A NEW lease of life has been given to a recreation ground in south Reading, thanks to a £300,000 investment.
The South Whitley Park, also known as the South Whitley Recreation Ground, is close to Junction 11 of the M4, but screened by trees and hedges.
Reading Borough Council has made a series of improvements including a new play area, and a revamp of a basketball court, and a multi-use games area (MUGA).
New paths have been created to complement drainage works aimed at preventing flooding.
Cllr Micky Leng (Labour, Whitley), who represents the area, welcomed the improvements.
“[The basketball court] was looking fairly tired, so it’s all been relaid with new surfaces, hoops and equipment which has all been done really well,” he said. “[The drainage] was quite a substantial investment, but it means that the basketball pitch will no longer flood.
“We’ve also got a kiddies’ park, with sensory equipment and climbing frames – it’s absolutely fantastic. It’s a match for anything across the town, anything.”
The children’s play area by has been resurfaced, with play animals including an elephant, lion and camel.
Additional outdoor gym stations have also been installed, with the aim of the improvements being to cater for the surrounding estate’s families.
Trees have also been planted at the toddler play area to create natural shade: 10 dawn redwoods, and seven willows, which will help with drainage once they are matured.
To the far eastern side of the park, by Lexington Grove, there are 18 plus apple, plum, cherry and pear fruit trees, creating a community orchard. These were planted in March using the £85,000 of levelling up funding.
The basketball court and MUGA can be accessed from The Maying and Harness Close, and the children’s play area accessed from Farmers Close.
A council spokesperson said: “The overall project has been very well received by the residents.”
The council spent a total of £290,000 on the improvements, with £205,000 coming from Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and £85,000 coming from the government’s parks Levelling Up funding.
CIL funding involves developers providing the council money to fund public projects such as the improvements made at South Whitley Park.
Cllr Leng said: “It’s important that the wider community sees the benefit of development in their areas.”
