Play park in Berwick area permanently closed following anti-social behaviour and vandalism incidents

Berwick-upon-Tweed Town Council temporarily closed the Grove Gardens South play area this summer as anti-social behaviour there had escalated.

The local authority received reports that some individuals had been tearing up the safety surfaces and throwing them at neighbouring houses.

Now a decision has been made to permanently close the facility and residents are being asked to have their say on what it should do with the patch of land.

A section of the council’s October newsletter states: “Over the summer, the council took the decision to temporarily close Grove Gardens South play area to try and reduce the incidents of anti-social behaviour associated with the site.

“At its most recent meeting, after listening to representations made by local residents and others, the decision was taken to permanently close the site.

“The land at Grove Gardens South is owned by the town council, but is subject to restrictive covenants imposed by Northumberland County Council (NCC) when they transferred the play park to the town council.

“We need to have a conversation with NCC about the future of this patch of land, which is hard to access between houses. Before we do that though, we’d like to hear from Berwick residents.

“Given that the shape of the land and the complicated access to it makes it hard to manage as a play area, what should we do with this patch of land?”

Residents are asked to email Town Clerk Gareth Davies – [email protected] – with their ideas for the site.

When announcing that the park was to be closed temporarily this summer, the local authority said: “This vandalism is totally unacceptable and it means the play park isn’t currently safe for use. The levels of anti-social behaviour from the people misusing this area are unfair on local residents.

“With almost nightly damage to the safety surfaces, we can’t guarantee that the play area will be safe to use the next day. It simply isn’t feasible to inspect this park on a daily basis and some of the repairs that are already required need specialist contractors.”