A PLAYGROUND in Sunnymead Park could be expanded to meet increasing demand.

Parents say the area has become crowded in the mornings and afternoons since the capacity of Cutteslowe Primary School across the street went up last September.

Oxford City Council, which maintains the park, has now agreed to investigate whether it could make the playground bigger next year.

Mum-of-four Mandy Brain, whose two daughters Kerry, seven, and Chloe, q0, go to the primary school, said: “It is a great park but it is not really big enough.

“It only has three benches, but on a nice afternoon after school you might see about 30 parents there.

“A lot of people use it as a picnic spot and it has always been popular as it is so near to the school.

“But it is now getting so packed that you can’t really move.”

Mrs Brain, 46, said the fence boundaries of the park should be expanded into the grassy area currently next to it, to create more picnic spots for families.

Allie Noel, manager of Cutteslowe Community Centre, which is also next to the park, added: “It is always bursting at the end of the school day and that is mainly because it is so well-placed.”

She added that the playground has seen increased use since Cutteslowe Primary School underwent an expansion last year.

The school saw £2.5m of improvements, funded by Oxfordshire County Council and the Department for Education, with its capacity more than doubled from about 250 to 520 pupils.

Jean Fooks, Liberal Democrat city councillor for the Summertown ward that includes Cutteslowe, called on the Labour-run city council to look at schemes to expand the park at a meeting of senior councillors earlier this month.

Like Barton, Blackbird Leys and Northfield Brook, the city council has identified Cutteslowe as an area identified for regeneration. Responding to Mrs Fooks’ request at the meeting, council leader Bob Price instructed officers to look into what could be done at the park.

He told the Oxford Mail: “We did a revamp of our parks between 2008 and 2011 but we are now finding that some are not adequate in size and position, and clearly in Sunnymead Park there is a real need to think about expansion.

“We will be looking at whether it can be included in next year’s capital programme.”

Mrs Fooks added: “There aren’t enough places to sit and not enough play equipment, especially after school when all the mums and their children are there, but it is a very nice playground.

“A lot of people are asking for these improvements so it would be brilliant if we can get them.”