Children in Helston won’t have to wait much longer to try out brand new play equipment in the town.
A £59,000 project to revamp the Coronation Gardens Park and King George V Playing Fields will include creating new pathways and installing new play equipment in the children’s play area.
Among the new equipment will be a three-bay swing set to include the existing double swing with a variety of different seating options.
There will also be a wheelchair-accessible roundabout, two ‘springy seats’ – and elephant and Freddy the Frog – and a ‘freestyle’ unit for older children that mimics the motion of a skateboard ramp.
Some equipment will still stay in the park, including the slide for younger children and the popular blue ‘Supernova’, which will have maintenance work carried out on it.
There will be new safety flooring laid around all the equipment and a variety of new benches, including ones that will be accessible for all users.
It is hoped work can begin in April, to be completed by the end of May.
Cornwall Council is giving just under £37,000 towards the project from the second round of its Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Fund, designed to pay for projects that benefit children and young people.
Helston Town Council will cover the remaining £22,000 of the project, which is part of wider plans.
Projects officer Charlotte Caldwell said: “We are delighted to be able to access CIL funding to help improve the range of play equipment at the park including pieces and seating that are inclusive for all to use.”
As The Packet reported last October, the King George V playing field and Coronation Gardens are at the centre of an ambitious scheme which it is hoped will ultimately also result in a community café and an outdoor gym.
The land, between Helston Rugby Club and Oliver’s Terrace, near Spar, already has Helston Scout Hut based on it, but is felt to be otherwise underused aside from dog walkers.
The Making Space for Nature project has already received funding from the European Regional Development Fund to create new paths, add more trees and pollinator plants, better bug hotels and put up welcome signs that explain more about the park and what people can find in it.
Led by Melissa Ralph as part of Cornwall Council’s Open Space Team, and also as a member of Helston Climate Action Group, work has already begun on this.
Helston Town Council leases the land from Cornwall Council on a long-term basis.
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