Playground Inspections and Maintenance

Westminster City Councils Parks Service are responsible for maintaining the playgrounds at

Broadley Street Gardens (when rebuilt)

Causton Street Playground

Drury Lane Gardens Playground

Edbrook Road Playground

New Trinity Mew Playground

Paddington Recreation Ground (maintained by Sports & Leisure)

Paddington Street Gardens Playground

Porchester Square Gardens Playground

Queens Park Gardens Playground

St. Johns Wood Church Grounds Playground

St. Mary's Churchyard Playground (when rebuilt)

St. Stephens Garden Playground

Tamplin Mews POS Playground

Violet Hill Gardens Playground

Westbourne Green Playground (2)

Inspection Regime

Users health and safety is of paramount importance and therefore a number of different levels and frequency of playground inspections and related remedial works are carried out as necessary. All playground reported accidents are assessed in relation to the equipment being used, and precautionary closures could occur until a competent person has inspected the site and declared it fit for use.

Visual - Daily. This inspection is a visual check to ensure equipment is safe to use. This is carried out by our grounds maintenance contractor.

Quarterly - July, September, December and March. This inspection is detailed and in depth. It does not include risk assessment. The inspections are carried out by an independent registered inspector

Annual - April / May each year. This inspection is detailed and in depth including risk assessment. This inspection is carried out by an independent registered inspector

Repairs and Maintenance:

Once inspections have been carried out either daily, quarterly or annually a list of defects is sent to our grounds maintenance contractor with an instruction to arrange for any repairs. These to be carried out as soon as possible as may be needed and defective equipment immediately isolated.

Equipment that requires repair is isolated using temporary fencing with notices attached stating that the equipment is defective and awaiting repair.

There may be occasions when it is impractical to isolate a single piece of equipment and the entire playground will need to be closed. If this happens notices will be placed on the fencing and entry gates advising the users of this and stating the reasons for the closure and the likely timetable for repair or replacement. This is a scenario that could happen at some of our smaller playgrounds where there are only a few pieces of equipment such as St. Stephens Garden (by way of example).

Renewal and Refurbishment:

The City Council has an ongoing program of both renewal of equipment and complete refurbishment where this proves to be necessary.

Renewal of individual items - Where for technical reasons it is deemed cheaper to renew than repair, this will be carried out without consultation with users. The new equipment will be provided on a like for like basis using similar and updated equipment.

Refurbishment of Playground - Where it has become necessary to refurbish a playground in its entirety, the Parks Service will carry out a consultation with users, Council Ward Members and other interested parties on the proposals and possibilities before any formal plans are agreed and implemented. The results of the consultation will guide the development of layout plans and final designs for the refurbishment of the playground. A timetable for the works will be published at the site.