Walton Park celebrate their grant!

EVERY little helped when it came to securing a £10,000 windfall for one South Ribble park.

Walton Park in Walton-le-Dale came second in the Tesco Bags of Help contest – a competition which awards cash prizes to projects that will benefit local green spaces.

The park’s friends group will plough the money into building an outdoor classroom to help the borough’s schoolchildren learn about their environment in a natural setting.

The group will also use the cash to:

•      Build a viewing platform overlooking the pond, complete with a wildlife interpretation board to help people identity different species.

•      Erect a solid wooden welcome notice board, with a window panel to advertise park news and events.

•      Create a natural woodland walk complete with bluebells.

•      Create a willow woven fence which will provide a large habitat on the bank of the pond

The £10,000 grant comes after the park received a full revamp last thanks to a £6,500 cash boost from the Lancashire Environmental Fund and National Lottery.

The friends group used the money last year to create a new butterfly garden, build a pond dipping platform, install interpretation boards and re-plant the pond.

The new raft of funding will ensure the group’s good work can be continued and the community can benefit from the open space.

Voting took place over a nine-day period, from Saturday, 27 February to Sunday, 6 March.

Shoppers at a number of Tesco stores across the area were given a token with every transaction and used their tokens to vote for their favourite project.

The prize money comes from cash raised from charging customers 5p for plastic bags, following new legislation that came into force in October 2015.

Councillor Peter Mullineaux, South Ribble Borough Council cabinet member with responsibility for Neighbourhoods and Street Scene, said: “I am delighted for the dedicated friends group of Walton Park. They’ve already taken huge strides to improve the park and thanks to this new grant, their hard work can continue to make a green space we are all extremely proud of.

“The proposed improvements will not only help the borough’s schoolchildren learn more about their environment but will add to the brilliant green spaces we already have across the borough.

“I would like to thank all South Ribble residents for helping secure this funding for a much loved park and congratulations to the Friends of Walton Park.”

Image:

The Friends of Walton Park, Walton-le-Dale West Councillor Mike Nelson (third left), Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods and Street Scene Councillor Peter Mullineaux (centre) and Lancashire County Councillor David Watts (far right)