Residents invited to shape the future of Melksham parks

Residents are being asked for their views on the future of Melksham’s parks, play areas and open spaces as part of a town council consultation.

The ‘Your Town, Your Voice, Your Parks’ survey aims to find out which spaces should be prioritised for upgrades and what facilities and improvements residents would like to see.

Councillor Adrienne Westbrook said, “The parks in Melksham are pretty sad with the exception of a couple. They haven’t really had any investment in them since Covid. All the parks need to be improved but it has to be undertaken in a phased approach. We are looking at doing three or four parks this year, but they will all be considered in the mix.”

Cllr Westbrook said play areas are particularly in need of attention after the last round of refurbishments nearly eight years ago.

“Parks have just not been looked after. We took them all on and we did a fairly big refurb and painted them all but that was eight years ago and parks just don’t last. Playground equipment needs updating. They have fallen into a fairly dilapidated state and we want residents’ views on how to revive them.”

The council has set aside £170,000 to start improvements, with resident feedback helping to decide which parks are prioritised and what should be installed.

“We want to ask the residents what they want to see being done to them,” said Cllr Westbrook. “Our residents might not want parks there anymore; maybe children’s play equipment isn’t the right thing for them. Do they want football posts, internet access, do they want somewhere they can hang out? What age do they want the equipment for?

“We are encouraging everybody to take part.”

Residents can take part in the consultation via the survey and QR code enclosed in this paper.

Pictured: councillors at the Riverside Play Area.

Complete the survey here: https://buff.ly/QT8Ml2I

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