A PETITION to re-open a play park in a deprived area has been backed by more than 250 residents.

Greenbank play park in Whitehaven, which is owned by Home Group, has been closed off due to safety issues.

Paula Waddington, a Greenbank resident, has launched a petition to have the park re-opened and says there is a need for play facilities on the estate.

She said: “The play park used to be owned by Greenbank Community Centre and then they handed it over to Home Group.

“It’s never been vandalised. It’s in the middle of the housing estate so all the parents keep an eye on it.

“It’s just got rundown due to neglect. The floor has started to lift. It will need money spent on it.

“I went round with a petition and got 255 names on the petition.

“There are a lot of young families on Greenbank now. It would benefit the young children. They can’t go on the playing field because it’s like a bog since they started building the new houses.

“There are lot more young children on Greenbank now than there has ever been.”

Last year, Story Homes was given the green light by Cumberland Council to build a further 107 houses at Edgehill Park, next to the Greenbank estate.

Alan Pearson, who represents Whitehaven South on the town council, said: “The ladies of the Greenbank Community Centre worked so hard twenty years ago to actually build a play park.

“Without what the ladies did, there  wouldn't have been a play park on one the most deprived areas in the north of England. Anything on the estate has always come from the hard work of the residents.”

Sarah Dunning, senior operations manager for the North West at Home Group, said: “Currently, the play area is not in a safe working order and we have closed the park for that reason.

“We have had to re-secure the park on several occasions because of people breaking through the security. I would urge anyone against doing that given its unsafe nature.

“In terms of its longer term future we are looking at options. One of those was to enter discussions with the local community to gift them the park, and we have initiated those discussions.”