What, no swings? Families' fury after council spends £70,000 on 'deathtrap playground which looks like a cemetery'



They were promised a sparkling £70,000 playground - and were expecting the traditional children's climbing frames and swings.

But what they got looks more like a military cemetery, with one resident branding the minimalist play area a 'deathtrap'.

Sunderland Council has described the blocks as 'play features' at Diamond Hall Pocket Park in Millfield.



But local parents have had a hard time explaining the purpose of the seemingly random blocks to their disappointed children.



Minimal fun: Diamond Hall Pocket Park, in Millfield, features concrete block 'play features', but local children have found little enjoyment from them

And they claim they had been sent a leaflet showing images of a climbing frame and swings - a far cry from what was eventually delivered.

The park has been given a makeover with money from the £2.5million Play Pathfinder funding, which was awarded to Wearside.



Jackie Nisula, 46, a full-time carer, has lived in Millfield for 15 years. She said: 'I think it's a shambles and a death trap. I've seen kids of six or seven climbing on the poles - can you imagine what would happen if they fell off them.

'There's things that look like miniature gravestones sticking out of the ground. They put lots of holes in the ground with photographs, covered by glass, but they were all smashed after one day.

'There's no seating area to watch your kids. It doesn't seem to be child friendly at all. When my son was little, he used to play when they had swings - he loved it. He's 21 now and has a son of his own, and he can't take him there.



'It's just not safe for little kids to go on. The stepping stones are really high and made out of concrete. Kids want to jump over them but they could easily crack their heads open.



'It just doesn't seem to have been made with kids in mind. It's a half-hearted job. They promised us that it would all be different but they spent all that money and it's worse than before.'

Slammed: parents have criticised 'miniature gravestones', bleak design and the fact that there is no obvious seating from which parents can watch their children

Joanne Nunn, 26, from Millfield, mother to four-year-old Luke, said: 'I thought that the idea for a new park was brilliant. We expected swings, roundabouts and slides.

'It's terrible. I saw somebody working on the park the other day and I asked why the park was like that. They said it was a "non traditional park for the modern child", and it was supposed to encourage kids to use their imagination. I couldn't believe it.'

'Some kids who are older might enjoy it, but it doesn't look fun. There's nothing for the younger children. My boy is four, I wouldn't let him near it. There's too much concrete - he could hurt himself and there is nothing fun for him to do.

'I would have loved to see a lot more done with the money.'

Mother-of-one Saacha Thompson, 34, said she had a hard time explaining to her three-year-old daughter Imogen that the park was finished.

The East Coast Trains worker said: 'When they said they had £2.5million for all the parks in Sunderland I think we were expecting something really good. The one at Silksworth is brilliant. But it looks like they spent about £200 on the one in Millfield.'

Parents say the leaflet sent to their homes, showing a girl on a climbing frame and children on swings, was misleading.

Single mother-of-two Adele Hopper, 24, said: 'I was surprised to find out the park was finished. It didn't look finished. I thought they would put stuff on top of the concrete blocks. But now I've got used to it and I like the park.'



The council's head of community services, Julie Gray, said: 'Local children in the community have been involved from the start in helping to create the park and play area on the site of the former Diamond Hall primary school.



'The design of the park was the result of extensive public consultation, with the local community and councillors asked to give their views at a number of events on the layout of the park and what kind of equipment they would like to see installed.



'This design also includes a CCTV camera being installed to help maintain a safe and secure playing environment.'