Shortcomings

In letters last week Mr Pasley makes several statements that are untrue. Firstly he says that play proposals are not universally welcome, secondly he says that he and other ward councillors were not privy to the plans and finally he singles me out as the designer of the scheme.Yes, it is true that I have been working hard for the last two years or so to get North Somerset Council to address the obvious shortcomings of the present play area. These stemmed from an incident when my young grandson was hit by one of the gates into the play area and ended up lying in two inches of muddy water with a big bump on his head. Since then the gates have been replaced and some limited improvements to the play facilities have taken place. However the site is still often waterlogged and the level and variety of equipment is still well below that of other towns in the district.About a year ago the district council decided to invest £40,000 in enhancing the play area. This proposal was presented to the town council in April 2006 who agreed unanimously that: "The Town Council welcomes and supports North Somerset Council's intention to invest in the Lake Grounds play area; encourages the District Council to invest their funds initially in resolving the present problems of the play area and expanding the fenced area to facilitate future enhancements; and will in due course consider committing funds to purchasing equipment as part of an agreed programme of enhancements."Subsequently in October last year a briefing meeting was held for councillors where the outline proposals and costings were presented by an officer of North Somerset Council. This meeting was attended by nine councillors including Mr Pasley who stated at that meeting that he was generally supportive of the proposal to extend the fenced area. So the truth is that there have been regular reports and briefings to all town councillors, that officers of North Somerset Council have drawn up the proposals, and that until October of last year there was general support for these proposals amongst councillors.I find it very difficult to understand why a proposal to enhance play facilities for the younger members of our community can result in so much opposition from local councillors particularly those representing the coast ward.Jon Gething - Portishead councillor