South Tipperary playground reopens after major upgrade
Children in Carrick-on-Suir can once again enjoy the Fairgreen Playground after a five-month renovation delivered new inclusive and safety-focused upgrades.
The Fairgreen Playground in Carrick-on-Suir reopened this week with a host of new facilities, following its closure in October for upgrade works.
In a joint statement, Carrick-on-Suir councillors David Dunne and Kieran Bourke said that the new facilities are now officially open to all.
"We are delighted to announce that the Fairgreen Playground has had all safety fences removed and is officially open.
“Limited funding was available for these works under the Community Recognition Fund for the junior side and the Capital Play and Recreation Fund for the senior side,” the joint statement said.
A number of new pieces of equipment have been added to the upgraded playground, aiming to make the amenity usable for children of all abilities.
"New pieces of equipment in the junior area include a wheelchair accessible roundabout, inclusive springer, moving gears play panel and tumble ball play panel,” the local councillors said.
"In the senior side, a new wheelchair accessible seesaw and rotating maze play panel have been installed.
"A large area of the playground has had new wetpour installed and the fence across the middle that was coming to end of life has been removed, and brick edging installed,” they added.
Additional funding was provided through the Carrick-on-Suir Municipal District’s General Municipal Allocation (GMA), a discretionary fund used to support local community projects.
"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,” they said.
"The council outdoor staff also cleaned around the area and will continue to do in the coming days,” the councillors added.
CCTV monitoring will be in place on a 24/7 basis, with both councillors urging people to make sure to respect the new facilities, but added that more works are needed in the future.
"Unfortunately, the yearly inspection now shows that the crossbar for the inclusive swing needs to be replaced so this swing has not been reinstated for now. This will take some time, and 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,” Cllrs Dunne and Bourke added.