A group of parish councillors and villagers in Clenchwarton have been working hard to secure funding for the project and have got ÂŁ116,000 from the borough council, ÂŁ77,870 from the FCC Communities Foundation and ÂŁ27,329 from the developers of the Laurel Farm development in the village.
They have also had lots of responses to a villager survey about the project with 96 per cent saying it needed upgrading and 82 per cent feeling more equipment would encourage greater use of the site.
Tenders are now going out to companies to get design ideas for the site.
The Chairman of the working group and Parish Councillor Steve Bearshaw said: “We have been working really hard behind the scenes over the last year to secure funding for the project and we are thrilled that we have been able to secure enough funding to renovate the area. It will provide a real boost to the young residents of the village. We are excited to be able to move forward to the next stage and invite specialist play area companies to tender for the project. Our aim is to have the renovation completed by the end of the year and we will be keeping the community updated at each stage of the project as we progress.’
Meanwhile, the working group would be interested to hear from any young people and members of the community who would like to help assess the designs of the proposals when tenders are returned from companies in February. If anyone would like to get involved, please contact Steve Bearshaw via email at Cllr.S.Bearshaw@gmail.com.