Children don’t have long to wait until they can enjoy new trampolines, zip wires, swings and roundabouts at three new Sid Valley play parks.
A total of £130,000 is set to be spent on the play areas at Manstone, Stowford Rise and Furzehill, which are all set to undergo major revamps.
Work will soon begin to install the equipment which should be in place by March, if all goes to plan.
A total of £30,000 will be spent on the Manstone play park - £15,000 of which came from East Devon District Council (EDDC), £10,000 for the Keith Owen Fund (KOF) and £5,000 from Sidmouth Town Council (STC).
EDDC has also given £55,000 for the Stowford Rise park, at the end of Le Locle Close. The Furzehill play area will cost around £45,000 - £30,000 of this came from EDDC and £15,000 was donated by the KOF.
More than 150 youngsters had their say and helped pick the equipment which they wanted at the sites, thanks to a consultation held by EDDC. The children’s thoughts were then passed on to the council’s suppliers, who competed to provide the best designs across the three sites. An EDDC spokeswoman said a fantastic array of great quality designs were pitched before they selected Wicksteed Leisure Ltd to manufacture and build the new play areas.
The play equipment will be manufactured over the coming months, with work to install the new play areas expected to start in early 2019.
Town and district Councillor David Barratt said: “ I’m particularly delighted with the Sidbury play area as it’s a great example of how a resident can approach his ward member and get some action.”
Cllr Ian McKenzie-Edwards, STC’s chairman added: “This updating of play areas in the town is really great news for our youngsters. The contribution that the town council made to the Manstone site is part of a wider regeneration of that area of the town.”
The Chair of the Keith Owen Fund Committee said: “The Sid Vale Association is really happy to support these play area improvements through a grant from the Keith Owen Fund.
“The extra equipment will give many children in the Sid Valley even more chance to have fun, keep fit and enjoy being out and about in our wonderful surroundings.”
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