Children left 'disillusioned' in Chichester play park outrage

An angry resident has called for answers after a number of play parks on the estate were closed off 'several months ago'.

Kelly Leyland has said the closures have become a 'source of great frustration'.

She said: "We have three lovely play areas built on the development but all have been closed off for several months and one has never actually been opened despite being completed for over a year.

"Linden Homes have blamed a tree preservation order and waiting for some branches being cut down as the reason for the brand new play area next to the chapel and pre-school never having been opened.

"[It is] ludicrous that this should have been going on for over a year and my children and others gaze at it every day as they walk past, no longer excited by it but disillusioned about it."

Kelly said members of the Chichester Community Development Trust (CCDT) have been working hard to get the play areas re-opened.

She added: "This is an outrage for many reasons and some pressure needs to be applied to have these play areas opened."

A spokesperson for Linden Homes said: “The play area and trim trail at the Graylingwell Park development is due to re-open, however this delay is due to Linden Homes employing an independent play equipment inspector who advised that a number of the protected tree canopies now fall within the safe zones of the play equipment, and recommended they are cut back to ensure the areas are safe for all users.

"Linden Homes is in the process of submitting an application to Chichester District Council to obtain the necessary permissions to work on the protected trees, a process that can take up to six to eight weeks. Works cannot commence on the protected trees until consent is granted.

"Linden Homes is doing all it can to re-open the areas, however our residents’ safety is paramount.”