A MAJOR milestone on the journey towards making a lakeside park a significant community asset is to be celebrated this weekend.
Families are being invited to the official opening of the new play area at Rayrigg Meadow at Millerground, Windermere on Sunday.
The play area is part of the Millerground Enhancement Plan, which has included opening up the park so the lake can be seen from the road and improvements to paths which will allow more people easier access to the lake shore and a new picnic area.
The event from 2pm to 4pm will showcase the play area and there will be speeches and a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 2.30pm.
The Millerground Enhancement Group – made up of Windermere Town Council, Windermere and Bowness Civic Society, GLL, National Trust and the Lake District National Park Authority – has been raising funds for the project since 2013 and has received funding for the play area from SLDC, the True Colours Trust and the National Lottery Community Fund to make an inclusive play area for both local and visiting children to enjoy.
In 2016, the project received two lots of funding worth £150,000 from SLDC towards the overall project to revamp the 39-acre site – £50,000 from the Locally Important Projects (LIPs) fund and a further £100,000 from the council’s capital fund. A further LIPs grant of £10,000 was given to the project in 2018 to add to a grant of £5,000 in 2014 to restore a historic viewpoint.
Councillor Dyan Jones, Portfolio Holder for Climate Change and Localism, who is a member of the Millerground Enhancement Group, said: “We at South Lakeland District Council are committed to supporting, working with and empowering our communities to improve and create great facilities on their parks and open spaces.
“This play area, and the ongoing reinvigoration of Millerground, is an excellent example of us as a local authority working in partnership with the community to make improvements which will benefit residents and visitors for years to come.”
