Around €380,000 has been secured to develop a number of play facilities in Co Wexford.

The funding will help support the development of ten new playgrounds, one multi user games area and two outdoor gyms.

Thirteen different community groups have obtained the fund under the current LEADER Programme.

The LEADER Programme in Co Wexford is overseen by the Wexford Local Community Development Committee (LCDC) and is delivered in partnership by Wexford Local Development and Wexford County Council.  

On making the announcement Cllr Kathleen Codd Nolan, Chairperson of Wexford LCDC said: "Each community has worked hard to demonstrate the need for their new facility, to prove their own capability as a group to oversee the construction stage of the project and to show their community's capacity to manage the facility into the future. I congratulate these motivated voluntary groups who are helping combat rural decline in our county through community-led local development."

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Craig Lang of Riverchapel Community Complex confirmed their group's delight on being awarded over €30,000 towards the costs of constructing Riverchapel's first playground: "Our area is home to 369 families with children under the age of 15 who all deserve to have safe, free, accessible places to play; as a voluntary committee we are very proud to be able to give that to them. The application process was stringent but made sense - we had to prove we could deliver on the playground proposal if given the money and we are really excited about doing just that!"

Since launching the current LEADER programme in Wexford at the end of 2016, the LCDC has allocated a total of €2,357,877 between community groups and private businesses to support community developments and the creation of jobs in Co Wexford. A further €5,222,227 remains to be grant aided over the next two years.

(CM/MH)