Children have resorted to climbed over fences to use a play area which may not open before the end of the school holidays.

Stotfold Town Council has received numerous complaints from people who want to use the play area in the Trinity Manor Park housing estate in the town.

The facilities were built by Persimmon Homes as part of an agreement with Central Bedfordshire Council to fund community projects in the estate – which was built by the housing developer.

Michelle Robertson, a mother-of-two who lives on the estate, said: “It’s ridiculous and I’m incredibly frustrated about the whole thing.

“Everything looked like it was finished at Easter and has just sat there since. Now we’re being told that it’s going to take another six weeks to complete which means the children won’t get to use it for the whole summer.

“I’ve seen kids climb over the fences and go in via the brook at the back to play on the equipment which isn’t safe.

“It just isn’t good enough. They are supposed to provide us with the facilities as part of the agreement to build the estate and they haven’t done what they promised. It looks like a fantastic play are but something needs to be done so it can be used.”

Andrew Davie, interim assistant director for planning at CBC, said: “There are some further works to be completed on site before the playground can be opened – Persimmon estimate these will take between four and six weeks.

“We understand that residents are keen to use the playground and we want to reassure them that both us and Persimmon will be working hard to get it opened as soon as possible.”

A spokesman for Persimmon Homes said: “The opening of the play area has unfortunately had to be delayed due to work required within Pix Brook, which runs alongside the play area site. The remediation work on the brook requires the use of some heavy machinery which would not be appropriate to navigate the site or operate whilst the park is in use. We are hoping to complete the works within a few weeks enabling us to open the park for use by the local community.”