North County Durham & Tyneside
Community wish list drawn up for park plan
PEOPLE in a north Durham town
are to be asked for their views on
plans to regenerate a rundown
park.
The Friends of View Lane Park
are drawing up a wish list of improvements
they would like to
see.
Derwentside District Council
sparked controversy when it sold
a third of the site to a private developer
for £600,000.
Half of that money is being
used to create a green and pavilion
for View Lane Bowling Club,
on a site in East Stanley.
Mistal Homes is building a £5m
home for adults with special
needs, which is expected to be
completed by October.
The rest of the money from the
sale of the land is to be spent upgrading
the remainder of the
park.
The wish list is expected to include
a bandstand with electric
power and lights, and CCTV.
Derwentside district councillor
Anne Taylor, who is a member
of the Friends, is adding her
£20,000 budget allowance to the
scheme, bringing the total spending
money available to £277,000.
She said: "We want to create a
lovely nature area for people,
with nice footpaths in an environmental
country park.
"We want to dramatically improve
the bandstand area so we
can hold events there, and it will
be somewhere people want to
come in the evening."
An exhibition outlining the
proposals is likely to be held in
the Lamplight Arts Centre, in
Stanley, in the coming months,
and people will be able to give
their views.
Coun Taylor said the friends
would continue to raise money,
so the park's regeneration would
be ongoing.
She said: "We hope it will be
embraced by the community."
It is hoped the bowling green,
in East Stanley, will be ready for
next spring and attract new
members.
The bowls club's relocation
was approved by councillors last
month after a petition containing
300 names in favour of the move
was submitted to the council.
Derwentside District Council
leader Alex Watson said the redevelopment
of the park, and the
development of the adult centre,
would facilitate the overall regeneration
of Stanley.
He said: "The new centre will
create 100 jobs and this money
will go back into the local economy.
This is going to put Stanley
on the map."
11:18am Tuesday 6th May 2008
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