FAMILIES who lost their playground to “health and safety gone mad” are still waiting to hear whether it will be replaced, nearly six months on.

Parents and children alike were devastated in November last year after Durham County Council ruled equipment must be removed from a small play area in Allergate, in Durham City, on safety grounds.

The council said that an inspection found the toys to be corroded and unsafe, and that if other playgrounds were judged to pose a safety risk, they could also be stripped of equipment.

At the time, Nigel Dodds, the council’s sport and leisure manager, said that whether new equipment was installed at Allergate would depend on the results of a countywide play strategy.

That strategy was expected to be published this spring, but has not yet been completed.

Ruth Chambers, a mother who lives near Allergate, has launched an online petition calling for equipment to be installed in the playground.

She said: “It was a real shock when they took the equipment away. We felt there was no chance for consultation or dialogue. Since then, the area has attracted openair drinkers and anti-social behaviour.

“There is nowhere else nearby you can go out for half an hour. There is still a mix of students and residents here.

We are feeling the loss.”

Steve Howell, the council’s head of sport and leisure, said the countywide play strategy was being developed and would be debated by councillors in July.

He said: “No decisions will be made until after this strategy is agreed.”

Mrs Chambers’ e-petition says: “Children’s playgrounds are in short supply in Durham City centre and Allergate was used daily by local residents’ families and an adjacent nursery.

“We believe the council should provide new play equipment so the land is again, as it was for many decades, a proper and attractive space where the city’s children can come and play.”

It runs until Monday, June 11, and can be viewed at democracy.durham.gov.uk