz-Alvarez is still concerned though.
“Some teenagers say that their parents are not going to let them go because there’s not going to be any supervision,” she said.
Mr Masson Smith denies this adding: “The biggest group of users (54 per cent) are aged between five and eight, who are almost always accompanied by parents or carers.
“Our intention is to carry on providing exciting, popular and modern play facilities for young people – at a time when lots of other local authorities are closing theirs down.”
The battle of Battersea Park adventure playground is likely to continue to the very end, but with it due to close at the end of the month, there’s not long left for a u-turn.
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