A PINNER mum is gaining support in her mission to make a playground in her local park safer.
Niamh McEnery, 40, who has two young boys aged four and two, has joined other parents in a bid to persuade Harrow Council to improve the playground in Pinner Memorial Park, in West End Lane, Pinner.
Campaigners are lobbying councillors, have won Pinner Association backing and welcomed the installation of a new bin and bench on May 1.
PR worker Mrs McEnery said: “I have tried to speak to as many people as possible and there is a lot of support.
“What is needed is better surfaces, as they are slippery. Also, there is no disability equipment and it is on two levels, so if you are on one you sometimes can’t see your child.
“The equipment is really tired and old as well.”
The project started when Mrs McEnery was eight months pregnant and she fell while playing in the park with her oldest son, then aged 2.
She said: “A few years ago they extended the park and to incorporate the two areas they put a slide in, but they have done it really poorly.
“The surface is quite uneven. I slipped and lost my footing.
“I have always used the park and lived in Pinner my whole life.
“We use the park almost every day now.
“This made me realise the actual condition of the facilities are really poor, so I set up a Facebook page.”
She posted the Campaign for Pinner Memorial Park Playground Improvements page on the Pinner Mums Facebook group and it has received 510 ‘likes’ in the past four months.
Mrs McEnery said: “A maintenance man in the park had said that there was some paint if a group of us wanted to paint the spider (one of the play equipment items), and I thought that was wrong.
“We pay our taxes and we live in an affluent area and we should have a park which is up to a certain standard.”
A spokeswoman for Harrow Council said: “This playground is regularly inspected and is fully compliant with all safety legislation. We have put huge efforts in to modernising the park and new equipment was installed just three years ago. There is a range of equipment, similar to other parks of the same size, and the area is cleaned and maintained on a regular basis. We are now looking at whether different surfacing can be introduced to address the water logging issue, and we also await a quote for a disability swing – both in early stages as we look at the options available. As promised previously, we have removed a section of the hedge to improve visibility between the two levels. We continue to meet regularly with Mrs McEnery to keep her up to date. We have not had complaints from any other park users.”
