A “stingy” London playground with a fenced-off drawbridge and a mushroom seat is a ‘sad indictment’, one frustrated resident has said.

Andy Millns slated the Greenwich play area, which he claimed had been closed off for years.

It contains only one broken drawbridge and a mushroom with a spring attached to it.

The play area is in the middle of the £225m redevelopment of East Greenwich by developers Hadley Property Group and Mace at the site of the former Greenwich District Hospital.

Developers built 686 new homes in the area along with a new leisure centre and a larger library.

This Is Local London: This play area bridge appears to be broken, with the bridge itself cordoned off behind metal railings (photo: Kiro Evans)This play area bridge appears to be broken, with the bridge itself cordoned off behind metal railings (photo: Kiro Evans)

But Andy, who has lived in East Greenwich for the last 20 years, has been left disatisfied by the play area that was added.

He said: “It saddens me that they would build such a stingy play area in the first place, let alone one that only lasted a couple of years before it rotted into an unusable state

"It reflects the lack of thought that has gone into the rest of the square, which was a missed opportunity to create a real community focal point.

“Even when it was fully functional, it was a sad indictment of how much we really care about children’s ability to socialise and get some exercise.”

Andy pointed to the Royal Greenwich Local Plan Core Strategy document, which says: “The Royal Borough will safeguard existing children’s play areas. In residential developments that include over 50 units of family housing, suitably equipped and well designed children’s play areas are required for different age groups.”

Andy added: “It’s now not anything at all, other than a slightly depressing eyesore.

"I have seen lots of examples of similarly pathetic play areas built in the area but this is by far the worst.

"It’s such a shame, because given its location, it would get well used as it’s a safe, pleasant place in an area lacking community spaces away from the traffic-hell of Trafalgar Road.”

Another resident who lived nearby did add that the play area was popular with children before it was cordoned off.

The woman, who did not want to be named, said: “Even though it’s such a tiny area, they still loved it. There were always kids playing on it.”

Greenwich Council has been contacted for comment.

Developers Mace and Hadley Property Group have also been contacted for comment.

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