There’s new life in the old site
Picture the scene, a young woman revisits the local village play
area with her five year old son, a special place she used to enjoy
when she was a child. Looking forward to sharing her memories
and watching her son play on that same equipment in the quiet
setting of Sproughton in Ipswich, Andrea Wedgwood was sadly
disappointed. Unfortunately, the area had become rather neglected,
and was no longer that idyllic place she remembered so well.
Stirred into action by the sorry state of the play area, Andrea
decided she would run the London Marathon and contribute all the
funds raised towards the regeneration of her much loved
playground. All the original equipment, supplied and
installed by Wicksteed Leisure some 50 years earlier, was in need
of some tlc so Andrea approached the Northamptonshire-based company
to talk about her vision, and see if the equipment could be
refurbished and added to. No problem at all.
Together with funding from Lottery Funded Awards for All,
Suffolk ACRE, Sproughton Parish Council, the Sproughton Playing
Field Committee, Marks & Spencer Ipswich store, county
councillor, Kathy Pollard, and Rosalind Lavington, plus monies
raised by Andrea’s marathon feat, the dream of the new play
area was going to become a reality.
The newly rejuvenated site was opened officially on
Wednesday October 31st and was attended by the residents of
Sproughton and members of both the Sproughton Parish Council and
Playing Field Committee who’s Chairperson, Colin
Davis, gave a speech.
Andrea is so delighted that everything has finally come together
since her first vision last year, “I was at the play area
yesterday and everything is nearly completed. I can’t
wait to see the children - whose little faces are constantly
peering over the fencing as their new playground unfolds –
really enjoy the space once again.” Andrea wants to
praise everyone involved in the project and is particularly
grateful that, thanks to the available funds, Wicksteed was able to
bring her memories back to life, and create new ones, too, for her
son and others to enjoy for many more years.
Learn more about Wicksteed Leisure visit: www.wicksteed.co.uk