Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Communities Committee will convene on Tuesday 5 September at 10.30am, and one of the reports they will be asked to approve will detail how up to £500,000 of Inclusive Play Parks money is set to be spent.
Agreed in late February at a meeting of Full Council, the £500k investment will allow for three established play parks, and councillors will be asked to approve the sites for the bulk of the spend at the meeting next week.
The sites that are being recommended for approval are;
• Stair Park, Stranraer
• Catherine Street Park, Dumfries
• Newington Leisure Centre (Weyroc), Annan
There has been considerable consultation carried out throughout the summer in relation to getting the public’s feedback on where they’d like to see the money spent. Over 900 responses were received through the online and hard copy survey, and a further 93 individuals took part in focus groups over the region. There was also considerable feedback received via Council social media channels during Love Parks Week in July.
Communities Chairman Andy Ferguson said of the report;
“The comments and ideas given on the public forums and in the surveys and focus groups provided our Council with a clear indication of what the public wanted, and how they wanted the £500k spent. We are committed as an administration to providing inclusive play parks within the region, and we’ll now work with organisations involved with each of the 3 recommended parks to take proposals forward.”
More accessible parking, toilet upgrades and changing areas are just some of the ways that our Council is planning to upgrade the facilities. Access via footpaths will also be improved, as well as the equipment being reviewed, renewed and re-jigged to ensure we have a fully accessible play park in each of the region’s largest three towns.
Council officials will work with community organisations in each of the towns who have expressed an interest in working with the Council to upgrade the parks. Sound project management arrangements will be put in place, and regular reports of progress will be taken to the Communities committee in due course.
Vice Chairman of the committee, Councillor John Martin said;
“This is a significant report that fellow members and I are receiving next week. It gives good detail on how we’ll spend the allocated money and how we’ll continue to deliver on our commitment of providing accessible play parks as well as working with communities across the region.”
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