A £400,000 revamp of three play parks in Filey has been completed as part of a 10-year vision for the town.
The play areas in Glen Gardens, Copse Hill and Filey Country Park have been renovated so they can be enjoyed year-round and all now feature accessible equipment.
The refurbishment of the parks was part of the £1 million that was allocated to the ‘Vision for Filey’, which was started by the former Scarborough Borough Council and developed jointly with Filey Town Council.
Funding was set aside by the former borough council because Filey did not meet the criteria to be considered for the Government’s Towns Fund.
The new North Yorkshire Council is now continuing this work and will be moving the scheme forward.
Executive member for highways and transportation, Cllr Keane Duncan, said: “This £400,000 investment in Filey play areas is of landmark importance for the town’s younger people. The parks provide high-quality equipment in safe and accessible places to play. I know this will be very much welcomed by families.
“During the consultation, the public said that more needed to be done to provide support for the town’s younger people. This is a first and vital step in delivering on that key priority.
“As the ‘Vision for Filey’ progresses, we will continue to focus on delivering what the local community needs and we are looking forward to continuing our work with the town council and residents.”
As well as the £400,000 to redevelop play areas, a further £120,000 has been earmarked for the refurbishment of Filey’s paddling pool.
Work is also under way on a £300,000 refurbishment of chalets along the beach front and planning permission for a skate park has been granted, for which £328,000 has been invested.
Executive member for open to business, Cllr Derek Bastiman, said: “Despite Filey not meeting the criteria to benefit from the Government’s Towns Fund investment, it was vitally important that the town did not miss out completely.
“The Vision for Filey has been developed with the input of the town’s residents who are telling us where they want to see the money spent.
“This is a great example of the council and residents coming together to deliver projects that make a real difference in their communities. We can use the lessons from the Vision for Filey across North Yorkshire and make this the start of something special.”
On Wednesday, children from Filey Church of England Nursery and Infants Academy and Filey Junior School got to show off both the new and refurbishment play equipment to mark the completion of the work, which was carried out by a contractor, Wicksteed.
The local member for Filey division, Cllr Sam Cross, added: “Bringing these play parks back up to standard was the top priority of the people of Filey when discussions were taking place. It is great that they are now there for children to enjoy for many years to come.”
During the consultation phase of the project, more than 1,000 people in and around Filey responded to tell the councils what mattered most to them and where they would like the £1 million to be spent.
The Mayor of Filey, Jacqui Houlden-Banks, said: “Filey Town Council has always believed that this partnership can bring about significant improvements in Filey for the benefit of those who live, work and visit here. The refurbishment of these play areas is a great start and we look forward to what comes next.”
The next stage of the Vision for Filey is the setting up of the Filey Community Partnership (FCP) to support the ongoing work and help the projects and proposals move forward.
Local residents who put themselves forward via a nomination form will be part of an independent and anonymous process where nominations will be reviewed. The selection of seven selected residents for the FCP will be determined by a neighbouring council.
Nominations are open until 12 May and forms can be received by emailing zoe.kelsall@northyorks.gov.uk.