Play equipment for all children

It has been made possible thanks to a £6,000 grant from Druridge Bay ward councillor Scott Dickinson and partnership working with Widdrington Station and Stobswood Parish Council.

He said: “As soon as I heard about the Widdrington Station Parish Council's plans to install disabled access play equipment in their park, I was keen to offer some help.

“Play is vital for all children and should be accessible for every young person, and I very much value the relationship I have with the parish council.

“We work together to benefit local people and make sure they are safe and well looked after.”

Coun Michelle Willougby, of Widdrington Station Parish Council, said: “2020 has been a challenging time for everyone – the need for support between our parishes has never been so important.

“We all, as parish councils, had planned events for the year, which sadly had to be cancelled. The Covid crisis called for us all to look long and hard at how best we could create a safe and supportive net around our residents, especially the elderly and vulnerable.

“Having a good working relationship with Scott has meant that we could work together in areas of need to keep our residents safe and well looked after.

“One of our planned projects was the installation of some specialist equipment in our beautiful park.

“As soon as Scott knew of our plans, he offered his help financially immediately – understanding the need to look closely at the provision of equipment suitable for the disabled was an important project.

“Our plans have had to be put on hold for the time being due to lockdown, but hopefully it won’t be too long before we can get the project underway.”

She added: “There will be challenges ahead I am sure, which is why working together for the benefit of our communities is vital, and I look forward to keeping our working relationship – not to mention our support for each other – going from strength to strength.”