COMMUNITIES across West Fife are set to be consulted on plans to streamline playpark provision.

Fife Council said the majority of its play equipment was set to reach the end of its lifespan in the next 10 years and is looking at how future facilities can be sustainable financially.

At the moment, there are 449 sites with play equipment managed by the council across Fife.

But some are said to have limited play value so the council is considering fewer areas with better-quality equipment.

Figures outlined to the community and housing services committee last Thursday showed that 151 sites had under three pieces of play equipment with poor play value and limited use. One example was at White’s Quay in Dalgety Bay, where there is only one swing which is only suitable for babies.

At the opposite end of the scale, Pittencrieff Park was highlighted as a place which had a wide range of equipment for children of all ages.

A new playpark strategy would help provide parks with good play value for children of different ages, ensure public parks and greenspaces continued to provide varied opportunities for outdoor play and ensure the financial sustainability of playpark provision in Fife.

Council greenspace officer Kevin O’Kane explained to councillors that they were looking to adopt a “playpark hierarchy”.

This would include neighbourhood playparks within five minutes’ walk from homes with a range of play equipment for pre-school and primary youngsters, a town playpark which would take longer to walk to and would contain more equipment and a destination playpark where most people would need to travel to by public transport, bike or car but would have the widest range of equipment.

“Existing sites with play equipment have been assessed using the playpark hierarchy,” he explained. “280 of these sites fit with the hierarchy.

"However, there are 172 sites that do not comply with the hierarchy, due to their location, the amount of equipment or condition. It is proposed that play equipment in these sites would not be replaced.

"This will happen when equipment is at the end of its life. These spaces would still be public greenspace and be improved for non-equipped play. This can be achieved by including logs, picnic tables, shrub- and tree-planting and wildflower meadows.”

Public meetings are expected to be held, along with surveys, as part of consultation on the draft playpark strategy and plans would then be submitted for approval to councillors in June.

Fife Council’s head of communities and neighbourhoods, Paul Vaughan, said their first step would be to consult on the overall playpark strategy for Fife.

“We will then carry out separate consultations in the seven local areas to understand which parks are most valued by communities and reports will be taken to the area committees,” he added.

“Detailed information we have about playpark quality, equipment, lifespan and location will be made available to the public as part of these consultations. We have invested large amounts of money in new, modern state-of-the-art playpark facilities in places like the Public Park and Pittencrieff Park and, indeed, many sites across Fife.

"This work is about making sure we have a core set of good-quality play areas for families to use now and in the future.”