Stockport’s Labour-run Council has completed a major investment programme in parks resulting in significant improvements to parks around the Borough and upgrading of a range of play areas and equipment at risk of removal.

The investment of £708,000 was signed off by Cllr Sheila Bailey in May 2016, to improve specific play areas and to improve paths – and the works programme is now complete.

These sites had faced long-term neglect under the Liberal Democrats, leading to health and safety risks and play equipment becoming at risk of having to be removed.

However Labour’s investments have led to upgrades to equipment and play areas across 12 parks in total, including significant improvements at Torkington, Thornfield and Cale Green parks, with works totalling £625,000.

Torkington Park for example has seen a complete redesign of its play areas making a more coherent play space that provides a range of play opportunities for children under 14 years of age. Alexandra Park has also seen significant upgrades to its children’s play area.

Significant site access improvements have also been completed at eight parks including significant projects at Alexandra, Bruntwood and Heaton Moor parks, as part of improvements totalling £83,000.

The investment programme follows on from a ‘Play Review’ undertaken by the Council.

Stockport’s Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, Cllr Sheila Bailey commented:

“One of the first things we wanted to address when we took over the administration in 2016 was the decrepit nature of many of our parks play areas and equipment. These were becoming a huge concern, representing safety risks or were even at risk of having to be removed.

“We immediately brought forward over £700,000 of transitional funding to be invested in priority sites to address this. Now that the works programme is complete, it is great to see the results of these actions.

“The new facilities represent a marked improvement on what went before, and will provide good quality and safe recreation spaces for children and young people in Stockport for years to come.  This doesn’t mean the job is done and we have already committed significant further funding to be spent on parks over the next 3 to 4 years.

“Our aim is to have high quality parks, sports and play facilities across Stockport so that people of all ages can thoroughly enjoy these green spaces”.