Melton City Council’s Frontier Park, Aintree Recreation Reserve closed after copper theft
A popular playground fitted with water features to help kids beat the heat has closed after it was targeted by vandals.
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Playtime has been ruined for hundreds of families that rely on a local splash park to beat the heat after it was targeted by “low-life” vandals.
Frontier Park, a popular playground at Aintree in Melbourne’s outer west, was closed after it was hit by copper thieves over the weekend.
It will be out of bounds until at least next week.
The park has rope bridges, slides, towers, tree trunks and a water play facility with jets that help kids cool off on warmer days.
Located within the Aintree Recreation Reserve, Frontier Park is managed by Melton City Council which confirmed the entire area was temporarily closed.
While the damaged primarily impacted the water zone, the council has closed the entire park to undertake maintenance work, including on the tower.
Power cables were cut from the main power supply and the distribution board was damaged.
Power has been restored at the site using a temporary distribution board until the replacement is built.
It’s estimated the replacement could take a month.
The park will reopen no sooner than next week.
In a social media post, the council said it was aiming to repair the water area as soon as possible “given the weather”.
“It’s disappointing when our community experiences vandalism (like copper theft), so if you have any information about this recent theft, please contact Crime Stoppers,” the post read.
Melton council asset services manager Colin Marshall said it had restored power to the site but was forced to close the water play area and park to undertake repairs.
“It’s disappointing when our community parks and facilities are the target of vandals.,” Mr Marshall said.
“We thank the community for their patience while repairs are underway.”
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Late last year, the Council wrote to State Police Minister Anthony Carines asking what was being done to minimise the risk of copper theft across Victoria.
One resident labelled the culprits “lowlifes” who were “taking from the kids”.
“Whoever did this vandalism … you have ruined play time for the kids,” one comment read.
Another suggested the council fix the barbecues while doing the maintenance work and claimed they had not worked for more than three months despite multiple requests.
Anyone with information about the incident can contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or online.
Residents can also report graffiti or vandalism to the council’s website.
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