General Enquiries:
Great Yarmouth Borough Council
Town Hall
Hall Plain
Great Yarmouth.
NR30 2QF.

Tel:
01493 856100

E-mail:
enquiries@great-yarmouth.gov.uk

PR 171

3 May 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The local residents of Magdalen Square are being invited by the Council to come and view the plans for the new community playground which is to be installed this summer. Plans for this new provision will be on display on Saturday May 6 in the Magdalen CLIP and Methodist Church from 1pm-3pm.

The Borough Council received a grant from the Big Lottery and Magdalen Square is the beacon project in this fund with a ‘community playground’ being built where adults will be encouraged to actively play on the equipment with their children. The playground is to be opened at this years Mad Mag Day on July 15, whose theme is to be ‘Activities for All’.

Emma Dixon, Environmental Strategy Officer for Great Yarmouth Borough Council said: “This playground will be a first as it is designed for use by anyone.  With all the adverse publicity surrounding the rise of obesity and the ‘couch potato’ life style, we decided that we needed to provide facilities to help people make a positive change.

“The school children at Peterhouse Middle School took part in a ‘lifestyle survey’ and we found that the children were not getting enough physical exercise. There is equipment for all ages and it is all designed to encourage maximum activity. This playground will provide the community with a focal point where people of all ages can meet.”

Notes to editors:

Big Lottery Fund is the joint co-operating name of the New Opportunities Fund and the National Lottery Charities Board (which make grants under the name of the Community Fund). Big Lottery Fund, launched on 1 June 2004, is distributing half of all national Lottery good cause funding across the UK.

Big Lottery Fund is building on the experience and best practice of the merged bodies to simplify funding in those areas where they overlap and to ensure Lottery funding provides the best possible value for money. To date, the two merged Funds have committed more than £5 billion to initiatives with national, regional and local partners from the public, voluntary, charity and private sectors with a particular focus on disadvantage.

For further information please contact:
Emma Dixon
Great Yarmouth Borough Council
Tel: 01493 846442
email: eld@great-yarmouth.gov.uk

Issued by:
Liz Dann
Press Officer
Great Yarmouth Borough Council
01493 846513