A brand-new £175,000 play area at Strawberry Valley Park on Bent Lane in Leyland has officially opened to the public.

Local Councillors, and representatives from the Friends of Strawberry Valley Park group were on hand to help cut the ribbon while local school children from Leyland Methodist Junior School were on hand to make good use of the facilities.

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Jo Hindle-Taylor and Nicola Peet from the Strawberry Valley Friends group alongside their daughters, Isabel, Edie and Felicity cut the ribbon after working tirelessly to secure £30,000 from the Lancashire Environment Fund which went towards making the new play area a reality.

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Jo Hindle-Taylor, member of Friends of Strawberry Valley Park, said: “To see all the children making a be-line for the play area after school, instead of watching TV and gaming is wonderful.

“The children all play together, make new friends and can’t wait to get on all the new equipment. People have commented on the buzz of the park which has brought high community spirit.

“The area has needed the park for years and it’s a major improvement for all.”

South Ribble Borough Council provided the capital funding for the play area and will continue to develop the site with hedge planting, new footpaths, landscaping, and a dementia garden which will be an addition to the play area.

Councillor Paul Foster, Leader of South Ribble Borough Council said, “I’m so pleased that we are here officially opening the Strawberry Valley play area on Bent Lane. 

“It’s been a long time coming but well worth the wait. I want to thank everyone who was involved in making this happen, particularly the Friends of Strawberry Valley Group who have worked so hard to make this amazing play area a reality. 

“This will be a great asset for the community for generations to come and I’m so pleased that we have been able to bring this forward along with a raft of other play areas across the borough.”

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The new play area has state-of-the-art facilities for children seven years and over and boasts a complimentary ball court.

Accessible facilities are also available ensuring that even more children can play safely.

School children from Leyland Methodist Junior School were able to play on the equipment.

Isabel, a child who was taking full advantage of the new facilities, said: “I really like the new park because I just love messing around and playing. The monkey bars and the carousel are my favourite parts of the park, and I will play with my friends every day.

“I like the way we can play instead of playing video games.”

The additional works to the park including landscaping, hedge planting, additional footpaths and the new dementia garden are due to begin in later 2022.

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