Equipment in Swansea Arena's 1.1 acre coastal park has been temporarily muted after concerns the noises might disturb visitors and customers at a nearby cafe.
The interactive park boasts greenery, play areas for children, bug hotels, water features and a selection of new trees aiming to provide a must visit destination in the city for families.
But it also features equipment that makes a noise when interacted with. Now, Swansea Council has confirmed some of the play equipment has been adjusted following concerns from marina residents that the sound levels might be too much. You can read more stories about Swansea here.
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Some Swansea locals had described aspects of the noise they could hear coming from the park as "invasive", sparking a widespread discussion on social media. One commentator said: "Yes, very annoying. I wouldn't want to sit in the café listening to that. The noisy stepping stones are awful too. I bet the poor people in flats are hating it. My nephew loved them though. Great for kids." You can get more Swansea news and other story updates by subscribing to our newsletters here.
Another added: "Yes!! As someone who gets sensory overload I couldn't sit and enjoy my coffee, I made my bf down his coffee so we could go immediately, not something that should be outside such a nice new coffee shop where people want to come and relax or catch up with people."
But the changes to make some of the objects quieter have not gone down well with everyone. James Dewitt, who was visiting the park for a family bike ride, said his children, Toby, aged six, and Gwen, aged one, had been left disappointed by the sudden change, adding that the pit-stop was a regular spot for their family to enjoy. He said Toby had asked his parents "can we go now".
"We were really quite disappointed by it, we had been three times before with the kids and they really enjoyed the music pads and the water feature more than anything else. When we went earlier this month, nothing seemed to work. There was no water features and no sounds - it had just been completely removed, we even tried lifting our little one to use the eye view over Swansea and that didn't work either" said James.
Swansea Council confirmed adjustments were being made to the park. A spokesperson said: "Some of the play equipment was introduced with sounds for the benefit of children and others with sensory needs. After concerns were raised about the level of sound by some marina residents, we contacted the manufacturers to discuss modifications that avoid disturbing neighbours while continuing to benefit users.
“While this takes place we’ve switched off the sound element of the equipment. We intend to reinstate modified sound elements in due course as an attraction for children with sensory needs.”
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