MADAM,

Congratulations, Mr Bradley, (‘Why support playground move?’ 12th October) on your rational common sense compared with the increasingly tactless absurdities of other letterwriters.

Under the headline "Change is only a movement away” (Beacon, 3rd August) ‘The Friends of Chippenham Mead’ (FoCM) informed us in August (famously ’a good time for burying bad news’) of ’a new group of parents...with young children,’ constitutionally formed to ‘maintain and improve the village green’ with a ’primary focus’ to ‘relocate’ the long-established playground elsewhere on Chippenham’s Historic Park and Open Space. No site was shown, no membership, regulations or cost published, no contrary concerns acknowledged.

We learned that FoCM’s sponsored a competition (accessible to every child in every school? What age limits?) to design their ‘dream playground’. Who approved this relocation – the invisible town ward councillors? Or their officers? Do the respected sports clubs approve it? Were others consulted, excluding us, in this ’insalubrious area’ (FoCM, ’Not looking to take more of Chippenham,’ 14th September), which includes the police station, the Haberdashers’ boarding houses, and our neighbours?

While welcoming fellow litter-pickers to our inevitable chore, I suggested some legal problems and was patronised by the FoCM Chairman on 14th September, and vilified by an anonymous coward afraid to divulge his/ her name (‘All should be treated with respect,’ 21st September.)

Does no council take responsibility for the disgraceful state of the present playground, the reduction in our excellent groundsmen by two thirds, the location of the popular playgroup sandwiched between Monnow Street traffic and overcrowded car parks with delivery lorries every day? Any child in any urban playground for long periods is at risk, as Mr Bradley points out.

The FoCM’s determination to ‘relocate’ on ’another area of Chippy’ is illogical when they can go to Wyesham where the £75,000 upgraded playground might welcome their children, or ‘relocate’ to Vauxhall where a congenial new group, ’Friends of Vauxhall Field,’ (FoVF) can join them.

Mr Bradley is right - leave the mead alone, it has obvious problems already. Give us a life-saving swimming pool instead.

Kirstie Buckland

(Monmouth)