Peckham Rye Park playground - water feature not working?

[Dogkennelhillbilly]

The water features at the kids playground in Peckham Rye Park aren't turned on today. It's 26 degrees! 🥵

Is this COVID, malfunction or still too early in the year? Does anyone know before I email the parks department?

[alex_b]

The water feature was switched off very shortly after the park opened as the sand blocked the drainage. I don?t think it?s ever been fixed.

[Dogkennelhillbilly]

It was definitely on the summer before last...

If that's the reason, it's outrageous. I'll email the council and ask.

[sunbob]

I remember it being fully on and enjoyed until covid. So just not last summer and not yet this year.

[hammerman]

I wouldn't think this would be on Southwark's priority list in the Covid scheme of things.

[Dogkennelhillbilly]

Why not? Lots of facilities for kids are still closed because of COVID and lots of parents have lost jobs and money because of COVID. Peckham Rye playpark is somewhere healthy and free that parents can take kids for a couple of hours...but there is little shade there and without the water it's oppressively hot.

[katgod]

Ah, Southwark Council, water features and Peckham Rye Park..... a recurring issue that seems incapable of solution. In 2014 I was on here talking about the renovation and lamenting the poor design of the previous iteration of ?improvements? to Peckham Rye. The uphill flowing stream was a special touch that lasted about 3 weeks before being switched off never to see water again. Renata the councillor is usually the best bet for these issues. 😉 good luck

[Abe_froeman]

I assume it's still covid related, but it was pretty obvious when they built this obvious white elephant that the water would be permanently turned off pretty quickly after opening, because the same thing happens in every other park where they've ever built one of these.

See Brockwell park for the nearest example.

[sunbob]

The water features worked really well and were lots of fun for my children up until 2019. It's a great playground, not a white elephant.

[CPR Dave]

This playground us an absolute shambles now. Really neglected

Half the equipment is broken, including all of the water features, the trampoline, the large climbing frame, the diggers, in of the sand pits is empty with all the sand being stuck in the water equipment and 90% 9f the plants they put in are dead.

It's awful.

[Nigello]

Southwark council councillors need to be told as well as the local paper. Countless projects promise much but then get neglected because attention turns to the next big thing. If s water feature is there then it should be working and not left to rot.

[hpsaucey]

We've been here before with the previous iteration relying on water being able to flow uphill.Shame lesson wasn't learnt from that one.

Really sad to see this mass of concrete with non-working water feature and dead/ dying planting 😢

[CPR Dave]

One of the sandpits was full of discarded wipes and other detritus. It's a disgusting mess.

[Nigello]

Disgusting is as disgusting does - this time one really can blame the parents *or nanny*.

[CPR Dave]

Very helpful Nigello. Please let us know where they live.

[Nigello]

They?re everywhere, and there has to be a truth behind my attempt at light humour, unless you expect and require toddlers to be the responsible ones here.

[Dogkennelhillbilly]

Litter in the playpark is 90% a result of careless parents not cleaning up after their kids (and it wouldn't kill anyone to pick up a couple of pieces of other people's rubbish when they see it), and foxes raiding bins overnight.