After six weeks of refurbishments works costing around £100,000 a Nottinghamshire play area has reopened. The Colwick Rectory Play Area has been improved and new facilities have been added, such as a wheelchair accessible roundabout.
There is also a zip wire, trampoline, a multi-play unit with 17 different features, and new swings at the site. Funding for the facilities were made by the FCC Communities Foundation, a not-for-profit business that awards grants for community, conservation and heritage projects from funds donated by waste and resource management company FCC Environment through the Landfill Communities Fund.
A total grant of £99,466 was provided by FCC Communities Foundation for the development. Cheryl Raynor, Grant Manager at FCC Communities Foundation, said: "We are delighted to have supported the council in bringing this project to fruition.
"This is an important facility for the local children, and we are pleased to see it open and available to use." Children from Netherfield Primary School and St John the Baptist Primary School in Colwick were able to help choose the new design and features of the play area.
The pupils took part in a consultation with the council to share their thoughts and give suggestions for what they wanted to see at the play area. The funding bid to FCC had been made jointly by Gedling Borough Council and Colwick Parish Council.
Leader of Gedling Borough Council, Councillor John Clarke, said: "I'm really pleased to see these improvements completed, the site has undergone an incredible transformation.
"The new facilities here, which were inspired by the creative ideas of local children, are an outstanding addition for our communities, providing an inclusive and accessible space for children to play and learn. I’d like to thank FCC Communities Foundation, Colwick Parish Council, and all those involved in making this project a success, I’m sure that local families and children will enjoy using these new facilities for many years to come."
Alison Nunn, Chair of Colwick Parish Council, said: "Colwick Parish Council is really pleased that with the funding from FCC Communities Foundation and the backing from Gedling Borough Council, that we have an incredible updated play facility. The children we worked with gave us some brilliant ideas, and they kept reminding us that the play area must be inclusive, we hope we have gone some way to achieving this.
"Play and imagination is a very large part of a child's development, and it is important that modern and engaging play areas are freely available for the local community, who also helped us in the bid process, to enjoy all year round.”
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