Go-ahead for ‘scaled down’ Acorn Road play area

A new play area on the Acorn Road green — and possibly a new neighbourhood watch group — has been given the go head by North Norfolk District Council with the support of the local police and North Walsham Town Council. The planned scheme has been scaled down following representations from local residents.

The play area will include climbing structures, swings, children's football goal posts and a basketball net. It also includes some tree and shrub planting. It will be funded by £50,000 from the national Playbuilder scheme which stipulates that the play area and landscaping work must be completed by the end of next month [March 2010].

In the latest phase of consultation, NNDC and the police met a group of residents last week [Tuesday, 16 February] to hear their concerns about antisocial behaviour in the neighbourhood, and their desire to keep the green as an area of common land useable by all. The original proposals for the play area have now been scaled down, and it is also proposed that a neighbourhood watch group be re-established in the area to help combat existing antisocial behaviour, and also for the safety of the new play area and its young users. This idea will be developed over the coming weeks in conjunction with Norfolk Constabulary.

The North Walsham play area was first proposed after Playbuilder funding was withdrawn from a possible site in Cromer after local objections there (Playbuilder is a Lottery-funded Government initiative administered by NCB, the National Children’s Bureau). NNDC had already identified the need for a play area at Acorn Road, after an earlier consultation around the neighbourhood (and including all of North Walsham’s schools) showed support for new play facilities.

Karl Read, Leisure and Cultural Services Manager at NNDC, explained: “This part of North Walsham has been identified as needing some play facilities for children, as and when money became available. As it turned out, the money became available rather suddenly, when the Playbuilder programme backed away from the Cromer proposals late last year. We didn’t want to miss the opportunity to spend the £50,000 on new play equipment, and Playbuilder agreed that we could use the money in North Walsham instead. We had to act quickly to draw up plans, because any work we do has to be finished by the end of March to benefit from Playbuilder money. We aren’t likely to find another source of funding any time soon.”

North Walsham District Councillor Eric Seward said: “Some residents have experience of antisocial behaviour in the area, and there have been genuine fears that a new play area might make things worse. I hope the new proposals can allay such fears, and reassure people that the green will still be for everyone to enjoy. The situation is going to be monitored by the District Council and the police over the coming months and we will keep in contact with residents living nearby. We want to make sure that the play area does what it is supposed to do — give local children and families somewhere that's fun to play in the outdoors.”

Inspector Pete Hornby, of the North Walsham and Stalham Safer Neighbourhood Teams, sai: “I think this is a fantastic opportunity for the residents living in and around Acorn Road to benefit from a purpose built play and recreation area. There have been concerns expressed by some local residents about antisocial behaviour and we will continue to work hard in partnership to alleviate these concerns and tackle any root issues. I would continue to urge anyone who believes that they are affected by antisocial behaviour to contact the SNT on 0845 4564567 or via email at northwalshamsnt@norfolk.pnn.police.uk”

ENDS