QUEENSTOWN's council's under fire for plans — since suspended — to permanently close the popular lakeside St Omer playground following a safety audit, because its safety surfacing needs to be replaced. Council's also said it's one of the oldest in the network, was close to others and had a "relatively low level of use", prompting a massive backlash from locals. While it's now temporarily closed, for safety reasons, City Hall's decided to pause the removal of play equipment while it considers long-term options