The Look Out will reduce its 'stay and play' fee after outrage from residents forced the council to look again at the controversial new trial charge. 

Bracknell Forest Council (BFC) will ask for a £5 fee to use the Swinley Forest site's play-area from Saturday, August 22 instead of the £10 fee previously required. 

The reduction comes after scores of complaints from residents and the wider community about the fee. 

A children's charity accused the council of 'social cleansing' after claiming the charge will mean youngsters from poorer families are excluded from using the site. 

READ MORE: What does The Look Out's new fee include?

But now BFC says it has listened to the feedback from parents and decided to reduce the fee as well as deciding to admit disabled children free of charge. 

Cllr John Harrison, Executive Member for Culture, Delivery and Public Protection, said: "It’s really important for us to listen to the community’s feedback when we trial new systems and we have taken people’s views on the £10 coffee shop cash-back part of this trial into account – halving it to £5.

“We understand that some people felt the £10 was too much, despite it being a cash-back system, it will, therefore, be reduced to £5 from Saturday.

"This is around the same cost as two coffees or a coffee, small soft drink and small snack – which we felt was more reasonable and in line with people’s comments about how much they may spend on refreshments during their 90-minute stay and play session.

READ MORE: Why residents have spoken out against this new playground charge

"Those wishing to use the play area must book a space in advance. The booking guarantees you a 90-minute visit to the play area, a reserved parking space, allocated picnic bench and £5 coffee shop credit for light refreshments during your visit.

"Car parking fees apply as normal. By using this approach, we can prevent overcrowding and ensure that people will turn up for their session and not leave space that could have been booked by others.

“Providing these facilities comes at a cost, to cover their initial set up and the staff time to run them, which is why we’ve introduced a coffee shop credit as part of the stay and play package.

"Money spent in the coffee shop will be used to help run and maintain The Look Out – including staff costs.

“We’re running the stay and play sessions on a trial basis and encourage anyone who visits during the pandemic to take extra precautions, by maintaining social distancing and regularly sanitising their hands.

“All indoor facilities, including the toilets, remain closed to the public while we explore options for their safe re-opening.”

Each booking for The Look Out's play-area will include:

  • A dedicated 90-minute play session at the playground for up to six people
  • A reserved / socially distanced picnic bench
  • A reserved parking space (parking charges apply)
  • A £5 credit for use in the coffee shop.

A number of complaints had also come in for the booking system used by BFC, which added an additional booking charge to the playground cost. 

The council has also confirmed it is looking into using a new system that does not carry a booking fee. 

At the start of the week BFC insisted the trial scheme would stay in place despite residents' complaints. 

The fee was introduced to ensure social distancing between families could be enforced.

Despite the fallout, BFC said more than 200 bookings had been made since the trail began on Monday, August 17, meaning around 500 children and adults had been able to use the site. 

The new £5 fee will apply from Saturday, August 22 and anyone who has booked a stay and play session post-Saturday will be contacted by The Look Out directly.