First, the facts - no decision has been made to close any play areas in Oxford.

And I, for one, will be working to make sure all well-used play areas survive and thrive.

There is no doubt there has been chronic underfunding of play areas in the city over many years. This is part of the legacy of Labour mismanagement we are facing. In this situation, it was quite proper for officers to review the state of our play areas, as they did in 2006.

But the report they produced last year received a rough ride - rightly, in my view.

The recommendations to close 16 of the 97 play areas were not - repeat, not - accepted and more consultation was demanded. We await the new report.

To read some of the stories and listen to some of the Labour councillors, you would imagine the battle was lost, but nothing could be further from the truth.

The decisions are yet to be made and when they are, we, in the Lib Dems, are determined that they should be made not by people sitting in the Town Hall but in the local communities.

Local people know best the situation in their area.

That much is proven by the stories in your papers. With the support and engagement of local people, I hope that play areas can look to a future brighter than the past.

DAVID RUNDLE (Councillor), Deputy Leader, Oxford City Council