Campaigners will urge the council to reverse plans to close a playground in Palmer Park on Tuesday evening.

Reading Borough Council (RBC) are proposing to close the London Road side East Reading Adventure Playground Association (ERAPA) play area due to budget concerns.

A petition with over 1,200 supporters will be handed in to RBC at a meeting of the Full Council on Tuesday, March 26, at 6.30pm.

Cllr Josh Williams, who set up the petition, said: “Another huge thank you to everyone who has supported this petition.

“It is a public meeting so please come along and show your support for ERAPA and all kids playing together in Palmer Park.

“The lead petitioner will be a local mum from Cemetery Junction and a pupil from Newtown Primary School. Come along and give them your support.

“However the council responds, thank you for coming together as a community.”

ERAPA is one of two play areas in Palmer Park, with the council preferring to pool its funding into the Wokingham Road side facility.

The council believes the cost of maintaining separate areas in the park is not sustainable due to a ‘significant’ reduction in funding for play facility maintenance from 2018/19.

ERAPA was originally responsible for purchasing and installing the equipment.

When the group closed, RBC agreed to take responsibility for the site but said it would remove items as they failed.

The petition, created in late January by the Green Party’s Cllr Williams, calls for for the council to replace the equipment when it is no longer usable.

The entire site would be need to be replaced and a new playground built, as the American company that provided the play equipment no longer exists and the equipment it provided do not comply with EU safety standards.

Since the petition was set up, the council has announced plans for a £2.7 million investment in parks and play improvements across Reading over the next three years, including enhancements to make playgrounds more accessible.

Palmer Park and Prospect Park are priorities for play area improvements.

Councillor Sarah Hacker, lead member for Culture, Heritage and Recreation, said the council wants to provide accessible equipment in ‘as many of our playgrounds as possible so that children of all abilities can play together’.