AN urgent call to fence in the Meadows play area in Tavistock on safety grounds has sparked a split among members of the town council.

Wayne Southall, the council?s works superintendent, last week told members it was ?imperative? the area was enclosed, after a recent recommendation by RoSPA ? it revealed that leaving the area unfenced posed a risk to children due to the close proximity of the canal and river.

Mr Southall said: ?I believe there should be fencing there, after doing a risk assessment. There has been a fatality in a play park recently due to drowning, it?s quite a hot topic at the moment.

?You do find most play parks are fenced in now, especially if there is a water course around.?

Mr Southall said the risks were considered greater if a parent had several children to keep an eye on in the park.

?It would probably only take about 30 seconds for a child to move away from the play equipment and get to the canal.?

Mr Southall told councillors at last week?s properties meeting it would cost around £20,000 to fence in the area.

Cllr Brian Trew backed the works superintendent?s recommendation. He said it was unusual for play parks to be unfenced for child security ? and keeping dogs out.

?Since RoSPA has said it is a moderate risk that means it is one step from being a high risk. This is something that, in my opinion, should be considered by the town council,? he said.

Cllr Trew said he had heard of one instance where a council was fined £50,000 because it did not take expert advice on health and safety risks.

Town mayor Jenny Metcalf said fencing was something the council should consider, particularly if it was normal practice in play parks.

Cllr Peter Jones, chairman of the finance committee, believed the council was in a ?nanny state? situation, but Cllr Iain Andrews, properties committee chairman, disagreed: ?It is trying to segregate small children into a safe playing environment. I don?t think it?s about the nanny state but making a safer environment for younger children in Tavistock to enjoy.?

But Cllr Betty Batchelor said if one area was fenced there was nothing to stop a fatality elsewhere. Parents and grandparents took their children to feed the ducks where there was no fencing: ?I don?t see the point just fencing the play park area unless they are thinking of children running away to the water.?

Cllr Norma Woodcock said she would ?argue vehemently? against the fence: ?If we have £20,000, let?s get some more equipment in the Meadows or somewhere else that is poorly resourced ? but please do not let us go down the road of fences.?

Cllr Ted Sherrell said it had always been the council?s policy not to fence the play park ? and he still felt it was the right policy: ?If you think the play park area is a danger you have to fence the canal and river and it would be quite beyond the means of this council to do that.?

He said the only person he could recall drowning in the area was a man who fell in during Goose Fair 50 years ago.

Councillors agreed the matter be deferred to the next properties committee agenda.