Parents campaigning for a fence around a Paisley play park will have to wait a little longer for an answer. Councillors have passed their petition to council officers to look at in more detail.
The Green Road Morar Drive Kids Safety Alliance gathered 107 signatures asking for the Morar Drive play area at Green Road to be fenced off. Their main worry is the car park next to the play area, which learner drivers use a lot. They're also concerned about dogs running off the lead and about poor drainage.
The group also wants a promise that the fenced toddler area next door won't lose out on funding, maintenance or new equipment if a fence goes up around the main play area.
The petition went before Renfrewshire Council's Petitions Board on Monday, 31 August.
"Five feet away"
Speaking for the campaigners, Jo Connolly-Brown asked why no risk assessment had been carried out before the refurbished play area opened.
"Does the council truly believe that a toddler sees a path as a barrier? Toddlers do not recognise barriers, toddlers do not understand risk and toddlers do not interpret a path as a stop sign," she said.
She said the new play area had been built much closer to the car park than the old one.
"The previous park was further into the actual park itself. When it was renewed, it was moved directly next to the car park.
"Between the play park and the car park, which is busy and extremely active with learner drivers, is five feet away. Five feet."
Ms Connolly-Brown told the board that Ward 7 representatives raised the issue after the park was installed and met council officers on 9 June. She said Foxbar Community Council, local nurseries and families had also raised concerns.
She also questioned the timing of a council consultation. It opened on 16 June, but its results aren't due until the end of January 2027.
"Usually, results are published between four and 12 weeks after the survey, but June's consultation will not be released until the end of January 2027. Why the six-month delay?" she asked.
She claimed the June survey told residents that fencing the main play area would mean the toddler park wouldn't get a full refurbishment, even though that refurbishment had already been approved on 27 May.
She also claimed Audit Scotland had passed the group's concerns to the council's independent external auditors, and that the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman was investigating alleged procedural failures.
The council's position
Officers told the board that a road safety assessment in July 2022 found a fence or barrier wasn't needed. They said the play area meets recognised industry standards and they had found no evidence that it posed an unmanaged or unacceptable risk.
Officers said neither of the British standards for children's play areas requires them to be fenced. They added that fences can restrict access, create bottlenecks and cause maintenance problems.
Renfrewshire has 85 children's play areas, and roughly half of them are fenced. Officers said play areas right beside roads are more likely to have fences. That's why the new play area planned for Braehead Road in Glenburn will have one, after road incidents were reported there.
On drainage, the council said it hadn't tested the standing water near the play area. Officers had spoken to environmental health staff and would look at whether drainage could be improved.
Officers also mentioned a report of dogs in the play area on 19 March, when a zip-slide seat was damaged. The seat was removed and later replaced. Police Scotland attended and concluded the dogs had been playing, weren't out of control and no crime had taken place. Ms Connolly-Brown disputed this at the meeting and insisted the incident had been dangerous.
Officers said most of the complaints and letters about fencing, extra paths and drainage had come directly from Ms Connolly-Brown. However, they accepted that the petition showed wider support for a fence.
What councillors said
Councillor Ben Smith said he knew the park well and wasn't convinced there was a clear case for change. He also doubted a fence would solve the problem with dogs. He said the complaints he gets are about owners using fenced play areas to let their dogs off the lead.
Councillor Stephen Burns proposed sending the petition to the relevant council service for further investigation. Councillor Lisa-Marie Hughes backed him. She said the request should be considered alongside other possible future investment, rather than the board deciding on a fence there and then.
"I think that my colleagues have agreed that we will refer it back to the director," Cllr Burns told Ms Connolly-Brown.
No decision has been made yet on whether a fence will be installed. Cllr Burns also promised to talk to officers about extra warden patrols to deal with dog fouling and dogs being let run out of control