Mayor apologises after months of playpark issues
Daniel HodgsonA mayor has apologised to families who have been unable to use part of a children's playpark after it fell into disrepair.
Swings, trampolines and a roundabout at Stewart Park in Middlesbrough have been out of action for more than five months.
In September, photographs revealed equipment being taped off, with resident Simon Templar describing the park in Marton as a "complete death trap".
Labour Mayor Chris Cooke said the council acknowledged "how important these facilities are to children and families" and that replacements and repairs were due to start soon.
While other parts of the park have been usable, including climbing frames and a see-saw, regular swings and a tyre swing continued to be missing, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
In September, Marton East Independents councillors Dorothy Davison and Jason McConnell said they had been pushing for equipment to be sorted "for a long time".
A council spokesman said at the time it was aware of the damage and equipment would be fixed "as soon as possible".
Templar said the biggest difference since then was how a baby swing that was taped off in the autumn had been removed, but not replaced.
Daniel HodgsonCooke said: "This play equipment at Stewart Park has been out of action for too long, and we apologise for that.
"We know how important these facilities are to children and families, and the necessary replacements and repairs are due to be undertaken soon.
He said the repairs were reflected in the recently approved council budget, which would see "£800,000 invested in maintaining and improving our play areas next year alone".
