Councillors at Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Communities Committee met on 4 April and received an update in relation to the Scottish Government’s Play Park Renewal Fund.
Elected members agreed to allocate £1.250m from the Scottish Government’s Play Park Renewal Fund across Dumfries and Galloway during the next three financial years from 2023/24 to 2025/26. This will mean an additional ten inclusive play parks will be established. The initial five locations will be Whithorn, Gatehouse of Fleet, Dalbeattie, Sanquhar and Canonbie. The final five locations for inclusive parks through this fund will be agreed through engagement with members of the public and community groups.
Castle Douglas is the final project of the current seven inclusive play parks that have been installed since 2018. The project at Castle Douglas has been achieved in partnership between the Dumfries and Galloway Council and CDDF (Castle Douglas Development Forum), who has raised funds independently to add to the council allocation of £125k. This is a significant achievement, and work continues to raise funds for and to install a changing places toilet next to the new park.
The other six inclusive play parks completed so far are:
• Stair Park, Stranraer
• Catherine Street, Dumfries
• Kirkland Drive, Kelloholm
• McJerrow Park, Lockerbie
• Weyroc Park, Annan
• Douglas Park, Newton Stewart
The Chair of Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Communities Committee, Councillor Ian Blake said: “I am delighted that Inclusive Play Park at Carlingwark Loch in Castle Douglas is expected to be completed by the end of June in time for the school holidays. The play park is one of seven high quality facilities that have been designed and are being installed throughout the region and will be a terrific asset and addition to this already beautiful area. We are delighted to have agreed the funding of £1.250m for ten more inclusive play parks to be installed in more communities across the region”.
Working with communities and partners, Dumfries and Galloway Council has been successfully improving play park facilities across the region. The importance of play and healthy lifestyles is very high, and so the opportunity to establish a further ten inclusive play parks reaffirms the commitment and ambition to this work. Principal partners, such as the CDDF, are vital to ensure the projects move forward in their communities, and it is hoped that partnerships such as this will develop around the new inclusive play parks.
Vice Chair of Communities Committee, Councillor Jackie McCamon added: “It is built into the ethos of Dumfries and Galloway Council to work collaboratively with communities and individuals to make a greater difference to the towns, villages and communities across our region. We know that by working together and providing support to communities, we can enhance the development of these inclusive play parks to best suit the needs of the local area and those who will benefit from this investment”.
