THE MS for Vale of Clwyd has set up a petition for Rhyl residents to express their support for having a good-quality play area in the town for children to continue playing in.

Gareth Davies has called on Denbighshire County Council to find a new site immediately, after the Drift Park seafront play area was demolished last week to make way for an access road.

This is to assist in the coastal defence works in Rhyl, which are due to be completed by late 2025.

The council closed the Drift Park play area in West Rhyl with a promise of a replacement once the work is finished.

But Mr Davies is concerned that this will leave children without a play area at a vital time for their social and personal development.

You can view his petition by visiting: www.garethdavies.wales/campaigns/rebuild-drift-park-play-area.

He said: ''Our kids need face-to-face interactions to make new friends and learn social skills that are important throughout their lives.

“I am worried that children in Rhyl will suffer because of a lack of unique playing facilities in the area and become further dependent on indirect methods of communication such as too much social media and online games to make friends.

''We all want Rhyl to be prepared for the risk of flooding, but it does not have to cost our children their social lives and their own spaces to have fun.

“Other towns in Wales have both and it is unfair Rhyl is unable to.

“Therefore, I have launched a petition to allow residents to tell Denbighshire County Council that kids need a play area and how its removal has affected them and their families.''

A Denbighshire County Council spokesperson said: “Closing the play area was necessary as the construction work on the Central Rhyl Coastal Defence Scheme is too close to the park to be able to keep it open safely.

“It is also required to allow for construction access to the promenade from the road to undertake the works.

“No other suitable locations for site access were available due to the built-up nature of the western section.

“Alternative sites for relocating the play area were evaluated, but unfortunately, it was not possible to identify an appropriate site nearby.

“The closure of the park is necessary in order to deliver this vital scheme to protect the town, businesses and homes from the risk of coastal flooding.

“A replacement children’s play area, with new play equipment, will be reinstated on the existing site at the end of the construction stage.”