THE play areas in Merthyr Tydfil that have been refurbished recently and those that are due to be refurbished over the next two years have been revealed.
A report for the council’s neighbourhood services, countryside, and planning scrutiny committee on Monday, October 21, says 14 sites have currently been refurbished as part of an ongoing programme.
The council currently manages 51 fixed play areas throughout the county borough and the report says many of these facilities are coming to the end of their useful life and are in need of refurbishment.
In 2021 an independent report highlighted the sites which were in need of replacement or removal and the council set aside £280,000 a year to allow a refurbishment programme over five years.
In December 2021 councillors were supportive of the works but felt the programme would take too long and asked for an accelerated refurbishment programme.
In 2021-22 the first four sites were completely refurbished which were Cefn Coed, Glantaff Road in Aberfan, Twyn Carmel, and Lewis Street Bedlinog.
It was then agreed that the proposed refurbishment programme would take too long to complete and an accelerated capital programme was approved by council in March 2022.
The capital allocation for the project was increased from £280,000 per year to £518,000 per year over a five-year period which allowed for the more sites to be completed within a shorter timespan.
The accelerated programme will enable the council to refurbish between four and seven sites per year, depending on value, for the remainder of the programme.
The current capital programme will run until the end of the financial year 2025-26 and as of July 2024 a total of 14 sites have been refurbished through it.
The contractor appointed to carry out the works for the 2024-25 capital programme has submitted designs for each site and based on recent quotes the cost to refurbish a standard locally-equipped area for play (LEAP) is between £90,000 and £105,000 and the cost to refurbish a neighbourhood-equipped play area (NEAP) is between £180,000 and £200,000.
The priority sites for 2024-25 include Haydn Terrace in Penydarren, Clare Street in town, Abercanaid, and Millennium Park in Treharris.
The sites that are a priority for 2025-26 are Edward Street in Dowlais, Blaen Dowlais in Dowlais, Cyfarthfa (splash and dry), and Pentrebach.
Here are the sites that have been completed as part of this programme so far:
- Trefechan
- Cefn Coed
- Gwenllwyn
- Castle Park
- Twyn Carmel
- Thomastown Park
- Keir Hardie
- Glantaff Road
- Moy Road
- Prospect Place
- Treharris Park
- Edwardsville
- Oaklands
- Lewis Street
