AN Aberystwyth councillor is urging the town council to reopen play areas in the town, calling the prolonged closure “unfair” on children who have “been deprived of so much” through lockdown.

Cllr Alex Mangold said he had been approached by many parents and residents about the local playgrounds, which did not reopen despite restrictions being lifted by the Welsh Government on 20 July. Cllr Mangold said: “As a parent who had to endure four and a half months of lockdown, I can’t see any sense in keeping the playgrounds shut any longer.“I don’t think it’s fair on the children in Ceredigion to keep playgrounds shut any longer when they have already been deprived of so much in the last couple of months. “A number of counties in Wales have already opened playgrounds, and they have been open in England for a while now.”The park at Y Plas in Machynlleth is open. Netpool park in Cardigan is owned by Ceredigion council and will remain closed “for the time being”.­Cllr Mangold added: “There are no official guidelines that would prevent us from opening it. There is also no requirement to have additional cleaners or any other safety measures apart from hand hygiene and social distancing among adults in place, due to the low transmission rate in children.”In July, Aberystwyth Town Council announced that town-council-owned playgrounds would not be opening “for some time” due to a lack of resources to guarantee the safety of users. Cllr Mangold said he has contacted the town council to urge them to undertake maintenance checks that must be completed before the playgrounds can open. Mayor Charlie Kingsbury said “I completely understand the frustration people will feel at the continued closure of playgrounds. This is why I have formally made a request for Aberystwyth council to hold an emergency meeting to consider the phased reopening of playing spaces that it owns as a matter of urgency.“I would very much like for us to be in a position to begin opening them in line with public health guidelines as soon as practicable, and I hope council will agree to look into every possible measure within its resources to make this possible.“I have spoken to many residents concerning the matter, some of whom have been close to tears. We simply cannot overstate the impact on mental health that some restrictions pose.“Aberystwyth Town Council unanimously voted to delay opening the playgrounds last month, but it did so with the intention of reviewing the situation on a regular basis. "I believe it is time for us to assess the risks posed by each playground in line with Welsh Government’s guidelines and find a way to move forward. I hope Aberystwyth council will agree.”