Weston Shore playground removed after years of rusting

Last week the Echo revealed residents' disgust with the state of Weston Shore playground, which had been reduced to a swing set without chains or seats and a rusty helicopter climbing frame.

But now the last remains of the park have been removed by Southampton City Council, leaving one of he city's only accessible waterfront areas looking bare to the bone.

“I’m not surprised (they’ve removed the park),” said Julie Page, 58, from Woolston.

“It was in a horrible condition and even when it was there, it’s not like you saw anyone using it anyway.”

The park was closed as the council considered the old equipment to be unsafe and beyond repair.

Stumps from where playground equipment was still remain, but the rest has been removed. (Image: Newsquest) One Sholing resident, who frequents Weston Shore to watch the cruise ships with her binoculars, said that she was happy to see the playground “finally” gone.

READ MORE: 'Neglected' play park and shoreline at Weston Shore criticised

The 79-year-old, who did not want to be named, said: “There were just bits of rusting metal and a lot of troublemakers were hanging around it.

“It’s good to finally get rid of the last bits if they weren’t going to do anything else with it.”

There are plans to bring a new playground to Weston Shore, although no start date has been announced for the project.

The playground had been left to rust. (Image: Alex Stapleton) Woolston councillor Warwick Payne did confirm that the council are due to announce the start date for the replacement playground in the new year.

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Cllr Payne said: “The council has recently reaffirmed its commitment to replace the Weston Shore play area where the equipment was removed due to safety concerns.

“One of the main reasons the equipment deteriorated is that the present location is often flooded by tidal surges during storms and spring tides.

“The identified solution is to relocate the play area across the road to higher ground, which will still have a sea view and be visible from the shore.”

A newer playground was built by the council away from the shoreline in 2019, although this is not the replacement promised.