Should a section of Worthing’s well loved Victoria Park have an area dedicated to children’s clean and secure play, marked out by a fence?  That’s one of the questions being posed to local residents and parents of the two neighbouring schools by Worthing Borough Council.

Recently, Heene and St Mary’s First Schools approached Worthing Borough Council with a suggestion to consider fencing off an area large enough for a 9-a-side football pitch, enabling local children - along with the schools’ pupils - to have somewhere clearly dedicated to play and carrying out a range of sporting activities. 

The Council are now consulting with the local community and have also sent survey forms home with every child who uses the schools for their parents to complete.  In addition, forms are being dropped into the letter boxes of all of the households in surrounding roads:

* Cobden Road

* St Matthews Road

* Anglesea Road

* Shakespeare Road (north)

* Norfolk Street, 

* And the section of the A259 between the junction with Richmond and Shakespeare Roads

Councillor Clive Roberts, Worthing Borough Council’s Executive Member for the Environment, comments:

“It is really important to hear the opinions of the local residents and people who use the park often so that we can create a space which works for everyone.

“I’m sure  that all parents and local residents would agree that clean, safe spaces are something which we would all wish for our children, and putting up a low fence in Victoria Park to achieve that is something I support.”

The proposed fence would be 1.2m (4-feet) high, similar to that around the existing playground, and would be a traditional bow-top design.  Access for the whole community will be maintained at all times - although the new area will be gated, it is not intended to be solely for school use.

The consultation is open until the end of September, at which time the Council will make a decision based on the opinions of the community.   Posters are about to be put up around the park to invite comments and, in addition to the hard copy forms already distributed, opinions can be registered online at: http://www.adur-worthing.gov.uk/victoria-park-consultation/.