A project to upgrade the play area at Threlkeld is being hit with additional costs, a meeting of the village parish council was told.
Councillors were told by Barbara Lowesmith and Alison Crozier, of the Threlkeld Toddlers group which is delivering the project, that the total cost has risen from £85,000 to £92,500.
The meeting was told that Westmorland and Furness Council had originally agreed to remove the old play equipment as they owned it.
But councillors heard that the authority has said it will now not remove the old equipment which will add an extra £3,360 to the bill for removal and disposal.
Some councillors felt this was expensive but it was explained that the equipment needed to be removed below ground level and then appropriately disposed of.
Threlkeld Toddlers noted that it was complicated trying to close the school playing field to allow the works to happen and aligning this with the installation works to reduce the time that the playing field is closed. It was said that the only way forward was to pay the contractors to remove the old equipment.
The reneging of Westmorland and Furness Council on the agreement to undertake the removal works was noted with disappointment by all councillors present.
The clerk is to ask the council to reopen the current play area now safety repairs have been completed and maintain it between now and the upgraded play area being installed.
The meeting was also told that Threlkeld Toddlers had met on site with Kompan and the equipment was found to be smaller than expected which leaves a large area unused. Threlkeld Toddlers feel that an extra small item of equipment should be installed in this area for younger children. The additional costs of this would be £8,800 if done concurrently to the main project and £10,800 if done as a second phase.
Additionally, the group has asked Kompan to install an extra fence to prevent children accessing the slope and the land drain which lies to the west of the site at an extra cost of £3,500.
Threlkeld Toddlers confirmed that the majority of the equipment has a lifetime guarantee, but the safety surfacing guarantee is only five years, although it can be patch repaired using a repair kit.
Councillors were told that £500 was received from the Lakes & Dales Co-operative society and £1,500 from the Cumbria Community Foundation while an application for grant funding from the Freida Scott Trust was successful for up to £4,500.
