CHILDREN in Wroughton can swing away to their hearts’ delight now that a popular play area has been refurbished.

Yesterday(oct7) On Wednesday, Wroughton Parish Council officially re-opened the Beranburh Play Area in Alexandra Park which had undergone the facelift earlier this year.

Funding for the makeover, which included the installation of new play equipment and some resurfacing, came from Section 106 funds left over from the development of Alexandra Park.

Visitors to the play area in Beranburh Field can now enjoy the newly sited slide and new climbing frame, as well as try the new seats and chains installed on the swings.

New safety surfacing has also been installed, and the existing seat and picnic table repainted.

Designed for youngsters aged up to eight, the play area is a popular haunt for families.

The area was open again for use shortly after the refurbishment was complete.

On October 7, Parish councillors, Swindon borough councillors and residents gathered to celebrate the reopening and welcome children back to the site.

Coun Steve Harcourt, the chairman of Wroughton Parish Council said: “The parish cCouncil is keen to continue to maintain all the play areas in the parish to a high standard.

"The refurbishment of this play area has been made possible because of funding set aside when Alexandra Park was built.”

The majority of the money used to pay for the refurbishment came from money handed to Swindon Borough Council for use in the community by the developers of Alexandra Park – known as Section 106 money.

According to the minutes of the meeting of the leisure and amenities committee of Wroughton Parish Council on June 7, the total cost of the facelift amounted to £21,262.73.

At the time, the proposal was £15,188.60 of the cost to be funded by Section 106 cash.

The remaining £6,074.13 was footed by Wroughton Parish Council from the play area fund.

The refurbishment, which was carried out by Kompan Ltd, was completed by the meting of the same committee on September 7.

In the minutes of the meeting a spokesman from the council said: “Councillor Harcourt stated that he had visited the play area and he was very pleased with the result and the clerk confirmed that both she and the property manager were very pleased with the quality of the work.”