NO kites (etc)

Kites and outdoor swimming banned at park

Flying kites and using an outdoor swimming pool has been banned at a village play park for health and safety reasons.

11:24AM GMT 18 Nov 2009 / Telegraph

The harmless activity of kite flying has been grounded in case the objects get caught on an a overhead telephone cable and children climb the telegraph pole to free them. The ban comes after the popular swimming pool on the same site was put out of use as villagers could no longer afford the rising insurance costs. The cover was required in case somebody had an accident and sued - even though no such event has happened in the 31 years the 20ft long pool has been in place. The swing park is only allowed to remain open on condition the vice-chairman of the parish council inspects the swings and slide for loose nuts and bolts once a week and keeps the records for 18 years. Angry locals in the Wiltshire village of Maiden Bradley fear the five acre park is becoming more of a no-go zone for children due to today's litigious culture. There are a plethora of signs at the facility that ban activities like kite flying and dog walking and inform the public of the nearest pay phone in the event of an emergency. The kite flying ban comes after an official from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents inspected the park and recommended the move. Stefan Piwowarski, chairman of Maiden Bradley Parish Council, said: "We've been told we have to have this sign here in case children get their kite lines tangled and decide to climb the telegraph poles. "We don't want to stop children flying their kites but we've had no choice. It's better for us to be safe than sorry. "We are just making sure that we tick all the boxes for when we get these health and safety inspections." John Priestner, vice-chairman of the council, carries out the safety inspection of the play park once a week. He said: "I have to check for loose nuts and bolts and fixings on all the equipment and then either tick or cross a box at the bottom if it passes or fails. If it is a cross then I have to say what the problem is and how it should be resolved. We have to keep the records for something like 18 years. This is to satisfy RoSPA".A lot of these health and safety laws are taking away good old fashioned common sense. But we have to do these things to cover ourselves. I think it is sad we are in the situation we are in." The swimming pool at the park is usually open for two hours a day during the summer but has been closed for a year due to the 1,700 pounds annual insurance bill. A spokeswoman for RoSPA said it merely advised local councils on how to make safe public areas. She said: "We are contracted by the playground provider to do an annual inspection and to help them with their duty of care requirements. As a result of one of the last inspections we recommended a no kite flying sign because of the overhead telephone line." She said that parents expected play area equipment to be inspected on a regular basis. She added: "The advice that we give is that European Standards for Outdoor Playground Equipment recommend routine inspections and we regard routine good practice as no less than once a week.Our policy is that children should play as safely as necessary and not as safely as possible. We do accept that there should be an element of risk involved when children play."