Carrick-on-Suir playground reopens after €90,000 refurbishment project

Carrick-on-Suir's Fairgreen Playground has reopened after undergoing €90,000 worth of renovations including the installation of some new playing equipment.

The town centre playground reopened on Monday, February 23 following two weeks of renovation works carried out by a specialist contractor.

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Carrick-on-Suir Municipal District Cathaoirleach Cllr David Dunne and fellow Carrick-on-Suir Cllr Kieran Bourke expressed their delight at the reopening of the playground in a joint statement.

And they have appealed to the public to treat the playground with respect and point out the amenity is monitored by CCTV cameras 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

They outlined the renovations included the installation of a wheelchair accessible roundabout, inclusive springer, moving gears play panel and tumble ball play panel in the junior section of the playground.

A new wheelchair accessible seesaw and rotating maze play panel were installed in the senior section.

A new durable wetpour surface was layed over a large area of the playground and the old fence across the middle of the amenity was removed and brick edging installed.

Alongside this, the playground’s old damaged high perimeter fence has been replaced with a new 1.2m high fence and new tarmac was laid along the edges.

One of the new pieces of play equipment installed at Carrick-on-Suir's Fairgreen Playground 

Cllrs Dunne and Bourke said council staff cleaned around the playground after the works were completed.

The renovations were funded by a €50,000 Community Recognition Fund grant, a €16,443 Capital Play and Recreation grant and Cllrs Dunne and Bourke ring fenced their General Municipal Allocation funds to financing the rest of hte project.

“As two Carrick-on-Suir based councillors, we are delighted to support this work with additional funding from our GMA allocation noting that this playground is for all children wishing to avail of the facility,” said the two councillors

They pointed out that more repairs and renovations need to be carried out at the playground and some equipment has been removed as it’s deemed to be unsafe.

“Unfortunately, the yearly inspection now shows the crossbar for the inclusive swing needs to be replaced so this swing has not been reinstated for now.

“This will take some time. Some of the larger junior multi-unit was also removed for user safety.

“We appreciate your patience during the works and allowing us the time to continue to support and improve this valued amenity for the people of Carrick-on-Suir and the surrounding areas,” the councillors added.

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