Castletown Town Commissioners have confirmed that the children’s play area at the Castletown Bowling Green will remain closed until refurbishment works and the installation of new play equipment have been fully completed.

Progress on the project was delayed following an internal review carried out in 2025, which identified that planning for the scheme had not advanced sufficiently. The local authority then publicly acknowledged these shortcomings in a statement released in July 2025.

The statement read: ‘Whilst it was the ambition of the new Board of Commissioners to have the new play equipment installed in a timely manner to enable the play area to re-open in time this summer season, it has become clear that this cannot be achieved.

‘Unfortunately, the plans for replacing the existing equipment have not adequately progressed to enable the installation of the new play equipment to be available for this summer season [in 2025].’

Further assessment of the project also found that the funding allocated within the 2025/2026 budget was inadequate to cover the full cost of the proposed installation and the associated ground works.

As a result, the project was unable to proceed as initially intended.

Despite these challenges, the Commissioners have continued to develop the scheme. Additional play equipment has now been ordered, including swings that will form part of the redeveloped play area.

To ensure the project can be delivered, the Commissioners have allocated additional funding within their 2026/2027 budget to meet the estimated costs of the works.

The funds required - based on a realistic estimate - for all the works to be completed was recently included within the announced 2026/2027 Castletown rates budget.

The Commissioners have also confirmed that professional services have now been appointed to progress the scheme to the next stage. This will allow tenders to be sought from contractors to carry out the refurbishment and installation works, which are expected to be issued in the near future.

In their latest statement regarding the play area, a spokesperson from the Commissioners commented: ‘We are extremely disappointed that we have not been able to progress the project as quickly as we had hoped and apologise to residents, parents and especially the children, that the play area will have to remain closed longer than anticipated.

‘The Commissioners wish to ensure that the new play equipment is installed to meet the rigorous standards required and, to comply with best practice in respect of Health and Safety, and accessibility.

‘We can confirm that this project continues to be a top priority scheme.’

While no firm reopening date has been confirmed, the Commissioners stated that work is ongoing to complete the refurbishment as soon as possible, with the intention of reopening the play area during the coming summer.

In the meantime, the Commissioners noted that Castletown’s main children’s play area at Poulsom Park has undergone refurbishment work and remains open for use.