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There are plans to create a new playground on the former bus station site in Merthyr Tydfil town centre. A report to cabinet on Wednesday, November 12 will recommend councillors agree that a new playground is created at the Glebeland site to maximise its usage with a budget of around £200,000. It will replace the renewal of the Cyfarthfa Park playground in the current programme because further inspections have highlighted that the play equipment at Cyfarthfa Park is currently in good condition and does not need to be replaced at this point in time . The cabinet report says that the creation of formal play facilities in the town centre has been an issue raised in public consultation exercises over the past several years. Stay informed on everything Merthyr Tydfil by signing up to our newsletter here The selection and prioritisation of sites has been based on condition surveys, inspections, and from assessing other factors such as the extent of repairs required, age, condition, realistic lifespan, and play value. The priorities for the sites to be developed during 2024/25 and 2025/26 were reported to cabinet in July 2024 and any changes are required to be reported back to cabinet. The other sites included in the programme for 2025/2026 are in Pentrebach, Blaendowlais, and Edward Street in Pant, all with a budget of £100,000. Capital funding of £518,000 has been allocated to the programme for this financial year. The report says that playground provision is a non-statutory service and as such is often seen as a low priority especially when local authorities have to make difficult choices on where to spend the available funds. It says a lack of investment in some non-statutory services has resulted in no capital outlay for children’s play areas for a number of years prior to the current renewal programme. The council currently manages 51 fixed play areas throughout the county borough and many of these facilities are coming to the end of their useful life and are in need of refurbishment. The report says: “The council recognises the importance of play for the health and wellbeing of children and young people and for physical, social, mental, and emotional aspects of life.” In August 2021 the council set aside capital funding to allow a refurbishment programme over five years and as of September 2025, 19 sites have been refurbished through the programme.
