PLAY equipment at the recreation ground play area will be replaced as the town council seeks to improve the facility so that disabled children can enjoy the play area. The old swings will be torn down once the deputy town clerk David Green has sourced fur

PLAY equipment at the recreation ground play area will be replaced as the town council seeks to improve the facility so that disabled children can enjoy the play area.

The old swings will be torn down once the deputy town clerk David Green has sourced further prices from local play equipment suppliers, as instructed at the latest council meeting.

The council already has a good idea of what it wants to see at the play area next to the Dourdan Pavilion on The Causeway, but it will cost in the region of £4000.

Mr Green said: "We can have special needs swings in the shape of a birds nest seat, which is similar to a tyre, but with the middle filled in.

"We need to replace the swings because they are about 20 years old and are corroding around the bottom part under the ground.

"The cost of repairing and maintaining them will be quite high so it would be worth replacing with brand new ones."

So far estimates for new equipment have come to £3442 for two sets of swings with resurfacing and installation costs expected to be a further £1000.

Cllr Trudi Hughes said: "It is a necessity in health and safety terms so I think we must go ahead with it. It would be great on a lovely sunny day to see whole families down there enjoying new equipment."

Mr Green will now source some further quotes in the hope that the price can be brought down, including asking a local provider from the Flitch industrial estate if they can be of assistance.

He did say however: "These are pretty good quotes and the lowest I could find from a large range of companies, if we want really high quality play equipment we are going to have to pay for it."

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