Playground Equipment Condition, Corrosion and related Incidents Jan 2020 to present
Received 14 April 2026
Please provide the following information for the period 1 January 2020 to present:
1. Inspections and maintenance
•The total number of playground inspections carried out per year.
•Copies of any inspection guidance, checklists, or policies used, particularly those referencing:
o corrosion
o rust
o metal degradation
2. Recorded defects
•The number of recorded maintenance issues or defects relating to playground equipment, broken down by year.
•Where available, the number of defects specifically categorised as:
o corrosion
o rust
o structural degradation of metal components
(If defects are not categorised in this way, please provide any relevant keyword-searchable records or closest equivalent classification.)
3. Complaints from the public
•The number of complaints received relating to playground equipment described as:
o rusty
o corroded
o damaged or unsafe
4. Incidents and injuries
•The number of reported incidents or accidents in council-managed playgrounds, per year.
•If recorded, the number of incidents where equipment condition (e.g. damage, corrosion, or wear) was noted as a contributing factor.
5. Maintenance response
•Any policies or service standards relating to:
o repair timeframes for damaged or corroded equipment
o criteria for removing unsafe equipment from use
Responded 28 April 2026
1.
•
Weekly and monthly inspections of 26 play areas, plus 26 annual ROSPA inspections.
•Carried out by external companies – copies of their guidance notes attached.
2. Information Refused Under Section 12(4)(b) – Manifestly Unreasonable. We do not hold the requested information in an easily accessible format. The information is not sent to us on a regular or standardised basis. We would therefore need to review every email correspondence from the contractors for the time period requested.
3.
•rusty – 0
•corroded – 0
•damaged or unsafe - 7
4.
•Zero
•N/A
5. Any problems with play areas that require urgent attention should be dealt with immediately; otherwise, we aim to carry out repairs within one month or following the timeframes in the guidelines attached. The inspectors will take dangerous equipment out of use immediately and call us to advise – their attached guidelines detail their risk assessment criteria.
In respect of Q2 - This information is exempt from disclosure under Section 12(4)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. In respect of those requests that are answered in full, partially or the total refused, please take this as notice under FOIA, that we:
a) Consider the information as exempt from disclosure under the Act.
b) Claim exempt under sections of the Act:
Section 12(4)(b) Manifestly Unreasonable
c) State why the exemption applies:
12(4) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(a), a public authority may refuse to disclose information to the extent that – (b) the request for information is manifestly unreasonable