Petition handed to Cllr. Brian Wilson

Feb 2007

Last summer Julian Ware-Lane and Joe Cooke visited Tarpots Recreation Ground to see the poor state of the kiddies' play area. Readers may recall that the Council removed most of the equipment with no plan to replace it for several years. What was left behind was a crater-strewn and ugly area.

Local residents were appalled, as was the Labour Parliamentary Candidate. A petition was drawn up and in excess of 420 signatures were collected.

This has now been handed to Councillor Brian Wilson who will present it to the Chief Executive.

Brian said "when I heard about this I was shocked to see the short-sightedness of the ruling administration. Of course we want our younger members of society to have decent facilities".

Julian added "there has been a shocking lack of joined-up thinking here". 

"Hopefully there will be a re-think and the sought-after return of decent equipment will materialise".

Joe Cooke has served St. George’s ward as a Labour Councillor for a total of eleven years since arriving in 1970. He knows the views of local residents well and is aiming to again contest the ward in which this recreation ground resides, after losing his seat in 2003. "I have spoken with quite a few people about this and all resent the thoughtlessness of the council's actions. This petition, a significant snapshot of local opinion, should remind those elected that they cannot ride roughshod over the views of those who put them there. St. George’s is a large ward with few facilities and deserves fairer consideration".

Labour wants the facilities reinstated, with a long-tern maintenance plan in place. Labour also wants a decent supply of bins in the park, with a regular rota for their emptying.