Over £12,000 spent on Ludlow's play parks
More than £12,000 has been spent on bringing Ludlow's play parks up to scratch – with at least one of them having been saved from closure.
Work has been completed on five play areas around Ludlow after a push by Shropshire Council over Christmas and New Year to carry out much-needed improvements.
In some the project has meant new equipment, flooring or a lick of paint, but in one it meant draining and re-surfacing the site so children could play on the previously waterlogged surface again.
Vivienne Parry, Shropshire councillor for Ludlow South, said she was overjoyed at the long-awaited improvements.
She said: "We thought we were going to lose the Normandie Close play area. Every time it rained it just got flooded out.
"But not now – they've filled it in and grassed it over.
"There are just swings there at the moment, but there may be more work, we are just waiting for it to settle."
She said the drainage works cost £2,000, but the most work had been done at the Friars Field play area, which cost £7,700.
"They have not just put in a new slide and climber, they've put new flooring under everything and we've got swings in there – I'm very pleased," she said.
And, Councillor Parry said, there was more to come.
"I am looking at Fishmore Road too, that needs work," she said.
"The equipment has been painted and it's fine, but it needs new flooring under the equipment."
Other improvements have been carried out at Tolgate Road, with new safety surfacing and painted play equipment costing £2,300, and at Dahn Drive, with the removal of broken equipment and replacement of a damaged litter bin, along with repairs to safety surfacing and fencing, which cost £500.
At Fishmore Road so far equipment has been repainted and a trip hazard dealt with by council officers and probation service workers.
A wildflower area is also proposed for the site, as well as at Parry's Road.
Steve Charmley, Shropshire Council cabinet member for culture, said: "Shropshire Council recognises the vital importance of play areas which bring both health, social and physical benefits to children and young people.
"By investing in our play areas, we are demonstrating our commitment to outdoor recreational spaces by protecting them for the enjoyment of our local communities and future generations to come."
