A petition calling for a safety fence around a Paisley play park has been referred to council officers for further investigation.
Renfrewshire Council’s Petitions Board considered the request at its meeting on Monday 31st August 2026.
The petition was submitted by the Green Road Morar Drive Kids Safety Alliance and contained 107 signatures.
It calls for a fence around the Morar Drive play area at Green Road due to concerns about the adjoining car park, learner drivers, dogs being allowed off their leads and drainage.
It also asks the council to ensure that the separate fenced toddler play area is not downgraded or deprived of funding, maintenance or equipment if a fence is installed around the main play area.
Jo Connolly-Brown presented the petition to the board.
She questioned why a pre-installation risk assessment had not been carried out before the renewed play area opened.
Ms Connolly-Brown said: “Does the council truly believe that a toddler sees a path as a barrier? Toddlers do not recognise barriers, toddlers do not understand risk and toddlers do not interpret a path as a stop sign.”
She told councillors that Ward 7 representatives had raised concerns after the park was installed and met council officers on 9th June 2026.
Ms Connolly-Brown also said Foxbar Community Council, local nurseries and families had raised concerns about the park.
She questioned why the results of a council consultation launched on 16th June would not be released until the end of January 2027.
Ms Connolly-Brown said: “Usually, results are published between four and 12 weeks after the survey, but June’s consultation will not be released until the end of January 2027. Why the six-month delay?”
She also claimed the June survey told residents that installing a fence around the main play area would mean the toddler park would not receive a full refurbishment, despite refurbishment being approved on 27th May 2026.
Ms Connolly-Brown claimed Audit Scotland had shared the group’s concerns with Renfrewshire Council’s independent external auditors and that the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman was investigating alleged procedural failures.
Council officers said a road safety assessment carried out in July 2022 concluded that a fence or barrier was not required.
They said the play area meets recognised industry standards and no evidence had been found to suggest it presented an unmanaged or unacceptable safety risk.
The council said neither of the relevant British standards for children’s play areas requires parks to be enclosed by fencing.
Officers also said fencing could restrict access, create bottlenecks and cause maintenance problems.
The board was told that Renfrewshire has 85 children’s play areas, with roughly half fenced and half unfenced.
An officer said play areas immediately beside roads were more likely to be fenced. The planned new play area at Braehead Road in Glenburn will have a fence because road incidents have been reported in the area.
The council said it had not tested standing water near the Morar Drive play area. Officers had spoken to environmental health staff and would consider whether drainage improvements could be made.
The council previously received a report concerning dogs in the play area on 19th March 2026. A damaged zip-slide seat was removed and later replaced.
Police Scotland attended the incident but concluded that the dogs were playing, had not been out of control and that no crime had taken place.
Ms Connolly-Brown disputed that account during the meeting and maintained that the incident had presented a danger.
She also told councillors that the renewed play area had been moved closer to the car park.
She said: “The previous park was further into the actual park itself. When it was renewed, it was moved directly next to the car park.
“Between the play park and the car park, which is busy and extremely active with learner drivers, is five feet away. Five feet.”
Council officers said most complaints and correspondence about fencing, additional paths and drainage had come directly from Ms Connolly-Brown. However, they acknowledged that the petition demonstrated wider support for a fence.
Councillor Ben Smith said he was familiar with the park and was not convinced there was a clear case for change.
He also questioned whether fencing would deal with concerns about dogs, saying the complaints he received were about owners using enclosed play areas to let dogs off their leads.
Councillor Stephen Burns proposed referring the petition to the relevant council service for further investigation.
Councillor Lisa-Marie Hughes supported the proposal. She said the request should be considered alongside other potential future investment without the board making a specific decision on whether a fence should be installed.
Councillor Burns told Ms Connolly-Brown: “I think that my colleagues have agreed that we will refer it back to the director.”
The board did not decide whether a fence should be installed.
Councillor Burns also promised to speak to officers about additional warden patrols relating to dog fouling and dogs being allowed out of control.