PARENTS and children fighting to keep Bold Venture Playground open have emerged victorious after Skipton Town Councillors overturned an earlier decision to sell the land and decided to retain the recreation ground.

The ground off Keighley Road, was closed by town councillors after the North Yorkshire Playing Fields Association described it as "dangerous" and "a poor site for children." It recommended that the land be sold and the proceeds used for other facilities. One of the suggestions was a bridge over the railway line to the Burnside estate.

But there was an outcry from local residents and members of the Town Council have now decided last week to spend money on the ground to re-equip and update it.

An emergency meeting of the full council agreed to remove the closure signs once the temporary perimeter fence has been replaced by a new one. Consultation will take place with the residents to find out what equipment they would like on the ground.

Leader of the campaign to save the playground Allison Smith was delighted with the outcome.

She is claiming it as a residents' victory and said: "It has been a lot of hard work and upset down here, over an issue that should never have been raised. It has been a victory for us and we are chuffed."

She told her ward representative Polly English: "The buck has been passed enough it is time something is sorted."

Having spent five hours over two evenings waiting for the town council to discuss the issue she finally stood up at the meeting on Thursday and demanded that the residents know one way or another what they were going to do with the ground.

Standing orders were suspended to allow the safety and amenities committee to use its good judgement in spending £5,000 on the best quality fencing.

But Coun Paul Whitaker suggested that the money should be spent on areas where a large number of children played.

"I think there are three, maybe four children, in that area," he said and added: "There was a recommendation from the North Yorkshire Playing Field Association that said it was not being used."

He also felt that rather than replacing the perimeter fencing it should simply be removed but other councillors feared that would lead to motorbikes coming on to the playground.

But Coun Paul English said: "It does not matter whether there are two kids or 400, it is our responsibility to equip and maintain all our recreation grounds."

Other Skipton playgrounds were also on the agenda at the same meeting. Broughton Road playground is to have £19,000 spent on installing a multiplay unit, remove the tractor unit, include two baby swings and resurface the remaining potholed land. However a proposal was passed for no more capital expenditure on the ground for the coming five years.

Broughton Road will be the priority for the council in the coming year with Bold Venture following later.

Coun Polly English said: "It makes sense to spend a large proportion on some of them and then another year concentrate on another."

Middletown recreation ground will have new goal posts installed and have the aerial runway repaired. The safety and amenities committee will meet with residents from North Parade to discuss plans for that area and a grant of £3,000 will be allocated to the association formed to improve Shortbank Close's ground.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.