The Lawn in Dawlish is not the place for a new play-park in the town centre. The Lawn is a green space that is one of the jewels of the town, and is enjoyed as a green space by local residents and visitors alike.
This is not the place for a new play-park to be built.
Why is this important?
In July and August 2016 the Teignmouth and Dawlish Community Interest Company asked people in the street in Dawlish questions about plans to build a play park for children under 8 on The Lawn in Dawlish. (The idea is to build a park large enough to compete with the one in Teignmouth to bring more trade into town.).
Also available in a few places on paper, and on-line, this “consultation” concluded that "77% of Dawlish residents voted in favour of a play park on the Lawn", calculated from the results of 680 completed consultation questionnaires. However the Dawlish population is approx. 11,312 (census 2011) meaning that only 6% of Dawlish residents could be assumed as having taken part in this consultation. *
We, the undersigned, wish to record our objection to the proposal to build a play park covering the whole of the back Lawn in Dawlish.
The back Lawn area, behind the bandstand and up to the bowling green fence, is well used all year round, not only by local families having football kick about, or playing rounders or croquet, and individuals sunbathing and having picnics. It is also used throughout the year for events and is critical space for the Dawlish Celebrates Carnival and other events.
Dawlish is unique in its own special way, and should not be compared to Teignmouth, which is a completely different town, with different characteristics. The Lawn is a unique selling point of the town along with the black swans and waterfowl, who use this part of the Lawn, particularly when the rest of the Lawn is occupied by another event, for example, the fair.
The issue is out of the hands of Dawlish Town Council as the Lawn is an asset that is currently managed by Teignbridge District Council.
We urge Teignbridge District Council to listen to our campaign to keep the Lawn in Dawlish as the green space treasure that it is, and to consider other sites in the town for the new play-park, if a new one is to be built, or to look at improving the range of activities available on the existing play parks.
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawlish
Dawlish population in 2011 was recorded in the Census that year as 11,312.
** The consultation questionnaires were completed anonymously, with just a postcode recording if the respondent lived in Dawlish or in Teignbridge.
*** Based on the 2011 Census, less than 10% of the Dawlish population are 8 years of age and younger.
How it will be delivered
The petition was emailed to TDC in October 2017 with 750 signatures, over 340 on paper. At Dawlish Town Council meeting on 6th December, Cllr Martin Wrigley, Mayor of Dawlish, proposed that a Dawlish Lawn Working Group be set up to look its future, explore what Dawlish wants for the Lawn, and involve officers from TDC. The majority of councillors voted to accept this. Led by Cllr Martin Wrigley, this will enable an inclusive dialogue between all interested people, groups and TDC officers.
