A petition organised by school pupils calling for repairs to a Grimsby play park, has been formally handed into the council.
Oasis Academy Nunsthorpe pupils aged eight to nine years old went on a passionate protest march in May about the state of Nunsthorpe Recreation Ground and handed a petition, reportedly with triple figures of signatures, to South Ward councillors. This followed a one-year-old falling on an outstretched nail at the play area and the pupils inspired by teaching of the civil rights movement.
Nunsthorpe Recreation Ground is already on a list of 25+ play areas across North East Lincolnshire that the council is investing £800,000 in repairs and new equipment for. With the final play areas on the list to be seen to no later than December 2024, the pupils can expect improvements within seventeen months.
Read more: School pupils hold protest over safety of Grimsby park play area
When the fifty or so pupils carried out their protest Harvey, 8, explained why they were protesting: "We're trying to make it safer and better to play, and less dangerous." Placards designed and held aloft by pupils included "Keep our environment safe" and "The Rec shouldn't be a wreck".
All South Ward councillors were supportive of the pupils' campaign and two accepted the petition, understood to be several hundred strong, at the end of their protest in late May. True to their word, it was handed in by Cllr Tim Mickleburgh ahead of the first Community Scrutiny Panel meeting since then.
Reacting at the time of the protest, a North East Lincolnshire Council spokesperson confirmed Nunsthorpe was on a list of 28 play areas for improvements. The community interest was also welcomed.
"If anyone from the local area is interested in looking after this play area, please contact us so we can work together to take care of it. Please be assured that our play areas are subject to regular health and safety inspections, but if anyone notices that a piece of park equipment is faulty or has been damaged, please tell us about it using the 'Report It' function on our website, www.nelincs.gov.uk."
The first play parks to receive new equipment at the beginning of June included Duke of York Gardens, Grimsby, and Sussex Recreation Ground, Cleethorpes. The council and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has prioritised the most urgent works.
In a council document in March, Nunsthorpe Recreation Ground was down to get a toddler multiplay unit, fit pod, and teqball – a football-based game played on a curved table.
Cllr Mickleburgh confirmed on handing in the petition that the planned improvements had not yet been made to Nunsthorpe Recreation Ground.
