Manningham Council says Ruffey Lake Park playground is regularly inspected
A council in Melbourne’s east insists it is complying with inspection requirements following a resident’s concerns over the condition of a swing at a popular adventure playground.
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A Templestowe man claims Manningham Council is not inspecting its playgrounds regularly and putting users’ safety at risk.
But the council has rubbished the claims and insisted it is conducting inspections in line with Australian standards.
Vincent Testa said he first alerted the council to a frayed seatbelt strap on a swing at an adventure playground at Ruffey Lake Park in March.
He said he emailed the council again about the issue in November and spoke to Manningham Leader about the swing on December 3.
“I’m a father and a grandfather, it’s a health and safety issue,” he said.
“That seat could potentially hurt a child and its not fit for purpose, that’s why we have Australian standards.
“It’s the premier playground of Manningham that all people go to … if they haven’t fixed a simple strap, imagine what condition other equipment could possibly be in.”
A response from the council to Mr Testa, seen by Manningham Leader, stated he didn’t provide the location of the defective swing, but later did in a further response on December 1. The council then inspected the swing the following day.
Mr Testa said he initially didn’t provide the location because he wanted officers to “do their job” and find it.
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Director of city services Leigh Harrison said the seatbelt strap had some fraying and a single knot tied in it.
“While this was noted in previous inspections of the playground, it was determined that the swing seatbelt strap was not at risk of breaking and therefore not a safety issue,” Mr Harrison said.
“In response to the residents concern, officers took the opportunity to replace the swing seat at this playground.”
Mr Harrison said the council had inspected the Victoria St playground six times in the past 12 months and replaced a swing chain, mulch and rubber mats.
He said the council conducted quarterly inspections of Manningham’s 180 playspaces in line with Australian playground equipment standards and surfacing guidelines.