CHILDREN are looking forward to playing on a new-look recreation ground, after a £47,000 revamp was given the go-ahead.
Emma Beckett, chairman of Carterton Youth Council, and deputy mayor Adrian Coomber at the play area
The scheme for the Alvescot Road Recreation Ground, in Carterton, had been under threat because of funding cuts.
Oxfordshire County Council, which had promised the money, announced it would no longer be ‘ring-fenced’ – meaning the cash could be used for other things.
But the council has now given the project the go-ahead, along with 10 other play schemes around the county.
The money will be used to completely refurbish the playground.
The new plans include a play area for children of all ages, pathways, seating and a performance area in the centre of the park.
When news came that the scheme was threatened by spending cuts, the town’s young people decided to take action.
Members of Carterton Youth Council, which is made up of young people aged 11 to 18, wrote to Prime Minister and Witney MP David Cameron and every single member of the county council.
Mr Cameron has since met some of the youth councilto share the news that the scheme could now go ahead.
Chairman Emma Beckett, 13, said it was brilliant news.
She said: “The community has been involved in developing it, and when it’s finished I think it will be quite a focal point.”
She said she often used the current park with her friends, but added: “There’s not very much to do at the moment.
“We will enjoy it more because there won’t be just slides and swings, there will be a climbing net and a zip wire.”
The project has been on the cards for over a year, with Carterton Town Council spearheading the campaign. Deputy Mayor Adrian Coomber said he was “over the moon”.
He said: “I am immensely proud of the youth council. Their input into the whole project has been absolutely invaluable.
“Whether the letters had an influence we will never know, but what we do know is that we did everything we could to keep this issue high profile.”
In addition to the county’s £47,000 contribution, £20,000 will come from West Oxfordshire District Council and £50,000 from Wren, the not for profit organisation that distributes money from landfill tax credits.
The other 10 groups given £47,000 The Appleton Parish, Ark-T Centre, John Bunyan Baptist Church, Cowley, St Louis Meadow, Banbury, Blewbury Parish, Middle Barton Playing Fields, Hook Norton Parish, Sandfields Road, Oxford, Bury Knowle Park, Oxford, Shipton-under-Wychwood Parish and South Oxford Adventure Playground.
