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Still no splashing for Ruislip Lido visitors
A POPULAR beach-side children's play area was closed off for the second successive bank holiday weekend because of an electrical fault.
Ruislip Lido's 'splash pad' continued to be out of action during an extremely busy holiday period that left children and parents alike high and dry.
Hillingdon Council said it had failed to repair the damage caused to underground cabling when new toilet facilities were installed in January.
Thousands of visitors descended on the lido over the Easter and May Day bank holiday weekends. But swimming is forbidden there and the splash pad is a popular place to cool off on the beach.
Last week, the council apologised for being forced to close the water facility. It has been unable to solve the problem since.
David Seaman, a member of Friends of Ruislip Lido who was closely involved in the splash pad's installation two years ago, said the council declined to pay for a twice-yearly service of the facility by its contractors, before and after the summer season.
"It is like getting a car serviced, you do it before the thing falls apart," he told the Gazette. "They had the chance to take this up. It could have pre-empted this problem. It infuriates me."
Friends chairman Vicky Brownlee said the problem could have been avoided had the council continued to employ a full-time lido ranger.
The job is now shared among staff on the green spaces team, but no one is permanently based at the recreation site.
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