£1m of improvements for our country parks
Druridge Bay Country Park is set to get the lion’s share of the total investment – £567,000 of the £997,000, with £180,000 for Bolam Lake Country Park, Morpeth, and £100,000 for Plessey Woods, Bedlington.
There is also £150,000 earmarked for other sites including Tyne Riverside and Tyne Green country parks.
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Hide AdAs previously reported, at Druridge Bay, the county council is proposing to replace the old play equipment with a high-quality installation, extend and improve the café and outdoor seating area and introduce a new facility, in keeping with the park, to meet the rising demand for camping and touring caravan facilities along this section of the coast.
A report to Tuesday’s meeting of the decision-making cabinet explained that ‘the borrowing costs associated with this investment would be around £69,500 per annum and it is proposed that parking charges are re-introduced at Druridge Bay, Plessey Woods and Bolam Lake to cover the additional cost’.
Up until April 2015, the council levied a parking fee at these three sites. In the final year of charging, the council raised approximately £115,000 at the three parks.
Prior to the removal, there had been no increase in the parking charge since 2009 when the charge went up to £1.40 for up to two hours and £2.80 for the whole day.
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Hide AdThe charges for 2018/19, also signed off on Tuesday, would include free parking for up to one hour. All-day parking would cost £3, while up to two hours would be £1.60.
Season permits valid in all three parks would be £35, while the charges would be £6 for minibuses/horse boxes and £10 for coaches.
The report to councillors adds: ‘The forecast income from the reintroduction of charges is £120,000 per annum, which would cover the costs associated with the proposed capital investment as well as provide recurrent revenue savings of around £50,000 per annum’.
The proposals still need to go before the full council for final approval.