Bathurst is a growing town with many young families, with young children. This is a call to council to maintain and upgrade Peace Park Playground located on William Street, Bathurst. 

Residents pay taxes towards maintaining our community spaces, new build home owners pay thousands of dollars to council to contribute to community buildings and facilities within our regional area. 

The parents and people of Bathurst want answers as to why Peace Park Playground is not being maintained to Australian Safety and Playground Standards? 

Specific Areas of Neglect: 

Playground Surfacing: This is dirt, children and parents get filthy to the point of almost having to go straight home for a bath afterwards. It is completely unacceptable for a children’s playground as it is excessively dusty. 

In selecting an appropriately impact-attenuating surface for a particular site, playground designers, installers and operators are cautioned against selecting excessively dusty, sharp, ingestible, contaminated, or otherwise hazardous materials. 

Depending on the type of product this may introduce inadvertent risks to children. ( Australian Standard AS 4422: Playground surfacing - Specifications, requirements and test method, November 2022 ). 

Playground Shade Sails : Mouldy and unkept. 

Providing adequate shade is an important element in any playgrounds sun protection strategy.  ( Kidsafe: child accident prevention foundation of Australia, June 2020) 

Fencing: There is no fencing keeping children safe from the moderately busy William Street that is adjacent to the playground area. 

A fence around an outdoor play space assists preventing children from running out into hazards such as a busy road and water ways or keeping animals out.

Whilst public playspaces are not required to be fenced, the need for fencing is determined by conducting a risk assessment to AS/NZS ISO 31000 Risk management—principles and guidelines.

A boundary can make a playground appear more defined, though this of course may not necessarily be a fence. Possible measures include simple one or two rail fences, bollards, garden beds, hedges, mounding, stone and brick walls or combinations of these. ( Kidsafe: child accident prevention foundation of Australia, June 2020) 

Lack of Maintenance:  Playgrounds should not be installed and forgotten.

It is essential that all playgrounds are regularly maintained. There should be no missing, broken or worn components. All parts should be stable with no apparent sign of loosening. Impact absorbing materials should be regularly checked for depth and any signs of vandalism. A systematic inspection and maintenance plan should be in place to ensure that the playground is safe. (Play Australia, September 2022) 

Baby change facilities: There is public toilets but no change table in the women’s or men’s toilets available for parents to change young children’s nappies or clothes.

We call on Bathurst council for answers and actions on above mentioned Playground.

Please sign the petition to be heard. 

Bathurst council are leaving themselves open to litigation by not maintaining the playground to standards.