Highland play parks to reopen gradually following advice from the Scottish Government in easing coronavirus lockdown restrictions
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Highland Council is planning to re-open play areas across the region throughout summer. Advice was provided by the Scottish Government on June 28 as to the safety measures that should be applied.
The council has 436 play spaces of which 336 are equipped play areas with 2011 individual items of play equipment. Since the lockdown, these play parks have been closed, and have not been inspected, or had any maintenance work carried out.
Before reopening, all council play parks have to be in a safe and serviceable condition and to do this a full inspection and maintenance programme must be carried out – a significant undertaking which will take time – which will be done in a phased, prioritised manner due to staff shortages.
This phased approach will initially focus on: high quality destination sites; locations where social distancing is possible; and new or recently refurbished sites requiring minimum input.
During this process, the play parks will have signs advising whether they are open or closed with additional signs provided in relation to coronavirus guidance.
The council expects to begin opening sites from this week onwards and the authority’s website will be updated next week with the list of the sites reopening first across the region here which will be updated as sites are reopened.
All park users are requested to use the facilities safely, observe social distancing, apply enhanced hygiene and to keep the parks tidy by taking their litter home with them.
The council’s amenities service is operating at a much-reduced capacity with less than 50 per cent of staff compared with previous years.
Many communities have supported the service during the pandemic with grass cutting, strimming and generally maintaining sites in their areas and the council is hoping to encourage community volunteers to assist us with the grass cutting in play areas, as long as they have carried out a risk assessment and adhere to social distancing.
Councillor Allan Henderson, the chairman of the communities and place committee said: “We are receiving a lot of guidance about the phased reintroduction of services and activities.
"We are very pleased to be able to begin a phased reopening of Highland Council play parks from today. This will be a gradual process as the council has to ensure that checks and safety inspections of the play equipment and infrastructure are carried out within the available staffing levels of the council.
"We ask everyone to bear with us as not all play parks can reopen at the same time and signage will be erected indicating whether they are safe to use.”
Councillor Alasdair Christie, the chairman of the council’s recovery board, said: “This will be great news for families to be able to get their children out to play in their local communities – but we have to ensure that it is as safe as possible for them to do so.
"Therefore, all work will be carried out in adherence to the national guidelines, and with strict social distancing measures in place.”
