New Era of Play in Platt Bridge

More young people in the Platt Bridge area will be able to discover the delights of play following the opening of a new play area at Foggs Fold.

The new facility was officially opened on Friday 13th April by the Mayor of Wigan, Cllr. Eunice Smethurst and children from Platt Bridge Community School.

All of the equipment was chosen by local children and includes a Chaos Climber, Ariel Runway, Spinning Bowl, See Saw and a complete range of fun items for the under-fives. The site now contains over 300 tonnes of sand and has brightly painted benches and litter bins to aid visually impaired people.

Deborah Freeman, Play and Early Years Manager, for Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust, said, “We have been supporting the Platt Bridge Township Forum over a number of years, mainly in the planning and delivery of community events such as the annual Platt Bridge Gala Day. It has been a real team effort to complete this project and we have ensured that local people have had a real input from start to finish.

“Play is so valuable to the development of young people. It helps them to develop physically, mentally and socially and can have a huge impact in generating positive community spirit. We are delighted to help provide these type of facilities and hope the local community will share our pride at what has been achieved here and will enjoy using the facilities for many years to come.”

The new play area, costing around £55,000, was funded by Wigan Council’s Section 106 fund and was designed and will be maintained by Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust.

The whole project took six months from design stage to completion. There are also further plans drawn being drawn up to install a hard surfaced footpath from the access point in the corner of the field to the play areas.

For further information about Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust’s Play Section please visit www.wlct.org/play.