West Mayo community call for improved playground and green space
THE community in Westport has gathered for a teddy bears’ picnic to call for significant improvements to the town centre playground and adjacent green space.
Residents are seeking transparency and consultation around the development of the Westport Leisure Park playground and green area.
The playground is currently being locked at weekends. Although the playground remained locked and inaccessible, the community gathered to bring the space to life. Activities were led by adults and children and included sustainable crafts, sensory play, nature-inspired games, painting protest signs, as well as a petition-signing station for the community to formally voice their desire for a transparent planning process that involves local voices and puts community needs first.
Local mother Róisín Kelliher, who also works with children in the Westport area, said: “There is so much joy and community spirit here today. It is wonderful to see older children playing with younger children, parents catching up, older people getting out and enjoying the fun too, new connections being made.
“But we brought our own seats and see-saws and picked broken glass from the uncut grass before families arrived.
“We desperately need a free, safe, accessible, public space where people from across the community can come together every day.”
Attendees expressed concerns that the current state of the playground and green area does not reflect the community’s needs. Broken, missing and graffitied equipment, locked gates, tall grass, and a lack of accessible features have been ongoing obstacles.
There are also still strong feelings around the controversial spending of €40,000 on a new fence for the playground.
A petition collected at the event, set to be delivered to local council representatives, asks for a commitment to transparency and collaboration in the planning process, ensuring that the space will be safe, inclusive and environmentally sustainable.
The teddy bears’ picnic highlighted a collective hope for what the space could become. The event showed that even without the ideal setup, people came together in a strong show of community spirit, with a shared vision for a green space that will serve everyone in the community for years to come.