Play area safety review welcomed
A major renovation of the very popular children's play area at Les Amarreurs has been welcomed by the Vale Commons Council, which allowed the facility to be created there 30 years ago.
The work, by local contractor Paul Wakelin (pictured) of La Cachette Gardens, was part of the Vale Douzaine's programme of playground maintenance to ensure the equipment remains safe for island youngsters to use.
Senior Constable Richard Leale said they also took the opportunity to review what the play area provided and decided to replace the main swing with a new one, at a cost of £5,400.
"We take the safety of the area and those using it very seriously," he said, "so Les Amarreurs is professionally inspected on a regular basis."
This responsible attitude was welcomed by Vale Commons Council president Rosemary Henry. "The play area at Les Amarreurs remains part of the Common, although responsibility for it has been transferred to the douzaine.
"Nevertheless, it's important that it remains responsibly managed and we're grateful to the Constables that they take that responsibility seriously."
Part of that advice was to replace the absorbent material under the equipment, which is designed to cushion any falls from the swings and climbing equipment.
Specialised
That is a specialised job and an attempt last year had to be abandoned when a UK contractor was unable to come here as planned to undertake the work.
Fortunately, however, Mr Wakelin's firm was able to undertake the removal, disposal and replacement of an estimated 12 tonnes of old safety covering.
The process is very weather dependent as the material is affected by heat and rain and so can be laid only when it is dry and not too hot – conditions that have been hard to find this summer.
However, Mr Wakelin was able to complete the final phase of the work for this weekend, after the new safety surface was laid beneath the new swings.
"It's been hard work," he said, "but it's been a pleasure seeing how popular this area is and how well used it is by island children."
Below: The site as the new swing was being installed by Paul Wakelin ([email protected])
