Dismay as York pub scraps children’s play area – after one complaint

An extensive children’s play area at a popular pub has been taken down, less than a year after it was installed.

The wooden play area was created in the large beer garden at the Black Horse, Wigginton, last May.

Costing thousands of pounds it featured climbing areas, swings and slides and was a popular feature with families.

But today the licensees revealed they had to remove all the equipment from the garden – following a single complaint from a neighbour, five months after it was installed.

And the news has brought a disappointed response from Wigginton residents, one saying: “That is such an incredible shame for the whole village!”

‘It cost us thousands’

The publicans, who didn’t want to be named on YorkMix, told us that they felt they had no choice but to remove the area after the complaint:

• The council said we have breached planning rules and advised us to apply for planning permission.

  But as we are leaving in the next few weeks thought it was best just to take it down.

  The brewery will not take it on without planning permission and will charge us to remove it if we leave it. It cost us thousands only six months ago.

‘An incredible shame’

The decision was greeted by dismay on social media. Comments left on the pub’s Facebook page included these.