A Dublin toddlers’ playground which was built last year at a cost of almost €100,000 has been demolished following complaints from residents.

A Dublin toddlers’ playground which was built last year at a cost of almost €100,000 has been demolished following complaints from residents.

The playground in Marlay Park, Rathfarnham, is to be replaced as part of a €10 million scheme by Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council. Senior parks superintendent Les Moore said: ‘‘there were some complaints about anti-social gatherings at the playground in the evenings and we tried to address the problem. We decided that the best solution was to relocate and redesign the playground.”

The council plans to relocate the toddlers’ playground and build a state of-the-art adventure playground on the other side of the park.

Moore said there was a problem with youths and ‘drinking dens’ in the park, and the council was examining security issues. One option was to leave the park open all the time.

‘‘We have only two or three parks in the county council area which close at night time,” he said.

Circuit Court judge Terry O’Sullivan, whose property, Marley Grove House, is on the boundary of the park, said there were obvious problems with the park being left open all night.

‘‘I would have my concerns about that,” he said. ‘‘The park was patrolled until about five or six years ago, but they took that away. Now there is a problem with youngsters coming into the park and drinking there.”

The parks department’s ‘‘masterplan’’ for Marlay Park is to be presented to councillors before the summer, and will then go on public display. The €10 million-plus scheme will include improvements to recreational and sports facilities. The council is currently redeveloping the park’s golf course at a cost of €1 million.

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