The Chairman and Members of North Central Area Committee.
Playground Audit North Central Area.
There are 8 playgrounds in public parks the North Central Area, a safety audit of which was under taken in 2015 and 2016 to ascertain their condition and play value. The audit was carried out by consultants and so is an independent evaluation of our playgrounds. Each playground was marked out of 10 based on a set of best practice criteria which includes accessibility for children of all abilities as well as safety and maintenance issues.
The park playgrounds in North Central Area as assessed in the audit are as follows
| Playground | Safety Mark 2015 | Safety Mark 2016 |
| Belcamp Park | 8.0 | 10 |
| Darndale Park | 2.5 | 4.8 |
| Stardust Park | 5.3 | 7.3 |
| Father Collins | 9.3 & 9.0 | 8.8 & 9.0 |
| St Anne’s Park | 7.5 | 8 |
| Ellenfield Park | 5.4 | 6.0 |
| Maypark | 7.2 | 7.2 |
| Fairview Park | 6.1 | 7.1 |
| Average Score | 6.7 | 7.6 |
The Parks Service has increased its budget for playground maintenance and renewal and this will show an annual improvement in the quality of public playgrounds throughout the city. The independent evaluation indicates that this improvement is taking place and we will continue to audit our playgrounds annually to ensure that our playgrounds are maintained and furnished to a good standard.
Noel McEvoy
Executive Parks Superintendent
