A NORTHSIDE councillor has been left angry after the play park on the estate has been left to deteriorate.

The park is owned by Castles and Coasts Housing Association.

Councillor Beth Dixon said: “I have had ongoing conversations and emails for six years with Castles and Coasts and they always come and have the walk around and say yes we will do this that and the other and yet nothing ever appears.

“The lads do do a safety check, but I’m not quite sure what they are safety checking on because the matting on the swings ­— its just from where the kids drag their feet when they’re swinging ­— but it’s ended up with half of the matting being up.”

Cllr Dixon also pointed out issues with the fact there is no bin on the park leading to litter and the flooring under the toddler climbing frame holding water marking children’s clothes, as well as being uneven

The councillor said: “There are kids on that park from 8am to 8pm if not later in summer holidays and they play different games, but my kids are coming in and they have black marks on their clothes and things like that.

“Its not safe if they fall too hard on the muck then its harder than concrete if it’s rained and then dried, it is a worry.”

Workington Town Council confirmed that if the park is brought up to standard it is happy to take it over and maintain it as part of its parks remit.

David Elwood, CCHA head of maintenance, said: “We are committed to working with residents and partners, to improve outdoor spaces, across our communities. I can confirm that a review of all of our play parks has been carried out this year.

“While we undertook this review, the play equipment at Northside play park has continued to be inspected for safety, in line with ROSPA requirements and also, where possible, parts have been repaired. However, as this park has been in place for a long time and has, unfortunately, been subjected to vandalism on a number of occasions, it is not possible to replace all the items. Therefore, we have commissioned a play park designer to provide options for renewing the equipment, which will see us investing substantially in new play equipment for the local community. We have made a commitment to invest, during this financial year.

“Unfortunately, since our last inspection, we have been made aware of further vandalism to the play park. As part of our plans to invest in new equipment, we will consult with residents, to ensure that our plans are appropriate for the community and also to discuss how we can work together to ensure the new equipment is well looked after and is not subject to further vandalism.

“I can confirm that we have had ongoing discussions with the town council. However, our current priority is to replace the equipment, to create a suitable play parks.”