Okehampton Town Council have agreed to the additional costs for the replacement of the zipwire in Simmons Park which has been out of action since last year.

On Monday, the council agreed to a revised cost of over £15,000 for a 20m length cableway or over £16,000 for a 30m length cableway, a rise of over £2,400 and £2,500 respectively. It is unclear yet as to which cableway length has been chosen.

Mayor of Okehampton Bob Tolley said: ’I’m sure [the community] will be pleased. My grandson misses it and if he’s anything to go by others miss it too.’

The council originally decided to fund the replacement zipwire but the rising costs of construction and the delay in obtaining a decision by the full council meant plans were put on hold.

Concerns were raised over the increased cost but the councillors decided to ’bite the bullet’ and go ahead with the replacement anyway for fear that costs will continue to rise.

Cllr Christine Marsh said: ’I propose we take it to full council. It’s been out of action for a very long time and it’s a very popular piece of equipment. What are we going to do if we don’t accept it? Just not have anything there? That’s not very good.’

The council has also applied for a grant of £1,000 to Okehampton Hamlets Parish Council towards the cost of the purchase and installation of the new zipwire though the outcome of that will not be known until November. The play park was closed last year after it was discovered during a daily routine inspection that the bolts on the zipwire had been deliberately loosened. Due to uncertainty over safety and the possibility that another act of vandalism might occur, the council closed the play area.

Over the past year there have been increasing reports of anti-social behaviour in Simmons Park with incidents of smashed bottles, assaults on members of the public and stones and boulders being unearthed and thrown on the pathways. In one incident a bottle was thrown at an elderly lady as she walked her dog.

There have been attempts to resolve the problem, which was put down to a group of young people known to congregate in the area, and in June 2020 park staff were fitted with expensive body-worn cameras to try to deter vandals, but no video evidence was ever captured. There is now CCTV in the play area.