Funding awarded for village play-park bid

The facility is earmarked for the Riverside area of the village and the aim is to cater for all ages, from slides to fitness equipment.

In what is a major step forward for the scheme, Northumberland County Council has agreed to give the project £80,000.

Rothbury parish and county councillor Steven Bridgett said: “I am really pleased to announce that the new play park in Rothbury is taking a positive step in the right direction with this funding from the county council. It is a huge leap forward for us.”

On top of this, the parish council is putting £20,000 towards the scheme, while cash from a s106 agreements will also help fund the project. But there is still some way to go.

Coun Bridgett said: “We still need to raise about £40,000. We are going to approach a number of foundations and trusts that give grants for sports and recreational facilities.

“We hope to be able to start work on the new play park this year, if we can secure the remaining funding. The county council has also kindly agreed to project manage the delivery of the project and we are keen to utilise local contractors where possible for things like the groundworks and fencing.”

“It will be a fantastic facility once it is completed and it will hopefully be a play park that will cater for all ages, with a toddlers’ section, equipment for young children and a facility for teenagers.

“We also want to incorporate outdoor exercise equipment that can be used by older people as well, so mum and dad can do more than just sit and watch the children have all of the fun.

“The facility will be a marked improvement on what we have at the moment and the aim is to hopefully provide new public toilets to go alongside the park. The toilets will include mother and baby facilities in addition to being fully disability compliant.

“Our objective is to have both the new park and toilets positioned outside the current floodplain as the current ones are frequently prone to damage as a result of the Coquet bursting its bank.”