A village has received nearly £40,000 to help transform a children’s playground.
Willaston Residents’ and Countryside Society has worked hard for more than a year on ideas to improve the playground on the Johnston Recreation Ground.
Consultations have been carried out with people in the village, particularly parents with younger children.
The results gave a ‘clear indication’ of the sort of improvements that people would like to see and thanks to a £37,280 grant from WREN (Waste Recycling Environmental Ltd) plans are now underway to give the area a complete makeover.
Improvements will include an all-weather entrance, new fencing and a pathway around the playground to make it more accessible for pushchairs and wheelchairs. A mounding and a tunnel feature for a slide, new swings, junior goal post and more seating for adults and children is also planned.
Organisers have decided to carry out the improvements in two stages as the total cost is over £92,000. The first stage will cost £55,854.
Other fundraising has brought in major grants of £3,000 from Willaston and Thornton ward borough councillor Myles Hogg (Con) from his member budget, £5,000 fron an anonymous donor and £10,313 from the borough council’s rural funding - along with many smaller sums.
The society says it is ‘delighted’ to have received the grant.
Spokesperson Sarah Shannon said: “Willaston is a lovely village to live in but our playground is currently a disgrace. It is run down and unattractive to children.
“We are working hard to raise enough money to make our dream of a fit for purpose playground that can be enjoyed by children of all ages come true.
“In total we have raised £60,000 so far. It will take time to complete paperwork and appoint the contractors to do the work but we should see some activity in the next few months.
“We will continue to raise funds to support the plans for stage two.”
Other new features will include a new roundabout, a large climbing structure and a small area for football.
