Posted on: Friday 21 October 2022
New inclusive play equipment is going to be installed in Pontypool Park next week.
The wheelchair-accessible roundabout and trampoline will be installed in the children's play area, opposite the leisure centre, thanks to investment from Torfaen Council's Covid Recovery Fund and Pontypool Community Council.
The playground will be closed next week while the work is being carried out but it's hoped it will reopen during the half term holiday.
The work is the first phase of a project to make both Pontypool Park and Cwmbran Boating Lake play areas more accessible, thanks more than £250,000 from the Covid Recovery Fund.
Earlier this year, residents were asked what inclusive play equipment they would like to see installed at both parks.
Since then, Torfaen Council has been working with a project group, including specialists in children with disabilities and autism, to take those ideas and turn them into designs.
The designs for both parks will be published later this year, with work due to start in January.
Councillor Mandy Owen, Executive Member for the Environment, said: “Having inclusive play parks in the borough is so important for the health and well-being of children, and we hope that in the future more of our parks will have inclusive equipment."
Councillor Fiona Cross, Executive Member for Children, Families and Communities, added: “Sensory play areas are particularly beneficial to children who have trouble with movement, vision and feel.
“This new play equipment will mean that all children can play in the same park at the same time. It doesn’t matter if you have a disability or not, play is play, and I look forward to seeing the impact this inclusive play equipment - and the new designs for Pontypool Park and the Boating Lake play areas - will have on all children and their families.”