Families flock to new park splashpad

THE grand opening of the new splashpad in King George V playing field has been hailed a success by Melksham Town Council.

The new waterplay facility, located outside the park pavilion, was officially launched with a beach-themed party at the beginning of the month, enjoyed by hundreds of visitors.

Mayor cllr Jon Hubbard,  said, “What an extraordinary fantastic day! It was absolutely packed out with people and I didn’t hear one negative comment from the public all day. I would like to record my thanks to the whole of the council staff team who made this project possible.”

Until Sunday 8th September, the splashpad and the pavilion, which is home to a ‘pop up’ tuck shop, are open seven days a week, from 10.30am to 5.30pm. After the end of the summer holidays, the splashpad will be opened dependant on the weather, with the pavilion open at weekends. Clerk to the town council, Linda Roberts said, “We may trial opening the pavilion on Thursdays and Fridays, the final choice will of course depend on how well the pavilion is used.”

At last week’s town council asset management committee meeting, councillors decided to review   later in the year what the opening hours for the splashpad should be for 2020, suggesting that it could be open for longer during the summer months.

Linda told Melksham News, “Going forward to next year, the first opening date will very much depend on the weather, for example if we have a glorious Easter, we would plan to open.  

“The plan at the moment is rather than have a rigid open and closing time, to have some flexibility to maximise use of the facility.  Officers (more than likely me, in conjunction with the town mayor) will make a call on when it would be appropriate to open, taking account of the weather.”