This petition calls for Marion Council to upgrade the park and playground in Yapinga Street, South Plympton as part of its $7 million Play Space Strategy.

The playground in the cul-de-sac of Yapinga Street, South Plympton, is a central meeting and play space for the many young families within the local area. For the numerous children and families who live in South Plympton, this is the one open community space to play, explore, meet friends and build relationships with others in the neighbourhood. Our park is greatly valued by local families, who use it daily, keep it clean and tidy and monitor issues, such as graffiti or property damage. This local park, situated directly next door to South Plympton Kindergarten, is heavily used on a daily basis by local families, children from the Kindergarten, students from Tabor College, young families from the extremely popular Playgroup held at the Kindergarten each Friday, and local fitness groups.

Within the last five years, equipment deemed unsafe by council has been removed from the park. No equipment has been replaced. We, the families of South Plympton, are calling on the council to respond to our request that the park at South Plympton be incorporated into Marion’s Play Space Strategy, by providing our park with newer, safer and more enjoyable equipment for all of the community to enjoy.

The playground in Yapinga Street requires old wooden equipment to be removed and replaced with new and interesting equipment which fosters exploration and imagination in children’s play. Additional equipment with a focus on climbing, sliding, swinging and bouncing would provide the children who use the park with a greater range of opportunities within their play. As this park is heavily used by toddlers, preschoolers and school aged children from local playgroups, kindergartens and schools as well as local families, there is a great need to provide new equipment to suit a range of age groups.  Of benefit as well would be the addition of equipment suitable for all abilities.

A BBQ would be of great benefit to our local families, who enjoy gathering in the park to eat and socialise together.

In addition to this, signage to instruct dog owners to place their dogs on a leash within the park when children are present is required to ensure adequate safety for children when locals use the park to exercise their dogs.

Playgrounds encourage healthy, active lives for our children and are an important way of building relationships within a local community through the interactions of families when engaged in social activities at the park.  In an area of increased development focusing on small, dense housing on small blocks with very limited outdoor space for children to play, the playground has become increasingly more important to the families in our local area of South Plympton. The benefits of a good playground are numerous, as play in itself is crucial for childrens’ growth and development. Providing good playground equipment promotes healthy, active lifestyles and is a vital step to good health in our local community.

The signatures below are representative of the wishes of the local South Plympton community’s strong desire to see a new and improved playground on Yapinga Street.

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