It's notonly the play area but the zoo paths have lines, footprints etc painted all over them, so that the children can play games. I do worry about the direction the zoo is going in.
And this is not the first play area development that's in the pipeline, other areas of the old zoo are also earmarked for "entertainment" once animals have moved. Also, consider the Fountain Lawns being used for a much bigger lion enclosure, or as a huge lemur walk-through as was intended when the flower beds were removed, they would be in the "spirit" of the zoo.
I'm sure the footpath thing is upsetting, but on the other hand it is an innovative use of 'unused' space. I imagine many people will get a great deal of enjoyment out of it and if done well it may encourage them to appreciate some parts of the zoo they might otherwise not.
From everything that's been reported on here in the last few months it seems that Chester is still improving its exhibits and on-show collection. If that happens alongside more playgrounds then that seems a reasonable trade-off to me.
