Playground under threat of closure to be revamped

A playground in a housing estate in the west of the Isle of Man that had been under threat of closure will instead be revamped following an appeal from a parent.

Peel Commissioners had considered removing equipment at the Close Caaig estate as the play area required major works.

However, following a meeting between local parent Caitlin Damcox and commissioner Voirrey Heaton, the local authority agreed to refurbish the play area with landscaping works.

Heaton said after the meeting she understood the "importance of allowing little children to go to the park independently".

The "beauty" of Close Caaig park was that parents could "look out their window and see their children playing", she said.

After a meeting with colleagues on the board of the local authority on last week, it was agreed to keep the play equipment in the park and undertake additional landscaping.

Lead member for events and commercial innovation Madeline Kelly said Peel had become "increasingly sanitised", and there had been a reduction in wild areas for play.

The idea was to landscape some of those wild areas back into the play area at Close Caaig, for children to "have things to hide behind, have things to jump off", which were not "just climbing frames", she added.

The local authority agreed it would consider taking the landscaping idea to other estates in Peel in future.

Ms Damcox, who met with the commissioners prior to the board's monthly meeting, said she was "glad it was the outcome we wanted".

The local children "love that park, so I am glad that it is staying", she added.

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