Date: 11/01/2008
High Peak's children are to benefit from a £200,000 grant from the Big Lottery Fund, which will deliver a variety of improvements to play facilities throughout the Borough.
The award follows the development of the Council's play strategy, 'Playtime in the Peak,' which identified priorities for improvement. It will build upon the £435,000 modernisation of play areas across the borough carried out over the past 2 years at: Manor Park, Shirebrook, Gamesley and Whitfield in Glossop, Temple Street and Bankswood in Hadfield, and Ashwood Park and Green Lane Buxton.
The Big Lottery describes High Peak Borough Council's play strategy as: "A development to deliver high quality play facilities through a portfolio which includes 11 specific sites that have been identified as having little play opportunities in the rural environment that exists over most of the High Peak borough. The projects will provide an accessible service to all children and help to assist in tackling anti-social behaviour."
The sites earmarked for improvement include: Furness Vale, Harpur Hill, Brown Edge Road and Ashwood Park in Buxton, Newshaw Lane and Banskwood Park in Hadfield and a number of sites in Parishes right across the Borough.
The first improvements will be in Furness Vale, where the community are going to be consulted about the needs of children in the area this month. Residents will receive information about the consultation before the end of January.
Councillor Andrew Bingham, High Peak Borough Council's Executive Member for Social and Community Development, said: "This is great news. We have already spent a lot on modernising play areas across the High Peak; this extra £200,000 will enable us to do even more. Credit is due to Officers and Members who have worked on this for some time. The result will be more improvements in facilities for young people from all parts of the Borough. External grants like this allow us to do more for the people of the High Peak than our own budgets will allow, and the Council has a good record in securing such funding."
For further information please contact Sally Curley on 0845 129 77 77 / 01298 28400 extension 2205. Or email: sallyc@highpeak.gov.uk.
(L to R): Councillor Andrew Bingham, Councillor John Pritchard and Councillor Tony Bingham.