£219,000 Renewal Funds Agreed For Local Play Parks

11th November 2021

Members of The Highland Council's Communities and Place Committee have agreed that a strategy for play parks across the region will be developed from local plans and local investment priorities within the overall aims of play parks. The main aims are being safe, inclusive in design and in use and for play areas to be environmentally and financially sustainable.

Communities and Place Committee Chair, Cllr Allan Henderson said: "Supporting families in the recovery from the pandemic is vital to the wellbeing of our communities and I am very pleased to see the development of a strategy and investment in play parks that will assist with the recovery."

Councillors locally have already agreed around £500k for investing in play areas through their devolved budgets agreed at Area committees. A new source of capital funding is available from the Scottish Government's play area renewal programme. Councillors have agreed on the allocation of this £219,000 capital play park funds by considering play park condition, the number of young people and a factor for rurality. The allocation to Area committees is:

Badenoch and Strathspey - £9,474.
Black Isle - £8,394.
Caithness - £22,813.
City of Inverness and area - £66,167.
Dingwall and Seaforth - £8,343.
Easter Ross -£22,946.
Isle of Skye and Raasay - £7,462.
Lochaber - £37,919.
Nairnshire - £7,926.
Sutherland - £12,591.
Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh - £14,968.
Communities and Place Committee Vice Chair Cllr Hugh Morrison added: "The creation of a play park strategy that supports active play, and wellbeing of our children and families will be facilitated by a remaining £15,000 of the total £234,000 awarded to The Highland Council and used for local engagement and reporting on strategy development."

A review of play parks will take into account play equipment and its condition, and the use and ownership of play parks. Local plans for, and investment in play parks will be agreed at a local level within the available Council budget and other external resources.

Commenting on the investments and creation of a play strategy Cllr John Finlayson, Chair of Education added: “Local partnership working is the key to success. I was delighted, last Friday (5 November) to attend the opening of a new community playpark in Kyleakin. £100,000 was raised in less than a year with support from businesses, local fundraising and the Eilean a' Cheò Ward Discretionary Budget.”