THE new play area for children in Rooksdown has already become a dumping ground for litter – just over a fortnight after it was opened.

As previously reported in The Gazette, the play area opposite the Rooksdown Community Centre in Park Prewett Road, suffered severe delays in opening after failing a number of safety checks.

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council invested £72,000 into the park, which was finally given the green light to open on May 30. However, families have now complained that the play area is not being maintained, with the two waste bins in the park overflowing with rubbish.

One Rooksdown resident, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Gazette that she was forced to cut her visit to the play area short on Sunday, June 12, because her 20-monthold daughter kept wanting to play in the rubbish that was strewn across the ground.

She said: “We were really pleased when it finally opened two weeks ago but we were really disappointed when we visited to find that already, the park was in a disgusting state.

“There was rubbish all over the floor and the park itself smelt awful.

“You wouldn’t know the park had only been there a fortnight going by the smell.

“A few sets of parents arrived after we did and their reaction to the litter was the same as ours.

“They all looked disgusted.

“It’s such a shame because the park itself is lovely.

“There’s a good range of items there, some of which are really different, like a giant glockenspiel and climbing rope. It’s situated right next to a big field, too, so on a nice day you could easily spend a day there with the kids.”

However, since the weekend a council services team have been there and cleared away the rubbish.

A council spokesman said the authority intends to keep up regular maintenance of the play area so it doesn’t get covered in litter again.

Rebecca Emmett, executive director of borough services at BDBC, said: “We regularly patrol play areas around the borough for litter and to keep them tidy.

“Following notification of the problems in the Rooksdown play area the team has now been out to the park to clear up.”

Residents can report any areas which require cleaning or maintenance directly on the borough council’s website by visiting basingstoke.gov. uk/report.