The Wellhead play area

A play area was established at the Wellhead Field in Bourne by a group of volunteers in 2002.

The field which borders Manor Lane, formerly Hereward's Field, has been the traditional venue for community activities in Bourne since the 19th century and was part of the land bequeathed to this town in the years following the Second World War of 1939-45, either through legacies or bought with the income thereof, left to Bourne United Charities to administer on behalf of the town. As a result, the War Memorial and Wellhead Gardens were established in 1956 and the resulting field left for community use.

This continued in use on public occasions, notably the celebrations for the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II during the summer of 2002. Also during that year, a dream finally became a reality for a group of Bourne residents who had been working hard to open a play park for children under the age of six.

The Playwell Committee spent three years on the task of raising the £32,000 needed for the project which was officially opened in May 2002, the money coming from fund raising events such as craft fairs and car boot sales and was supplemented by grants from the local authorities, but it would not have materialised without the persistence of committee chairman, Mrs Theresa Dimbleby, who began the campaign and was appropriately asked to cut the ribbon at the opening.

The park offered youngsters a fenced space to play within the existing park area and was equipped with a variety of attractions including a slide, a climb, cradle swings, playhouse, picnic benches and seating for the mums and dads who come along.

But by the autumn of 2006, the play area had deteriorated and many parents felt it unsafe to allow their children use the facilities that this dedicated band spent so much time in achieving. There were complaints that the area was regularly sprinkled with broken glass, litter and discarded cans which posed a real hazard to young lives with the result that many parents refused to use the facility.

Regular checks of the area had been carried out in the past but by now there was no supervision and the play area was in danger of being left to deteriorate. The Playwell Committee therefore handed over responsibility to South Kesteven District Council which leased the play area from Bourne United Charities which in turn had jurisdiction over the Wellhead Field and the situation has been unchanged since then.

The council even took the unpopular step of taping off the play area and the damaged equipment rather than repair it and this prompted parents to form a protest group calling for it to be restored for regular use. The group known as Bourne2Play was formed in March 2014 after local newspapers highlighted the poor state of the amenity and the safety concerns it posed for children who used it.

They pointed out that the existing equipment was old and broken, the floor boggy in winter and the iron railings around the perimeter holed in a number of places. An online petition was launched in an attempt to persuade the council to update and add to the equipment and install safety flooring in order that it could be used in all weathers. “The play area needs investment so that families can enjoy the park again”, said the petition. “Bourne is a thriving town with lots of young families and we should have a better play area for them to enjoy."

By April 2014, the council claimed to have spent £2,000 on repairs and had instructed contractors to make the area safer but the campaign for a complete overhaul continued and by June, 1,000 people had signed a petition pledging their support for the provision of new equipment.

But the protest group was still not satisfied and arranged a presentation on their aims and objectives with the town council’s amenities committee on October 21st in the hope of persuading the district council to restore the play area to its original state.

WRITTEN SEPTEMBER 2014