Park safety upgrade:
Ash Parish Council (APC) has fitted a new safety gate and entrance path to the play park in Blackwater Close as part of a park safety upgrade. These gates close softly to allow safe passage in and out of the play park. This completes the park safety upgrade for Blackwater Close, following the earlier installation of new the Impact Absorbing Safety Surfaces.

Why the new gates are being fitted
During Summer 2020 there was an incident where a young child was injured as a result of unreported vehicular damage to a gate at the play park. As soon as Ash Parish Council was made aware of the situation it inspected the site and took remedial action to make the gate safe so that the play area was available for continued use. To avoid a reoccurrence of the issue, the new replacement gate was installed facing away from the roadway. This will now ensure safe access to and from the play park for our children.
New impact absorbing surface under play equipment at Blackwater Close Park
Inspection
Playgrounds are inspected weekly by APC’s qualified ground staff in addition to quarterly inspections by third party experts who undertake detailed operational inspection. The parks are also subject to a full annual inspection by another third party Health and Safety expert to ensure they are all safe and in an useable condition.
Play Safe
Ash Parish Council has also published these The Play Safe guidelines on their website:
Play two metres away from others not in your household/bubble
Leave no germs, wash your hands before and after use
Always clean equipment before use
Young children to be supervised carefully to maintain hygiene
Suggested maximum time 30 minutes
And one household/bubble for each item of play equipment
Family members, only one with each child please
End your visit if the play area is busy, or becomes busy, come back another time

Report a problem
If any park of an APC playground is unsafe or damaged, please contact 01252 328287.