Disabled children left out at Poundbury's new play area
The new play area was officially opened by the Prince of Wales yesterday.
Last updated 7th May 2022
There's disappointment over a new play area in Poundbury which doesn't cater to children with mobility issues.
The park was commissioned by the Duchy of Cornwall and was opened yesterday by the Prince of Wales himself at a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Hundreds of children ran into the park to use the equipment but there were concerns from some that some children would miss out.
A number of commenters took to Facebook last night to criticise the park's design.
One commenter wrote:
"Just so disappointed it is inaccessible and not wheelchair friendly even with the roundabout that is due to come. Another park my son cannot access."
Mayor of Dorchester, Gareth Jones said:
"The plans have been a long time in developing, and the Duchy lead on all of this. They had some key ideas they wanted to implement. We did assist them with some accessibility suggestions.
"I absolutely recognise there's more to be done and in fact, I took a presentation from an accessibility advocate and my reply was 'there's time for it to evolve, there's time to add to it as we see how it reacts to different people and provides for different people.
"This is phase one, let's get the thing in the ground, there's plenty of space to do some development, to make some modifications. It will happen over the next couple of years I imagine."
The park has lots of lips, steps and gravel which make traversal difficult in anything with wheels, including wheelchairs and prams/ buggies.
Most modern parks use a form of rubber mulch which is safer and easier for wheels to move over. There are also common adaptations for most playground equipment that allow wheelchair users to interact without affecting enjoyability for other children.
Gary Spracklen, Head Teacher at Prince of Wales First School told Greatest Hits Radio it's an issue he's already raised:
"That's something I've raised with the Duchy of Cornwall and the Town Council and I've had assurances that there is more accessibility equipment on the way, I've been assured that there is an accessible roundabout and an accessible swing.
"It's fair to say it would be better if they were here now, but let's focus on we're here now, and it's the first step and things can only get better."
Greatest Hits Radio Dorset has reached out to the Duchy for a comment but they have not yet provided one.