Mildenhall Road Estate in Bury St Edmunds is soon to gain a high-quality safe space for children and young people to play, thanks to a successful bid for a £50,000 Play Builder grant and £20,000 funding from St Edmundsbury Borough Council.
The high-fenced, hard court play space is targeted at children aged from eight to twelve years, but is also open to use by other ages. It will be free for children to come and go as they please, to socialise. It will give them somewhere to call their own and reduce damage caused by games played in inappropriate areas. The grant covers installation and the borough council will provide regular cleaning and maintenance. The new facility will also provide a venue for mobile play sessions which will be promoted by the council’s recently appointed Play Coordinator, Stephanie Edmans.
The space, which will open in March 2009, occupies a section of the public space between Shelley Road and Conway Road. It aims to provide a secure area for young people to enjoy physical activity and free play without causing any perceived ‘nuisance’ to local residents. It will be equipped with basketball hoops, five-a-side goals, high fences to keep balls in and markings for various team games.
Cllr Lynsey Alexander, St Edmundsbury Borough Council Cabinet member for Culture and Sport said,
“The idea for the play space came from young people living on the estate, who told us there was nowhere for them to go and nothing for them to do. Residents have given the scheme their full backing and the council has already given the project £20,000 and secured planning approval. I am delighted that this bid for funding was successful and that we can move quickly to install an amenity that should make a real contribution to the quality of life for residents.”
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Issued by Sally Easton, Communications Unit, St Edmundsbury Borough Council. Phone: 01284 757033 Email: sally.easton@stedsbc.gov.uk
