A brand new £350,000 park and play area in Burnham-On-Sea which opened just two months ago has been daubed with graffiti, angering parents and nearby residents.
The long-awaited Rosewood Green public park was launched in March but in recent weeks many of the benches and play equipment have been been scrawled with names and messages – some of them offensive – using permanent pens.
The park’s owner, Sedgemoor District Council, this week expressed its dismay at the damage and has promised a clean-up.
James Presley from the council’s Clean Surroundings Team told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “We are very disappointed this has happened so soon after the park’s opening, especially when such a lot of time and effort went into providing these super new facilities.”
One regular park user, who asked not to be named, said she believes the council should beef up security. “I’d like to see CCTV cameras introduced to protect users of the park and also dissuade young people from further damaging the play area. The equipment has been treated so poorly that it already looks several years old.”
Another resident, Pauline Wellman, told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “It is terrible that this new park, which has only been open a few weeks, has been targeted like this. More needs to be done to prevent the graffiti.”
Another resident, Glenn Scott, said a ‘bridge’ that had been built by residents across the ditch near Wallace Wells Road to give children from that area access to the park has recently been stolen and removed.
A Burnham Police spokesman confirmed they are investigating the concerns and urged anyone with information to contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or the non-emergency police number 101.
