Melksham Town Council will be asked to vote on carrying out essential repairs to two children’s parks.
Conservative councillor Phil Alford is calling for the council to use its existing park maintenance budget to replace facilities at Dunch Lane and Riverside Park, both of which have been cordoned off for some time.
“The council have recently raised council tax by 29.74%, including a huge increase to the park maintenance budget despite spending less than £500 on repairs in this financial year,” said Cllr Alford.
“The council has agreed a 26/27 maintenance budget of £100,000. If the current £74,000 from this year remains unspent, the money which was allocated to these parks will return to general reserves and not be spent in this financial year.
“In both these areas, the communities are a considerable distance from the alternative town council provision.
“As council taxpayers, the least they should expect is that the money they pay to Melksham Town Council is used in a way which will benefit their communities and providing outdoor play facilities for them is one such way the council could do this."
The nearest alternative to the Riverside park is across the A350 or River Avon which is unsuitable for young children.
The Dunch Lane Park has been closed for around 8 months following the injury of a small child.
“The nearest council owned alternative is around a mile away in town,” added Cllr Alford.
“Despite £74,000 being designated for this specific purpose, some of the town’s parks have become so run down that they are unsafe, unusable and cordoned off.
“This will continue to deprive children and families of much needed play areas.
“I have been calling for this work to be taken since September 2024 and by submitting this motion publicly I hope that the public scrutiny will make the Lib Dems who run Melksham Town Council take this long overdue action."