The newly refurbished Loughbrickland play park has been officially opened by Lord Mayor Councillor Julie Flaherty.

The project involved the installation of new state of the art play equipment for children of all ages.

It is part of Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon Borough Council's multi-phase rolling refurbishment programme which has seen eight play parks receive a major makeover since May. Around £650,000 has been invested to upgrade parks in the borough with a further three park upgrades planned before the end of the financial year.

Speaking at the official opening, Lord Mayor Councillor Julie Flaherty said: "Thanks to an investment of £100,000, outdoor play provision in the village is now on a par with other upgraded sites across the borough. In addition to providing contemporary new play equipment, brightly coloured safety surfacing has been installed and fencing has also been erected to secure the site.

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"A growing body of evidence attests to the importance of outdoor play to a child's wellbeing, learning and development – so it's important that we continue to invest heavily in providing first-class play facilities for children and young people in both rural and urban settings.

"Of course, credit must go to members of the local community and school children who engaged with us during the design process and gave their views on choice of play equipment. Given their valuable input, it's only fitting that pupils from St Francis PS join me today and be among the first to try out the new play equipment.

"Through the delivery of our play strategy, we aim to improve the range and quality of outdoor play facilities, maintain our network of play parks to the highest standard and, most importantly, target our resources at play parks identified as most in need of refurbishment.

"I would like to thank all those involved in bringing this project to fruition and hope that the play park becomes a popular hub where the local children can get active and have fun."

(CM/MH)