One of my happiest and proudest days as a councillor was seeing Roke Open Space finally opened by Mayor Jason Perry, surrounded by councillors, the Cabinet Member for Streets and Environment, Council officers and representatives from Kompan (who make the play equipment), local residents associations, and most importantly the residents of the Roke community.
I was especially grateful to local resident, Rachel who initially got in touch with me, leading to a joint campaign from the Purley & Woodcote and Kenley councillors. My sincere thanks to her for pushing me on this.
We are especially grateful to Mayor Perry and Cabinet Member, Cllr Scott Roche for their support and to officers for agreeing to my proposal and installing the play equipment relatively quickly.
We're also thankful to the Purley & Woodcote (PWRA) and Kenley Residents Associations (KENDRA) for their contribution of the slide.
After years of being derelict (I checked on Google Street View and it was this way in 2008), the play space is now welcoming and inviting with a great array of equipment. Residents told me that so many kids are out every day and the space is also a venue for families to socialise, whilst their children are playing.
Cllr Gayle Gander and I also worked together closely with Council officers and Kompan to get the space reconfigured to allow ample space for football and other ball games to encouraging older kids to still enjoy the space.
This was a brilliant and memorable day for the Roke community, and we hope they will be able to enjoy this space for many years to come.
Cllr Samir Dwesar
