PLAYGROUNDS are once again under scutiny in the Hatch Warren area of Basingstoke as residents focus on the way ahead.

The community association is setting up its own public consultation in preparation for the borough council's ward-by-ward discussions with residents about the future of play areas.

Photographs have been taken of all the play areas in Hatch Warren and put together in a display for residents to comment on next week at the centre in Longcross Lane.

The aim is to find out which playgrounds are being used, those that are not, the type of usage the play area has and whether there is a need for a new and more central provision.

Hatch Warren Community Association centre manager Julia Roffey said: "We'll have a display up here and will canvass people so that when the council get round to Hatch Warren, we've got something to feed back to them in a positive way."

Last summer, work was halted on the borough's controversial programme to remove local play areas after residents complained they had not had their say.

By the time the work stopped, 59 play areas in the borough had been removed including several from the Hatch Warren area.

The display can be viewed from next Monday for two weeks, daily from 9am to 8pm.