Splash park for Oswestry could cost almost £500,000
Providing a splash pad for children in Oswestry’s Cae Glas Park could cost almost £500,000.
Town councillors will meet tomorrow on Wednesday to decide whether or not to go ahead with the scheme which, it is hoped, would bring more families into the centre of Oswestry.
Money for the water play feature would come from cash the council banked after it received a total of £4 million in capital receipts from the redevelopment of the old Smithfield Cattle Market on the Shrewsbury Road to the south of the town centre.
Earlier this year the council spent £3,000 on a feasibility study for a splash pad which would open from May to September.
A report from town clerk Arren Roberts said the study estimated that it would cost about £380,000 for the splash pad and £100,000 to incorporate it into the playground.
It would take about 12 weeks to build and its life span would be about 20 years.
“Operation costs are about £20,000 a year, this includes pre and post season maintenance and energy costs,” his report says.
“There are staffing implications but from a water treatment perspective rather than supervision. The water needs testing every two to three hours.”
The report says that leaves would need to be cleared to avoid potential blockages and there would have to be a discussion about whether the water should be on a meter.
Mr Roberts said: “Members need to consider and resolve whether they do wish to proceed and then how.” He said if the decision was to proceed a robust procurement exercise was needed to ensure that the correct supplier was commissioned and that the council secures value for money.
“If members do wish to proceed then they need to consider the most appropriate location.
“The estimated cost of work is significant and members will need to utilise the Smithfield Windfall Capital receipt to fund the work.”
If councillors go ahead tomorrow tenders for the job would have to be in by August will a decision made by the middle of September.
There would be consultation with the public on the design and the Cae Glas Park management group would also be involved.
