LOCAL councillors are to be given a say in which playparks will get the axe and which will remain.

In May 2018, the council agreed plans to consult on the possible closure of 74 small playparks it says are underused and falling into disrepair.

Instead, the council is in the process of spending £5m over the next decade on six large playparks, three skateparks and four fitness shelters.

However, the plans have been met with a fierce backlash by some communities, with residents voicing concerns over closing smaller, more local playparks which they say are better suited for younger children.

Following two successful petitions, organised by residents from Hawick and Kelso, council officers have put forward a paper to Thursday’s full council meeting that asks for approval to meet with the representatives of each local authority ward and go through the closure plans.

The feedback gathered from these meetings will then be fed back to Martin Joyce, the council’s service director for assets and infrastructure, who will in turn brief the full council, which will determine a way forward.

The report, authored by chief roads officer Jason Hedley, says that councillors from each political group met on November 5 to discuss the petitions, and decided on a way forward.

It reads: “The members sounding board, comprising members of the political groups, met to consider the outcome of the audit and scrutiny committee meeting.

“The aim of that meeting was to allow members to have an informal discussion to see how the matter could be taken forward.

“Members considered various aspects of the issues surrounding play parks: the terminology used during the area partnership presentations was not correct; the criteria used for assessing play parks including the national system establishing play value was not well understood; the greater number of play parks in the Borders due to its rural nature; the lack of adequate consultation, including with community councils; the greater use of local knowledge to establish the most suitable play parks in which to retain equipment; the impact on the current play park inspector and the number of play parks requiring inspection which had increased exponentially; what future play park investment could look like."

The report says the political sounding board group then set out the next steps in the ongoing playpark debacle.

Firstly, officers will compile detailed maps for all 11 wards, showing all the existing play parks and highlighting those where it was proposed to remove equipment. The maps will also detail the criteria used to assess the parks, the cost of inspection and maintenance of equipment, and the travel distance between parks.

Secondly, officers will then set up meetings on a ward by ward basis with elected members where they can talk members through the proposals.

At these meetings, members will be asked to agree which play parks they would support the removal of and which play parks they would prefer to see maintained, including where future investment should be aimed.

There will be no option of retaining equipment in all play parks.

Scottish Borders Council is set to meet on Thursday to deliberate on the proposals.