PART of a £800,000 play scheme in Oxford could be under threat three months after it opens because of a question mark over the funding of supervisors.

Play Barton is a community playground being built in partnership with Oxfordshire County Council and Oxford City Council on the estate.

The Government-funded facility, due to open in December, would have indoor and outdoor facilities spread over three sites, with supervised and unsupervised play areas.

The planned Play Hub – with kitchen, ‘chill-out’ space and art room – and Safe Play area – an adventure playground – require supervisors and will be built in Underhill Circus.

The larger, unsupervised Free Play Area, based around Bayswater Brook in Barton recreation ground, would be accessible to everyone at all times.

But Howie Watkins, county hall’s Play Pathfinder manager, revealed there was not enough money to fund the four play workers to man the supervised areas after March 31, 2011.

He said: “The Hub and the Safe Play areas are the only parts of the site that will require staffing in order to be open.

“The site will not close. The majority of the site will be open to the public at all times and will be fully accessible whether there are staff on site or not.”

He said both councils knew funding staff would be a problem, which was why they had opted to include an area which did not require supervisors.

“In the current economic climate, with pressure to cut government and local government spending, we have worked to plan a facility that will have the capacity to work on a number of levels – fully staffed, partially staffed or not staffed.

“Only by being flexible from the start can we guarantee that the facility will benefit and be usable by children and young people.”

To sustain staff levels, Mr Watkins said County Hall was working with Barton Community Association and other partners to form a charitable organisation to seek funding.

He said: “We are confident that funding will be secured to keep service levels at their initial levels.

“However, we have to be prepared for the risk that this might not be possible.”

On Saturday, youngsters had the chance to say what kind of play equipment they wanted and feedback on draft designs.

Mother-of-two Carole Laver, 28, of Ilsley Road, Barton, said: “We think it’s a really exciting scheme to be involved with, we are going to be in Barton for years to come and it will be nice to see something created we’ve been involved in. Barton will definitely benefit from it.”

Her daughter, Alisha, seven, said: “I would like monkey bars because I like to swing, and also a castle and a bridge.”

eallen@oxfordmail.co.uk