WORK is soon to begin in Lazonby on a newcommunity park which will include the village’s first properly equippedchildren’s play area and many other features for local people and visitors.

Funding from various sources has been secured, including £50,000 from the Community SpacesProgram, administered by Groundwork UK for the Big Lottery Fund. The park will be sited on land belonging to the Lazonby and District Swimming Pool Association Ltd.

The centrepiece of the park will be a children’s play area with a range of equipment to suit children aged from three to 13. There will also be a picnic area, wildflower meadow, butterfly and bumblebee bushes, footpaths andwillow fencing. It is hoped that ground preparation and planting will start in March, with completion of the park expected bymidsummer.

The playground committee is involvingvillage children in the design of the playground and in the planting for wildlife. Local guides have already planted bulbs and, as part of the BBC Tree O’Clock campaign, Lazonby families have planted native hedging trees such as oak, holly and hazel.

Kerry Hodgkinson, chairman of theplayground committee, said: “We would like to thank the Big Lottery/Groundwork Trust and all the other bodies who have supported us, especially the Eden Council Playbuilderprogram, neighbourhood forum, Lazonby Parish Council and Cumbria Waste ManagementEnvironmental Trust.”

The park is on abeautiful site alongside the River Eden, the school playing fields and thevillage open air swimming pool, which is open from May to September.

Christine Hill, chairman of the pool committee, said: “We are delighted to be able to help the village get a playground at long last. This must be the largest village in thedistrict with no provision for children’s play. The land the pool owns was always intended forcommunity recreational use and this is a great example of people in our community working together for a common purpose.”

Further information about the community park and the pool is available on the Lazonby Pool website at www.lazonbypool.co.uk.

BELOW: Some of the Lazonby families who planted trees as part of the BBC Tree O’Clock activity. They were also some of the first trees planted as part of the new village park.