CHILDREN'S playgrounds across the Wokingham borough are set to be slowly reopened soon, following the government's latest announcement of lockdown rules.

The decision was made earlier this week by the Wokingham Borough Council that the council's localities team will assess each park, which started at 8am yesterday morning, before concluding when it will be safe to reopen them.

Out of the 99 playparks to be inspected, larger playparks are expected to be the first to reopen, followed by the smaller parks.

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Dinton Pastures play park and California Country Park are expected to open on July 7.

Cllr Parry Batth, executive member for environment and leisure, said: “We want our residents to come back to the play areas but, we want them to do so safely, which is why we are taking our time reopening each site.

"Our dedicated teams will be making individual assessments at each play area and implementing new safety procedures where necessary.

"We encourage parents and carers to follow the guidelines for staying safe in the parks to make sure they can be enjoyed by everyone.”

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The council has advised residents to ensure their children use the park safely, suggesting children avoid the play area if they have symptoms of coronavirus, they keep two metres apart at all times, hands are washed before and after entering the playground, any coughs or sneezes are caught in a tissue and disposed of safely, only one child on equipment at any time, only one parent or carer per child where possible, no food or drink to be consumed in the play area on equipment at any time, and limit each stay to 30 minutes at busy times.

The council has also said there will be daily updates on their news site on the list of playgrounds that are open.

For more information, visit wokingham.gov.uk/news/.