£628,000 investment set to transform parks and open spaces

Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council is bringing forward major improvements at Chesterton Park and the open space at Waterhays, using Section 106 funding secured from existing residential developments in the area.

The investment is part of the Council’s wider drive to make the best use of developer contributions and other available funding to improve parks, play areas, recreational facilities and green spaces across the Borough. The schemes will provide better opportunities for play, sport and recreation, while improvements to the footpath network at Waterhays will make the open space more accessible and easier to enjoy throughout the year.

It follows further investment in the Borough’s parks and green spaces, with work progressing on a new playground and pump track at Bradwell Dingle and a second pump track planned at Lyme Valley Parkway.

Draft plans for Chesterton Park and Waterhays, which are subject to Cabinet approval, have been prepared following initial engagement with local communities and will shortly be shared more widely for residents to have their say. Chesterton Park already provides a pavilion, bowling green, play equipment, multi-use games area and car park.

The draft masterplan proposes –

• refurbishing and improving the multi-use games area, including repairs, repainting, new basketball hoops and replacement fencing and barriers;
• providing new play equipment;
• creating a new wheeled sports facility on the former tennis court;
• creating a “learn to ride” area for younger children on the tarmacked area;
• improving entrances and providing new entrance signs;
• restoring and improving the mining memorial and wheel;
• improving the historic icehouse, including a new plaque;
• removing damaged floodlights, tree stumps and other unwanted features; and
• improving planting, fencing and grassed areas throughout the park.

Initial designs for both sites will be finalised following public consultation.

Cllr. Ben Simpson, Cabinet member for Waste, Recycling and Green Spaces, said:

Parks and green spaces are among the most valuable assets this council owns, and they matter most to the families who use them week in, week out. This administration said it would put money into the things residents see and use, and that is what this £628,000 does.

 

We want families to have good quality places to play, exercise and spend time together, and we want people to see real improvements on their own doorstep.

 

Chesterton Park needs investment and we are getting on with it, bringing forward plans to improve play and sports facilities, restore important local features and make the whole park cleaner, smarter and more welcoming.”

Cllr. Andrew Fisher, Cabinet member for Residents’ Services and Neighbourhoods, added:

Better parks, better play and sports facilities, and green spaces people feel proud to use –  that is what putting residents first looks like in practice.

 

Developer contributions are secured for a reason and should be spent in the communities they came from, not left sitting in an account year after year. We are determined to make the best possible use of every pound available to us.

 

Residents know these places better than anyone, so I would encourage people in Chesterton and Waterhays to look at the plans, tell us what they think and help us make sure this investment delivers the maximum benefit for their communities.”