It was all laughter and smiles for children and their parents in the village of Keelby as a ribbon cutting ceremony marked the official opening of their brand new play area.
The much-needed park for under 5’s cost more than £100,000 and was made possible thanks to the hard work of Keelby Parish Council. They secured almost £78,000 from the FCC Communities Foundation but in order for then to unlock the funding they needed to secure match funding.
Following a successful application to West Lindsey District Council, they were allocated a further £8,000 to the project and the remaining money was topped up by the parish council, enabling the project to go ahead.
The new under 5’s play area, called ‘Indian Park’ has been named after Keelby Parish Councillor, Cllr John Indian, in recognition of his long devotion and commitment to the village of Keelby.
After cutting the ribbon to the new park, Cllr John Indian said:
“Keelby Parish Council has put in such a lot of hard work to make this possible and with the help from the FCC Communities Foundation and West Lindsey District Council, we are so delighted to see it’s finally here. The park is going to benefit the community tremendously, and the fact that my grandson was the first one to enter the park has really made my day.”
Residents and families of the Keelby area are delighted to now have access to a brand new under 5’s play area. It has lots of new exciting equipment such as: an extension bridge, a wobble board, an adventure trail and much more! The area was transformed from a grassed area to a wet pour safety surface, providing a flat surface for young children with no trip hazards. It is also accessible for prams, pushchairs and wheelchairs.
Excited children from Keelby’s local primary and pre-school attended the opening ceremony along with their parents. When speaking to the excited children, Bethany Wilson (5), and Henry Jones (4) both jumped up and down saying ‘they absolutely loved the park’, and they ‘couldn’t wait to come back at the weekend to spend longer on the slide!’.
Angie Burnett, Keelby Parish Council Clerk explained the play area was set up to encourage ‘creative and inclusive play’, offering a safe environment for outdoor play opportunities. She added:
“The new play area is set to encourage children to employ a range of tactics and to enable them to develop new skills and grow in confidence.
“As this play area is on the village green, children will be able to be closer to nature and will have a safe, secure place to meet their friends, especially those who don’t live close by.”
The new park is adjacent to an existing park in the village, which was designed for children aged 7 – 12 years. In order to connect the two areas together, seating has been placed where the two areas meet, this is to make it easier for parents to safely watch children of different age groups as they play.
Cllr Owen Bierley, Leader of West Lindsey District Council attended the official opening of the play area. He was pleased to see the Council’s match funding helping to unlock larger funds which the Parish Council had successfully applied for. He said:
“This is the first significant development the village of Keelby for a long time, and the Parish Council has worked incredibly hard to make this happen. With the nearest town of Grimsby being nine miles away, it gives the community a fantastic outdoor space where they won’t have to travel too far afield in order to play. I’m so made up for the village of Keelby and it is lovely to see the children enjoying their new play space which will be enjoyed by so many for years to come.”
The day care facility in the village will also now be able to take children to play during the day, which is something they previously had no access to.
Find out more about our Match Funding Grant.
Find out more about Keelby Parish Council.