Member for Gosford, Liesl Tesch, has accused the State Government of poor planning of the Leagues Club Park in Gosford, which has been closed several times for modifications since it was officially opened just over 12 months ago.
“The new $10M park (has required) substantial remodification work by Central Coast Council after Council identified areas of the playground that did not have adequate footpaths or soft fall in place,” Tesch said.
“If the NSW Government had properly planned, designed and appropriately funded the (park), Council would not have to use precious ratepayer money on rectifying and addressing issues that come back to bad planning.”
Tesch said that with a rate increase recently approved by IPART due to Council’s dire financial circumstances, the State Government was “pushing more costs” onto the already strapped Council.
She has criticised a lack of sufficient shading, exacerbated by the planting of trees that have not yet matured to a size big enough to provide shade.
“Every week I get emails and calls from concerned parents about the intensity of the sun at this park and lack of shade,” she said.
A Council spokesperson confirmed the deco granite in the park continues to erode and will be repaired at a cost to Council of $30,000.
“The area no longer meets accessibility standards, which is a fault within the original design,” the spokesperson said.
“Despite being relatively new, Council is now undertaking repairs to ensure this play space is accessible to our whole community – the repair of the concreting will cost Council $30,000, while the repair of the soft fall will cost $65,000, which is covered by State Government grant funding.”
Parliamentary Secretary for the Central Coast, Adam Crouch, said the park has been embraced and well-used by the community.
“Together with HCCDC (Hunter and Central Coast Development Corporation), we identified opportunities to make improvements to usability,” he said.
“We made it easier for kids to move around the play area by replacing some sections of the mulch garden bed with rubber soft fall and then improved the water clarity in the tidal terrace by upgrading the sand with that of a different grade.
“HCCDC worked closely with Central Coast Council throughout the design and delivery of the park.”
Crouch said there had been a 12-month warranty period in place following the completion of the park.
“Any works associated with this have since been completed, including the improvements to the tidal terrace and play area surface, and funded by HCCDC,” he said.
“Any subsequent works that have taken place are at Council’s discretion or part of ongoing maintenance.”
Terry Collins