Lib Dems urge Trafford Council to remove old Buckingham Way Park swings
The Lib Dem team have recieved a formal responce from the Greenspaces management, and the works are to be done by December this year.
Lib Dems recieve formal response from Greenspaces (02 October 2024)
We have finally have a commitment from a Director, in writing:
works to remove the equipment and generally tidy it up would be done by the end of December this year. I can confirm this is in our plan and we are in discussion with Amey about the execution of this work as we speak.
Cllr Frass had requested this site needs to be tidied up when he was first elected on the old boundaries, and again last year, when he arranged a meeting in the Park with an officer in an attempt to kick-start it.
But it just kept missing out on budget, falling off the list when staff left, and being ignored.
The plan is for AMEY to clear the broken eye-sore, and provide new surfacing and benches to tidy it up.
Now that we have confirmation the works will be done, we will hopefully have a final update to this page in December once the works are completed.
Greenspaces team to prepare formal response for Lib Dems (19 Sep 2024)
After the original posting of this article - the Lib Dem team decided to show a community Facebook post to the Greenspaces manager, to demonstrate it's not just a few Councillors asking, but lots of local residents are fed up to the back teeth with this eye-sore.
Before heading to the Town Hall for a Scrutiny Committee on transport, Cllr Will Frass decided to fire a copy to the Directors as evidence of how things are not getting done despite YEARS of asking the relevant department.
When he arrived at the Town Hall, one of the Directors stopped him before he could take his seat at Committee, to say they still have staff issues in the Parks Team, but because they had dropped the ball SO MANY years in a row, he will ask the Highways Department to step in, clear the eye-sore, provide a new surfacing and benches and tidy it up.
He said he'd been asked by his boss to prepare a written response to Councillor Frass, presumably later this week.
A further update to this post will be provide once the Lib dems receive something in writing, like a date.
[PS: The swing keep getting vandalized, so it was agreed many years ago never to replace it. However, we did not think it was fair that it would just stay barricaded off. As such, we have been trying for years to get something else, like benches, in it's place so we don't have to look at a broken old swing]
Lib Dems raise Buckingham Way park at Trafford Council Exec (17 Sep 2024)
The Lib Dems have been asking Trafford to clean this eye-sore up for ages. Cllr Will Frass even met a Greenspaces Manager in Buckingham Way Park to discuss having a fresh surface put down and some seating in place of the broken old swing. However, every year it seems to fall victim to circumstances and never gets done.
Out of shear frustration at the fact Longford Park is getting millions of pounds, but at the same time the Council cannot find the resources to even clear a broken swing and put something in it's place – we raised this as a formal question through the Mayor in front of the whole Council.
Question 4 - Submitted by Cllr Will Frass: At the Executive Meeting on 26th February 2024, plans were approved to accept a National Lottery Heritage Fund grant subject to conditions requiring shortfall in match funding to be made up by taking money away from approved schemes. How can the Administration justify taking more and more money away from parks in South Trafford to plough into a park at the other end of the Borough?
Formal answer here:
At this point, the Mayor then asked if Cllr Frass have anything further to add? You bet he did!
Cllr Frass asked about this exact location - this link should start at 12 mins 19 secs:
https://www.youtube.com/live/BCVV19ab_1o?t=739s
Cllr Patel suggested that the Lib Dems take that up with Greenspaces Team - that's the same team who have failed to resolve this.
The latest email we have from the Labour Executive Member responsible, on 2 September, telling that team to look at this urgently since Cllr Will Frass's emails date back over a year with no progress from the Greenspaces Team.
