Park-goers in Chesterfield are being asked for their help to find vandals who have damaged furniture and public toilets in Holmebrook Valley Park – forcing the closure of the toilet facilities whilst repairs are undertaken.
The incident, that took place on the evening of Thursday 23 June, has also seen extensive areas of the park coved in broken glass and litter. The pavilion also appears to have been broken in to with the fire alarm being activated by vandals and the fire extinguisher being discharged.
Chesterfield Borough Council is now working with Derbyshire Constabulary to identify those responsible for the vandalism and is appealing for visitors to the park to come forward if they have any further information.
The toilets at Holmebrook Valley Park will be closed over the weekend whilst works are carried out.
Shaun Morley, Chesterfield Borough Council’s head of community safety and regulatory services, said: “The vast majority of people enjoy our parks responsibly, but unfortunately a small minority act in a reckless way, which will impact on other people being able to use our parks and facilities – as well as costing public money to repair the damage.
“Our dedicated team spend a considerable amount of time and effort maintaining our parks so that they can be used by our communities. As a result of this incident, we will now have to bring in additional staff and resources to deal with this and it takes staff away from works that need attending to elsewhere.
“If you have any information about who damaged these toilets, please get in touch as soon as possible so they can be held accountable for their actions.”
Derbyshire Constabulary has put a dispersal order in place for the park, which means groups of people will not be able to congregate in the park and they will be dispersed if they do so. Additional presence from both the police and council enforcement staff will be in place over the weekend.
Anyone who has any information about the damage should report it as soon as possible by speaking to a member of staff in the park or emailing greenspaces@chesterfield.gov.uk or calling 01246 345345.
