COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF LUCAN AREA COMMITTEE

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

QUESTION NO. 1

QUESTION: Councillor P. Gogarty

"To ask the Chief Executive to report on the completion process for the new play space at Hermitage Park. People are playing there as the barriers have been removed but this has led to what one resident has described as a "muckfest". Is the process complete, and if not, what else needs to done?"

REPLY:

The installation of play equipment in Hermitage Park was recently completed. However, as soon as the play equipment had been installed, children were attempting to access the equipment by going under or over the site fence. This was considered to be unsafe and it was therefore decided to remove the fence and allow children to access the play area. 

Public Realm staff have been in contact with local residents and although there was some concern expressed about the condition of the area around the playspace, there is now an understanding that this is a temporary situation and there are plans in place to resolve it. It is planned to carry out tree and shrub planting at the play area next month in conjunction with local families. The disturbed ground will also be cultivated and grassed down as weather conditions allow. Once the seed is down and germinated, the site should green up as grass growth advances.

It should also be noted that a natural play space will always have areas that are more likely to be subject to wear and tear than conventional playgrounds with synthetic surfacing. At times, depending on ground and weather conditions, these areas may become muddy but they will recover as conditions improve.