By Katherine Turner
A new park playground in Wortley is coming on leaps and bounds, following a residents’ campaign.
Western Flatts Cliff Park has been waiting a long time for new and improved playground facilities and it looks like the end is now in sight with the park due to be completed around Easter time.
The work has been funded through Section 106 money secured from the developers on new houses built on the former Wortley High School site.
As reported by WLD, a petition was signed by over 1,000 people back in 2021. Further campaigning from the Friends of Western Flatts Cliff Park group was followed by a public consultation asking the local community to choose between two sites at the top and bottom of the park.
The results came in and 564 people chose location two at the top of the park, while 303 chose location one at the bottom of the park.
Local resident Amy Kyle and her daughter Elsie told WLD how excited they are to have the new playground on their doorstep.
Amy said: “The old playground was tired, not fit for purpose. It was unsightly and was neglected and not up-to-date.
“The new playground has something for everyone and all abilities. Toddlers, young children and those with disabilities. It will encourage families to use the park more and not have to travel out of the area.”
It has not been an entirely smooth process after plans had to be changed at the last minute due to the discovery of a World War Two air raid shelter.
Richard from the Friends Group gave a recent update: “The onsite team are making great progress and things are still looking on track.
“We’re now roughly at the halfway point, so it’s the next few weeks where things will get really exciting.”
The committee has worked tirelessly to ensure the best possible facilities and have successfully secured a £10,000 award from the Outer West Community Committee.
The funding will enable the installation of a wheelchair accessible carousel or similar fully-inclusive ride.
The Friends Group feel it is important that all local children will be able to enjoy the new playground regardless of ability.
There have been some concerns from local residents due to the new location of the playground, but Amy Kyle told WLD: “You can’t please everyone, the top of the park could be too far for those at the bottom end and vice-versa.
“The location is in the open and it is less likely for anything to happen in an open environment. You can get vandals anywhere, why should that mean we don’t get a new park?”
The Friends Group are planning to celebrate the long-awaited completion of the new facilities with a community event around Friday, 29 March.
They are looking for local businesses to lend their support in order to make this a family fun day to remember.
E-mail fowfcp@gmail.com if you can help.
Sponsored content
