Parents and dog walkers in Arnold have voiced their concerns over "ridiculous" amounts of rubbish left in their local children's park. The state St Mary's Park was left in recently also prompted an outpouring of condemnation on social media.
On February 6, a post in the Arnold Community Group UK read: "If anyone is thinking of taking their children to play on St Mary's Park play park, I wouldn't bother, it's full of smashed alcohol glass, rubbish and trolleys!" The park is behind St Mary's Church on Church Lane.
Since that post, Councillor Michael Payne, deputy leader of Gedling Borough Council, has also taken to Facebook to announce that he had cleaned the park. He said he "cleaned all litter and debris from the entire play park, surrounding paths and benches", removed four trolleys and requested that Sainsbury's collects them, and is also "taking this matter up with the local police team".
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People have spoken out - saying this isn't the first time the park has been left in such a way. Full-time mum Debby Norton, 40, told Nottinghamshire Live: "There's no glass to be seen now but I have come to this park before and the amount of litter has been ridiculous. If the children's play areas are a mess, I won't let them on and they can run around the grass area for a bit."
Debby, who lives in Arnold, added "I have no idea why someone would think it's a good idea to drink in a children's park or dispose of a broken bottle on it. It isn't fair for little ones who simply just want to play."
In July 2022, it was reported that the area was 'too dangerous' for children to play. Sam Adams, 30, lives in Arnold.
He uses the site to walk his dog. Delivery driver Sam said: "I'm surprised when the park is quite clean to be honest, there's a mess here on a regular basis. There are bins in the park so there should be no excuse for mess left.
"People need to clean up after themselves, whether it's adults or children [leaving rubbish behind.]" Sara Hall, 31, also lives in Arnold. Walking her dog, she said: "This park has had problems in the past.
"If I see rubbish, I'll always pick it up myself and put it in the bin. I think people just make a mockery because they know they can get away with it."
Cllr Payne said: "I'm angry and frustrated by utterly unacceptable littering, vandalism and anti-social behaviour which has been taking place around St Mary's recreation ground and children's play area. I share the concern of local residents.
"Just this weekend, I cleaned up litter and debris, including broken glass, from the children's play area as well as removing four shopping trolleys from the children's play park and arranging for them to be collected. This is a well-loved area in our community - we will not tolerate it being spoiled for so many by a careless minority.
"I've taken this matter up with the local police team, requesting they take action to tackle these issues and would encourage residents to report any issues of anti-social behaviour to the police. I'm also continuing to work on securing a full renovation of the children's play park and demanding the installation of CCTV in the area too."
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