Parents see red at Levenvale Primary potholes

Oct 3 2008 by Tina Kemp, Lennox Herald (main ed)

OUTDOOR fun is not child’s play for kids at an Alexandria school, claim furious parents.

They say pupils at Levenvale Primary are at risk every time they set foot outside the classroom because of the state of the playground.

Accidents are a daily occurrence in the school yard because of dangerous potholes and discarded chunks of concrete.

Despite demands for action from West Dunbartonshire Council for the past three years, parents say nothing has been done.

Now the Parent Teacher Association says enough is enough – and is demanding the local authority provides a safe play area.

Mum Lorna Mahoney, whose sons Liam, nine, and Luke, six, are pupils at Levenvale, said the problem had got worse over the years.

“There are huge chunks of concrete lying about and holes everywhere,” she said. “The kids are constantly falling over. Accidents are almost a daily occurrence.

“We get vandals at the school now and again and whenever there is broken glass to get swept up the splinters brush into the surface of the playground which is an additional hazard.”

Lorna added that numerous approaches to the council had fallen on deaf ears. But she said the committed members of the PTA were determined not to let the matter rest.

“We have pushed and pushed to get something done,” she said. “The playground has been patched up over the years. If they patch it up any more, it will crack.

“We have been in touch with the council to say they need to do something about this but they haven’t responded, not even to say they don’t have the money. We have been told it can’t be done under health and safety because that budget is gone, but surely they could find the money somewhere?”

The state of the playground has also stymied Levenvale’s involvement in the Active Schools Young Leader scheme, which encourages pupils to help organise games and activities, and develop leadership skills.

Lorna said: “We have got equipment that we would like to use at lunchtimes with the children as part of the Active Schools Young Leader Awards but some of it we can’t take out as it would cause an accident because of the uneven surfaces. It’s not even a nice playground to show to potential parents.”

Lorna said the school had also hoped to develop an eco garden as part of an overall improvement but even that has caused problems.

She explained: “Some of the children were running into benches, so they put up a wire fence all round. Now most of the kids are catching themselves on that, cutting themselves and ripping jackets.”

A spokesman for West Dunbartonshire Council said: “The department of educational services is aware of the issues with the surface of the Levenvale Primary School playground. We have a programme of work on playground surfaces based on an assessment of need and have resurfaced a number over recent years.

“Although Levenvale is not in a good condition, there are other schools further up the priority list. However, remedial work has been carried out at Levenvale to fix the parts in the poorest condition.

“We have asked the department of housing, environment and economic development to look again at the surface at Levenvale and to provide updated costs for a complete resurfacing of the playground and will revisit the issue when costs are known.”