New play area officially opened

The official opening ceremony for Little Lindow play area took place today, Monday 20th February.

The new 'adventure play' park is the first part of the redevelopment plan for Little Lindow, which is being jointly funded by Wilmslow Town Council and Cheshire East Council.

In addition to the installation of the new children's play area and paths to access it, trees have been pruned to allow more light into Little Lindow, and the existing path across the site has been improved.

The next stages of the redevelopment will be:

• Replacing, relocating and increasing the seating,
• Adding plants, bushes and trees,
• Adding nesting boxes for birds and bats.

Ansa Environmental Services (a Cheshire East Council owned company) will continue to organise and oversee the remaining work, in consultation with Wilmslow Town Council.

Wilmslow Town Council Chairman, Frank McCarthy, said, "Wilmslow Town Council is proud to officially open the Little Lindow Play Area.

"The new play park has already transformed this much valued town centre green space; we are excited to see the next steps take shape, and for visitors and wildlife to really enjoy this special place.

"We would like to thank Cheshire East Council for partnering with Wilmslow Town Council to jointly fund the project, and Ansa for organising and overseeing the work so far."

Councillor Mick Warren, Chair of Cheshire East Council's Environment and Communities Committee, said, "These are always happy occasions and today is just the start of the journey in terms of what this park can offer. Being located as centrally as it is, means that there will always be plenty of people passing through and making good use of the new and improved space.

"The next steps of the park's development will now see an even greater focus on supporting the wildlife that exists in and around parks and providing some amenities for park users. It's been a terrific project to support, and I hope that Wilmslow residents and visitors to the town will enjoy the time they pass here."

Mark Goldsmith, Ward Councillor for Cheshire East and Wilmslow Town Council said, "I'm really happy to see this park get a new lease of life. Several parents have recently mentioned to me how their children have been carefully watching the building work going as they are really excited about using the new playground. Many houses in the vicinity have small gardens, so this now provides a much needed local facility. Once we have added the new park benches, everyone else can enjoy spending time here too.

"This is a great little park in the heart of Wilmslow that has been underused and overlooked for far too long.

"My grateful thanks to the Town Council for helping to fund my idea for this project and to the Ansa Parks team at Cheshire East for organising all the work."

Photograph (L-R): Councillor Martin Watkins, Councillor Lata Anderson, Wilmslow Town Council Chairman, Councillor Frank McCarthy, Councillor Mark Goldsmith, Deputy Leader of Cheshire East Council, Councillor Craig Browne, Councillor Hannan Sarwar, Ansa Parks Technical Officer, Edward Yoxall, Wilmslow Town Council Vice Chair, Councillor Angela McPake, Wilmslow's BID Manager, Lisa Russett and Councillor Julie Dawn Potts.