A Market Drayton town council meeting descended into uproar as two councillors clashed over a new play area.
In a night of high drama at the town hall last Thursday, services and facilities committee chairman Councillor Roger Hughes was accused of “deliberately” misleading colleagues about a new play area.
Members of Market Drayton Town Council were discussing work done at the Little Drayton Play Area in Buntingsdale Road which opened two weeks ago at a cost of around £60,000.
Former mayor Councillor Janet Smith raised concerns about safety surfacing at the play area and said services and facilities chairman Councillor Roger Hughes had “deliberately misinformed” councillors about its suitability.
Councillor Smith said: “At a services and facilities meeting last month, I asked the question that when RoSPA came out and did their inspection of the play area, did they say anything about the fact that we hadn’t got safety surfacing up there?
“I didn’t get an answer on that but what I got was a very clear statement from Councillor Hughes that we had got safety surfacing at the play area.
“I went up there last night and as far as I’m concerned, there is no safety surfacing up at Little Drayton Play Area and I think it’s very unfortunate that members of the council should be deliberately misinformed in this way.”
The play area was constructed by Northamptonshire-based Wicksteed Playscapes after the town council was successful in bidding for a share of a £1.1m grant given to Shropshire Council under the Government’s Playbuilder scheme.
Work at the play area was delayed by more than two months after contractors were called away to work on other Playbuilder projects in Shropshire.
Councillor Hughes said: “The safety surfacing put in at the play area is what was recommended to this council, put through by this council and passed by Shropshire Council.
“What we were working to was new national guidelines for play areas that came out at the same time as we got the money.”
By Winston Brown