Play areas across borough of Great Yarmouth set to be revamped as part of £740,000 investment programme
Great Yarmouth Borough Council has approved plans to spend more than £320,000 from its capital budget on revamping play areas.
The investment will supplement £308,000 already allocated for play area improvements from the Government's Pride in Place programme and further works being paid for by developers under so-called Section 106 agreements.
The council manages and safely maintains 90 play areas across the borough - with almost 650 pieces of equipment - and the decision means a major programme of works will now get underway to benefit communities.
Officers told a meeting on Tuesday, April 14, that the council is committed to ensuring children have safe, accessible and high-quality places to play and take part in physical activity and that almost 100 pieces of equipment will need replacing within the next five years.
Priority sites for the improvements were identified by the council's property team as part of its £100,000 annual inspection and maintenance schedule, which ensures play areas are safe and fit for purpose.
Without the additional investment, the meeting was told only high-categorised works are currently able to be paid for, and the cost of this is likely to increase as play areas age and there was a risk equipment could not afford to be replaced.
At the meeting, it was unanimously agreed to allocate £323,129 for the works from the council's capital budget for 2026/27, to ensure a raft of improvements can take place.
Including the Government Pride in Place funding of £308,000 and £90,000 of Section 106 money from developers, it means about £740,000 will be spent over the next financial year on 14 play areas. Other sites will get repairs to wear and tear.
In Great Yarmouth the play areas that will get improvements are the ones at: Coronation Road; Ferrier Road; Lichfield Road; Peggotty Road multi-use games area; St George's Park; and the Marine Parade basketball court.
Other play areas in the borough that will get upgrades are the ones at: Diana Way in Caister; Gorleston Cliffs; Martham playing field; Mill Lane playing field in Bradwell; Ormesby playing field; Rollesby playing field multi-use games area; Watsons Close in Hopton; and Fleggburgh playing field.
Hopton playing field will also see a Section 106 developer contribution of £181,000 pay for new play equipment and other improvements.
Additional Section 106 developer contributions will also see improvements at a number of other play areas including: Trafalgar Grange in Hopton; King George V Playing Field in Caister; and Mill View LAP, Ormesby St Margaret.
And, subject to further external funding being secured, Section 106 monies have also been allocated for improvements at: Green Lane play area in Bradwell; Southtown Common Recreation Ground; Magdalen Square play area in Gorleston; and East Anglian Way West Play Area in Gorleston.
A spokesperson for Great Yarmouth Borough Council said: ''We know how important it is to our communities to have a good range of well-maintained play areas. We have been working for some time on drawing up a robust plan to target those areas of the borough that would most benefit for improvements to provide accessible play areas with a range of new or refurbished facilities.
''With support from the Government's Pride in Place funding and contributions from developers, the additional council spending that has now been agreed will see real improvements for people across the borough.''
Work on the play area improvements is expected to begin being rolled out promptly, with the works being completed in phases over the coming year. Meanwhile, the council's property team will continue to monitor all play areas in the borough and liaise with stakeholders - including parish councils - to highlight what and where improvements will be necessary in future.
