COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF LUCAN AREA COMMITTEE

Tuesday, February 26, 2019

MOTION NO. 5

MOTION: Councillor R. Nolan

That this Area Committee, following the spate of vandalism in the Griffeen Valley Park Playground, relook at the possibility of higher fencing and CCTV?

REPORT:

It is recognised that quality recreation and leisure facilities contribute to the quality of life of those which they serve, and as part of South Dublin County Council’s recreation and amenity portfolio we deliver a range of services including the provision and maintenance of open spaces; playgrounds and play spaces; playing pitches and other sporting facilities.

Playgrounds and play spaces play a very important role in the lives of children and are a crucial part of ensuring healthy childhoods in communities across the county. 

To date the Council have provided 34 playground / play spaces, with 17 being provided through a five year Play Space Programme that commenced in 2014.   The concentration in these recent years in on the provision of play spaces that offer opportunities to play, and which allow children to develop their imagination, challenge their abilities, deal with risk and, critically, adapt to their own environment.

South Dublin County Council therefore take the issue of vandalism very seriously and continuously work to prevent it. When designing play facilities we concentrate primarily on using suitable materials rather than on fencing to restrict entry. There is also an emphasis on restricting potential for anti-social activity through choosing locations carefully, ensuring openness, visibility and selecting very robust equipment.

Incidents of vandalised and broken equipment are relatively low as increasingly more robust equipment is used. The Council have moved away from using predominantly rubber safety surfacing to natural materials which are less flammable and as a result our playgrounds are much less susceptible to vandalism. The expenditure on repairs to playgrounds includes costs for on-going maintenance, normal wear and tear as well as repair following incidents of vandalism; in some cases the repairs also incorporate design changes to prevent damage going forward or make an item more robust.

In Griffeen Valley Park the Trolls Head was subject to two incidents of vandalism in 2018 but here has been none since. The sculpture has been cleaned off. There was no damage to other items of play equipment. There are no current plans to change fencing nor provide cctv as the costs involved are not justified. With regard to preventing  attacks on our public facilities, the Council urges people to report any vandalism that they are aware of to the Council and the Gardai.  We also would implore children not to get involved with individuals or groups whom they suspect are intent on vandalism, and we would remind parents to be mindful of their children’s activities. There has been no reports of recent incidents at this location.

The Council have made large commitments in providing high quality play, recreational and sporting facilities across the county in recent years, and are committed to keeping them open and operational. SDCC staff have a good relationship with the park users and with local Gardai across the County, who have provided a lot of resources to preventing problems in / at our facilities and we will continue to cooperate with them, and the public at large, in the management of this anti-social problem.