Wiltshire Council allocates £603,000 into improving rural play areas

The council currently has 24 rural equipped play areas around the county that local communities have yet to adopt and is looking for parish councils that would like to improve these play areas and take on the running of them.

Eligible rural parish councils can accept funding from Wiltshire Council, which will be allocated based on an assessment on what is required to upgrade the park before taking responsibility for the facility. Or, if they wish, the parish council can request that Wiltshire Council upgrades the equipment first, before then transferring the play area to the parish council.

Cllr Tamara Reay, Cabinet Member for Assets, said: We know just how important staying active is to children's learning, development and growth, which is why we're investing £603,000 into improving rural play areas throughout the county.

We are writing to all rural parish councils that currently have a Wiltshire Council play area to offer them the opportunity to improve the facility using these funds, and then to take on the running of the park through an asset transfer agreement.

This has the dual benefit of upgrading these play areas with brand-new equipment, while also enabling local communities, through their parish council, to have more say on how these play areas are run in the future to ensure they reflect the needs of the people who live there.

We know that many parish councils would like to take on these play areas, and this additional funding will put them in the best position to do so.

The council has previously transferred more than 100 play areas to local communities, in line with its Business Plan commitment.

To find out more about this programme, parish councils should contact streetscene@wiltshire.gov.uk (opens new window).