MADAM,

Kirsty Buckland’s suggestion to relocate Chippy’s playground to Vauxhall fields is a red herring (‘Playground move pursuit of publicity’ 15th March).

The campaign to relocate the playground focuses on the safeguarding of our children. Considering safeguarding, streetlighting, accessibility, distance from town and other use of the same space (farming, dogwalking, vehicles, military training), Vauxhall is unsuitable for a town playground. Given her expressed animosity towards Monmouth town itself, let alone anyone who would like the town to work well for all generations, is it possible that Mrs Buckland makes the suggestion of Vauxhall simply to throw another obstacle in the path of a well thought through and well supported campaign for improving the town’s facilities?

Friends of Chippenham Mead began campaigning to move the playground when they looked anew at the shameful state of the current playground and looked objectively at Chippenham Mead as a whole. I grew up in Monmouth and I support them because the current Chippy playground contains a few dismal remnants of the equipment that I played on 30 years ago and, in addition, the dual carriageway traffic is far worse. Meanwhile there is mounting evidence that play is essential to children’s development, avoidance of non-communicable diseases (obesity, diabetes) and general wellbeing, and that diesel pollution is particularly dangerous to children. Publicising the cause is not a ‘pursuit of publicity’, it was necessary because the town council did not engage with the public on the important question of monies being available to improve play facilities.

Monmouth should have a central playground so that families can actually use and enjoy the town, non-commercial pursuits, green spaces and all. In this way, Monmouth can be more than just a big car park for supermarket shoppers: It can be as it should, a pleasant place to visit on foot. The more we plan in this direction, the more residents and visitors will be guided towards better and healthier use of the town.

I do not have children of my own, possibly this will help Mrs Buckland to listen to my opinions as ‘young mothers’ are a group whose views she seems to think worthless, but I admit I was a child once. I believe that children will be shaped by the community that surrounds them. The respect (or lack of) with which we treat children will be reflected in their attitude to the town and its community as they become adults themselves.

Before making more obstructive suggestions, Mrs Buckland, please think about those who come after you.

Dilly Boase

(Monmouth)