There was a thumbs down from Kirkby Stephen town councillors over a grant for £47,000 to build a proposed children’s play area at the back of the town’s Local Links office.
A meeting of the town council was told that the council had received a visit from the then Cumbria County Council’s early years and childcare adviser regarding plans for a significant development of the former play area at Kirkby Stephen Local Links.
Two town councillors had been briefed about plans to which £47,000 had been allocated. It was suggested that an alternative and better site might be the Evergreen Building Grounds at Redmayne Road which was being refurbished as a youth centre and where safeguarding issues might be better managed.
Councillors had been circulated with details of the proposals which had been presented at that meeting.
It was expected that implementation would take place in June. The visit was advisory and not a consultation, the meeting was told.
Councillors were of a unanimous view that the implementation of the scheme should be reconsidered. No consultation had taken place with key parties and a better location existed at Kirkby Stephen Youth Centre.
Phil Dew and David Murray would liaise with Westmorland and Furness Council staff and report back. It was agreed that the scheme as proposed would limit the potential of the Local Links site for possible development and review.
The town council favoured a more consultative approach that would look at options for the whole community for the area.
It was agreed that the proposal, as it stood, contradicted the principle of locality working adopted by Westmorland and Furness Council.
