Newark and Sherwood District Council committing almost £350,000 to improve parks and play areas across the district
Communities across the district are set to benefit from an almost £350,000 investment to improve, extend and modernise park play areas.
This week Newark and Sherwood District Council approved plans to replace ageing play areas with new, imaginative pieces of equipment as well as making them as inclusive as possible for all abilities.
Play areas and parks provide a much needed and valuable service, which offer the opportunity for fresh air and exercise to the public and families.
Ten parks from across the district will undergo improvements, thanks to the investment.
These include:
- Sconce and Devon Park
- Grove Street Play Area in Newark
- Cleveland Square in Newark
- Lincoln Road Recreation Ground Play Area in Newark
- Mead Way Play Park in Balderton
- Turner Lane in Boughton
- Vicar Water County Park
- Thorpe Oaks Play Area in Coddington
- Hillcote Drive in Clipstone
- Old Tannery Drive in Lowdham
Leader of the council, David Lloyd, said: “These plans would not only be an investment into our parks and green spaces, but an investment into the health and wellbeing of our community.
"We’ve listened to your thoughts about the importance of these outdoor spaces, and we are committed to maintaining and improving these sites so they can be enjoyed to the fullest.
“Being able to enjoy outdoor spaces for free family-friendly fun, fitness and relaxation, especially as we start to move into the warmer months, is something we can all appreciate, and I look forward to hopefully seeing what we could achieve with this investment.”
The councils portfolio holder for Cleaner, Safer, Greener, Roger Jackson said: "This is a good news story for the council, we are investing in play areas and equipment for children to use and play with.
"We have as a council a lot of ageing playground equipment around the district, which after inspection were found to be in urgent need of attention and need to be made safe for people to use.
"There is no national standard for play equipment but we do have annual safety inspections, not only for our own play parks but for local parish play parks as well.
"It does show that in the future we need to have a fund or some kind of mechanism for the future maintenance of our play equipment."
Proposed park plans include a new castle themed play area at Sconce and Devon Park to tie in with the Newark’s Civil War history as well as the development of a new outdoor fitness area to compliment existing fitness and wellbeing activities, such as walking, park runs, or small personal training classes.
The park itself holds a Green Flag status, but the council believe that if play park were to become an attraction in its own right it would help draw more visitors to the district and in turn will help to support the area's hospitality and retailers.
Residents will be able to discuss and share their thoughts on the plans during a public consultation event, which will be held at Sconce and Devon Park during the Great British Spring Clean week from March 17 to April 2.
The developments will also support the district council’s ambition to be cleaner, safer and greener, with materials for the projects being sourced from recycled goods such as used textiles, food packaging waste and plastic bags.
This approach to sustainable sourcing of materials was recently used in the development of the community garden at Newark Library, in which a number of features were built using recycled materials including new bin stores and bug hotels made from fly-tipped wood.
